Annual Training Around the Corner

It seems to sneak up on us every year, well it’s that time again! Make sure your gear is packed and be sure that your orders and ID card are in hand when you arrive. If you have any problems or questions go through your COC. Orders have been distributed.
2008 ANNUAL TRAINING : JULY 13 – 19

BASIC INITIAL ENTRY TRAINING
ADVANCED NCO COURSE
OFFICER ORIENTATION COURSE
CERTIFICATION COURSES: SAR, COMMO, FEMA, HAZMAT

FULL NY GUARD FTX

If you have any question as to which course you are scheduled for, go through your COC.

“With our new missions, the state is counting on us. We have to show them a
show of force at Annual Training this year. MAXIMUM PARTICIPATION is
mandatory. I want to see ALL our soldiers training hard at
Camp Smith in July.” – MG Van Patten

Memorial Ceremony Held For Fallen Members of the 27th BCT

BACKGROUND:

Video of the ceremony is avaliable here

CAMP PHOENIX, KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A memorial ceremony was held today at Camp Phoenix in Kabul, for eight U.S. service members assigned to Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix (CJTF-P) who were killed last week as a result of combat operations in Afghanistan.

“These young men are Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the finest military tradition,” said Colonel Brian K. Balfe, the commander of CJTF-P to a formation comprised of nearly 300 U.S. and coalition service members and distinguished guests paying tribute to fallen warriors during a special ceremony held in the base’s Patriot Square.

“All volunteered for their own reasons. The Army, the Navy and the Marine Corps each lost true warriors. All served. All sacrificed,” said Col. Balfe.

Representatives of the Afghan National Army and the Camp Phoenix-based French and Romanian detachments also participated.

Many comrades of the fallen personnel from Camp Phoenix and other bases were present to pay tribute.

The following U.S personnel were commemorated in today’s event.

Sgt. Matthew E. Mendoza, 24, of San Antonio, Texas, died June 20 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Hospitalman Dustin Kelby Burnett, 19, of Fort Mohave, Ariz., was assigned to First Marine Division Detachment, Twentynine Palms, Calif. He died June 20 while conducting combat operations in Farah Province, Afghanistan.

Capt. Eric Daniel Terhune, 34, of Lexington, KY died June 19 while conducting combat operations in Farah Province, Afghanistan. They were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Lance Cpl. Andrew Francis Whitacre, 21, of Bryant, Ind. died June 19 while conducting combat operations in Farah Province, Afghanistan. They were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.

The following U.S. Army personnel died June 21 in Kandahar City, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device and small arms fire.

Lt. Col. James J. Walton, 41, of Rockville, Md., who was assigned to a Military Transition Team, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan

Spc. Anthony L. Mangano, 36, of Greenlawn, N.Y., who was assigned to 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry (Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition), New York Army National Guard, Geneva, N.Y.

Sgt. Nelson D. Rodriguez Ramirez, 22, of Revere, Mass., who was assigned to 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry (Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition), New York Army National Guard, Geneva, N.Y.

Sgt. Andrew Seabrooks, 36, of Queens, N.Y., who was assigned to 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry (Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition), New York Army National Guard, Geneva, N.Y.

*NEW* NY Times Article Published May 27, 2007

This was an interesting article, and while they forgot to mention in the NY Times that New York has a State Guard, it was still an article worth sharing.

New York Times Article:

Over Here

by LAWRENCE J. KORB

Published: May 27, 2007

THE National Guard cannot perform both its domestic and overseas missions at the same time, as the recent debate over whether Kansas possessed sufficient National Guard troops and equipment to respond to the tornado that leveled Greensburg has highlighted. To put it bluntly, the members of the Guard cannot protect us here if they are fighting over there.

As this nation conducts what the administration refers to as the global war on terrorism, the stress on the Guard will not change. When the all-volunteer military was created, the National Guard was intended to act as a strategic reserve. It was meant to serve as a bridge to conscription should a protracted conflict occur.

But because there is no likelihood that an actual draft will be reinstated, the Guard is now being used as an operational reserve, alternating deployments with the active force. Even in the event of a withdrawal from Iraq, our ground forces are likely to be called upon to help stabilize other areas of the world. Such potential situations might include a collapse of the government in Pakistan or Saudi Arabia.

Because the National Guard will continue to be needed overseas, President Bush and the governors should establish in each state an adequately trained, nondeployable Home Guard. These units, consisting of volunteers who possess skills that are central to responding to catastrophic disasters, would supplement the National Guards responsibility for homeland defense.

The volunteers would include doctors, nurses, construction workers, firefighters, police officers, communications experts, city planners, engineers and social workers, among others. To enable states to train and equip these units adequately, the president should ask the Congress to increase the budget of the Department of Homeland Security by at least $10 billion, the cost of one months operations in Iraq.

President Bush has embraced this idea, at least rhetorically. In his 2002 State of the Union address, his first after 9/11, he called on all Americans to serve their country for the equivalent of two years over their lifetimes in a . Five years later, President Bush suggested establishing a civilian reserve corps that would function like our military reserve. But he has not followed up on either proposal.

Fortunately, in the absence of action from the federal government, 23 states and Puerto Rico have established state military organizations over the years. These state reserves, which are called by different names in every state, are in essence Home Guards. They consist of several thousand volunteer citizen-soldiers who can be called to active duty by their respective governors.

The units in Virginia and California have been particularly active. During 2006, the Virginia Defense Force performed eight homeland-security measures, including crowd control and catastrophic disaster response planning, and provided almost 69,000 volunteer hours to the state. Members of the California State Military Reserve were mobilized to conduct emergency building damage assessments in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Regrettably, the units in these states are the exception rather than the rule.

These volunteers are not paid for their training or field exercises, but they are paid the salaries of soldiers when they are called to duty. Many of these volunteers have previously served in the military.

They are normally under the command of the states adjutant general, who also commands the National Guard. If adequately financed and trained, these state reservists can fill in for National Guard units when they are mobilized away from their home states.

Four National Guard brigades, ones that have already been deployed in the past three years, will be sent to Iraq within the next couple of months to support the surge. Since the attacks of 9/11, about 80 percent of the Army National Guards 350,000 people have been mobilized and deployed overseas, some of them more than once.

At its peak deployment in 2005, Army National Guard combat brigades from 14 states were in Iraq or Afghanistan. Before leaving his post as Army chief of staff last month, Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker noted that the Army cannot support the occupation in Iraq without relying on the Guard.

Not only are these deployments taking the people of the Guard away from the states, they are also removing the Guards equipment. The harsh environments of Iraq and Afghanistan cause equipment to burn up at high rates. As a result, Guard units sent to Iraq must leave their tanks, trucks and Humvees behind when they return home, to ensure that newly deployed troops are fully equipped.

When Hurricane Katrina struck in the summer of 2005, the combat brigades of Louisiana and Mississippi and their equipment were in Iraq and Afghanistan. Before the administration could scramble Guard units from other states and active duty soldiers into the Gulf region, countless lives were lost.

Participation in a volunteer Home Guard would make many more Americans feel they are part of this long war. And the cost of one months operations in Iraq is a small price to pay for protecting the homeland from a natural calamity like a Category 5 hurricane or a terrorist attack. To do less, as we are now, is to court disaster.

Lawrence J. Korb, an assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration, is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

Vic Olney Passes Away

Unfortunatly I have to announce the loss of another permanant fixture to the 9th.

Most of you knew Vic Olney as the Volunteer Manager of the Officers Club & the Owner of his Buisness Tara Hall.

Vic Olney was also a Veteran of the 69th Regiment, New York. He was married to his wife Barbara.

There are some of us who have known him for more than 50 years and some who never got the chance to know him at all. He dedicated so much time and energy into the Irish Brigade - The 69th Regiment. His death is going to hit the 69th Regiment hard, Vic was a permanant fixture in the 69th.

Our Hearts go out to his Wife, his family and his Military Family.
Our Hearts go out to all of you who knew and loved him, and have lost a friend

His death however, is a great loss to us all.

We do not have any details yet on funeral arrangements. Information will be posted once it is recieved.

Upcoming Training

Drill is the 1st and the 3rd Tuesday of each Month - Be there NLT 1900
1. For planning purposes, the TY 07 Schools Schedule remains as follows:

A. Winter School Week, 21-27 Jan 07, at CSTS

1) Initial Enlisted Training (IET) Class 07-1
2) Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course (BNCOC) Class 07-1.

B. Company Grade Officer Course (CGOC) Class 07-1, Mar - May 07 drill weekends & Field Grade Officer Course (FGOC) Class 07-1, Mar - May 07 drill weekends.

Former Female Member of the 9th Regiment Awarded the Bronze Star in Iraq.

wh_10.jpgIt isn’t uncommon for someone to join the New York Guard and then afterwards enlist in the National Guard or the Army Reserve. Every once in a while however, you get a shining star. The Ninth Regiment was honored to have her for a while and then she left us for the ROTC program where she became a 2LT in the Army (active). After serving in Korea and being promoted to 1LT She had been sent to Iraq to lead a transportation company. She recently rotated home and was just awarded the Bronze Star for Bravery in Combat.

We are glad that she is safe, and we are very proud of her.

Guard Times Features NYG SAR Mission

nyg-sar-team-actionthumb-copy.jpgThe July-August 2006 issue of the Guard Times features an article about a recent mission New York Search and Rescue Personnel from the 10th, 65th, 56th and 88th Brigades were deployed for a search in the Moose River Plains, One of the largest unpopulated areas of the Adirondack Park. The subject was a 45 year old male photographer who had gone camping to photograph nature and had gone missing on the trip.

The insertion area was more than 25 miles from any paved road. The mission lasted 11 days.

To read the article Click Here

Brigade Holiday Party Fun for All!

holiday partyOn December 9th 2006 the 88th Brigade held it’s annual Holiday Party at the 69th Regiment Armory, home of the 1st Battalion 9th Regiment.

The evening was full of activity. We were joined by LTC. Crosby Commander of the Fighting 69th, he was presented with a gift of an old photo of the 69th. Brigadier General Algar was presented with a gift in congratulations for his promotion and 2LT Passarotti was presented with Col. Whalen’s 9th Regiments Crossed Rifles and Pinned him as Commander of the 9th Regiment. Awards were handed out to many soldiers and then dinner. After dinner the dancing began. The party was a success, fun was had by all.

Change of Command

johnblues-copy-1.jpgOrders are received for a new Commander for The 1st Battalion 9th Regiment.

2LT John L. Passarotti is named the new Commander. Read More about The Commander Here.

We welcome the new Commander and wish the former Commander well in his new position.