27th Infantry Brigade Soldiers Depart US for Kuwait

Related Media

Members of the New York Army National Guard Base Defense Operations Center pose during a visit to the Mississippi National Guard Museum during their training. (Major Robert Romano)

CAMP SHELBY, MISS. (03/19/2012)(readMedia)-- More than three dozen New York Army National Guard Soldiers departed their training base for Kuwait on Saturday, March 17.

The Soldiers, assigned to the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team will staff a Base Defense Operations Cell or BDOC.

The BDOC mission will be to oversee other Soldiers and contractors providing force protection at bases in Kuwait -- an important job which will also involve other tasks, including emergency management, according to Lt. Col. Robert Bready, the officer-in-charge of BDOC.

A great many American service members, Defense Department employees and contractors live and work at Kuwait bases, he said.

Composed mostly of senior Soldiers and officers from the Brigade's Syracuse-based Headquarters and Headquarters Company; the BDOC also includes troops from the brigade's 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry headquartered in Utica and 27th Brigade Special Troops Battalion in Buffalo, along with the New York Army National Guard's 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade, which is headquartered in Latham, and the 1st Battalion 69th Infantry from New York City.

The Soldiers were chosen for their battle command staff experience.

Almost 1,800 New York Army National Guard Soldiers from the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team mobilized for Active Duty in January and reported to Camp Shelby for post-mobilization training.

Some Soldiers, mainly from the 2nd Battalion 108th Infantry, will deploy to Afghanistan later this spring. Others will deploy for missions in Kuwait and Bahrain.