NY Army National Guard Col. Michel Natali, a Watertown native, takes command of 4,000 National Guard Troops

LATHAM, NY (11/04/2016)(readMedia)-- New York Army National Guard Col. Michel Natali, a Watertown native, former 10th Mountain Division member, and a veteran of the Iraq War, has been selected to command the Army National Guard's 53rd Troop Command.

The 53rd Troop Command, located at Camp Smith Training Site near Peekskill, is responsible for military police, transportation, supply, engineer, and other Army National Guard support units located across New York. There are about 4,000 Soldiers in these units.

Natali, who currently serves as the Deputy Commander of the 53rd Troop Command, will take on his new duties during a change of command ceremony at Camp Smith on Dec. 3.

Natali, the son of Franco and Giuseppa Natali, grew up in Watertown and  is a 1983 graduate of Immaculate Heart Central High School.

He replaces Brigadier General Michael Swezey, a Cohoes resident and West Point graduate, who will be retiring after 36 years in the Army, Army Reserve and Army National Guard.

In civilian life, Natali is a New York State Police investigator, assigned to the New York State Intelligence Center.

Natali was commissioned into the Military Intelligence Corps in May 1987 after receiving a Reserve Officers Training Corps Commission at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont.

He served on active duty assignments that included command of Headquarters Company of the 110th Military Intelligence Battalion and Intelligence Collection Manager for the 10th Mountain Division Intelligence Section at Fort Drum, N.Y.

He also served as battalion intelligence officer for the 5th Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division in Mainz, Germany.

While serving with the 10th Mountain Division Natali deployed to Haiti supporting Operation Uphold Democracy, to Somalia in support of Operation Restore Hope and to South Florida as part of the military response to Hurricane Andrew.

Natali joined the New York Army National Guard in December 1996.

His National Guard assignments include Intelligence Officer of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Intelligence Officer for the 42nd Infantry Division Headquarters, Deputy Commander of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Commander of the 106th Regional Training Institute, and most recently Director for Intelligence and Security Joint Forces Headquarters-New York.

He deployed to Iraq with the 42nd Infantry Division as Deputy Intelligence Officer in 2005. He has also served as an Active Duty Guardsman as Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence for the 42nd Infantry Division and as the Commander of the New York National Guard Counter Drug Task Force.

He is a graduate of the Military Intelligence Officer Basic and Advance Courses, the Signals Intelligence Course, the Command and General Staff College as well as the Military Intelligence and Infantry Pre-Command Courses and the United States Army War College.

Natali holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Norwich University, a Masters in Public Administration from Marist College and a Masters of Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College.

His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, and the Army Parachutist badge.

Natali and his wife Barbara, who live in Halfmoon,  have three sons and two daughters.