Boston Area Combat Vet To Lead 42nd Infantry (Rainbow) Division

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Brig. Gen. Steven N. Wickstrom, the incoming commander of the Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division

UPTON, MASS. (04/28/2009)(readMedia)-- Upton native and Iraq War veteran Brig. Gen. Steven Wickstrom takes command of the New York Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division, Sunday, in a change of command ceremony at Camp Smith, near Peekskill, N.Y.

Brigadier General Wickstrom will be available Thursday afternoon for news media interviews to discuss his career and vision for the Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry and the thousands of Citizen Soldiers in its organization.

WHO: Brigadier General Steven N. Wickstrom, incoming commander of the Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry (Rainbow) Division. Wickstrom has served in numerous leadership and staff positions in his 28-year career as an officer in the Army National Guard. He commanded the Massachusetts-based 26th Infantry Brigade and served in the Massachusetts Joint Forces Headquarters as the Strategic Plans and Joint Exercises Officer.He is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and previously served as the Deputy Commanding General of the 42nd Infantry Division.

WHAT: Wickstrom takes command on Sunday, May 3 of the Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division, based in Troy, N.Y. with Soldiers across New York State and associated units across five states.

WHEN: 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 30, 2009.

WHERE: Joint Force Headquarters, Mass. National Guard, 50 Maple Street, Milford, Mass. 01757

To arrange for a news media opportunity and gain access to this secure military facility, members of the media must contact Maj. James Sahady, Massachusetts Army National Guard Public Affairs Officer at 508-233-6562, james.sahady@us.army.mil or 508-958-3187 or Lt. Col. Richard Goldenberg, 42nd Infantry Division Public Affairs Officer at 518-727-7314, prior to close of business on Wednesday, April 29.

BACKGROUND:

Brigadier General Steven N. Wickstrom:

Brigadier General Steven N. Wickstrom received his commission as an infantry second lieutenant upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1981.

He has served primarily in infantry units in both the Active Army and the Army National Guard. Wickstrom has commanded at all levels to include an Anti-Tank Company, a Light Infantry Battalion and an Infantry Brigade. Before serving as the Deputy Commanding General of the 42nd Infantry Division, Wickstrom was deployed to Iraq as Team Leader of the Joint Center for Operational Analysis, United States Joint Forces Command at Camp Victory.

Prior to that, Brig. Gen. Wickstrom served as the Strategic Plans and Joint Exercise and Training Officer with the Joint Forces Headquarters, Massachusetts Army National Guard. He commanded the 26th Infantry Brigade, 29th Infantry Division (Light), the 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry, 29th Infantry Division (Light), and Company D, 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry, 26th "Yankee" Infantry Division (Light).

Wickstrom is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Infantry Officer Advanced Course, and the Command and General Staff College. He is an Army War College graduate and has a Masters of Science from Texas A&M University. General Wickstrom is also a graduate of the United States Army Airborne and Ranger schools.

His awards include the Meritorious Service Medal (with one Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster), Joint Services Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (with four Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters), Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Ranger Tab, Expert Infantryman Badge and Parachutist Badge.

Wickstrom resides in Upton, Mass. with his wife Collette and sons, Zach and Brock.

The 42nd Infantry (Rainbow) Division:

The 42nd Infantry, one of only eight combat divisions in the entire Army National Guard, provides leadership, training and resource oversight for the combat readiness and mobilization of eight Army National Guard brigades, including the 26th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade in Massachusetts, the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade in New York, the 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in New Jersey, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain) in Vermont, 197th Fires Brigade in New Hampshire and the 369th Sustainment Brigade, also in New York.

The 42nd Division headquarters deployed to Iraq in 2005 for Operation Iraqi Freedom and served in Cairo, Egypt in November, 2007 partnered with elements of the Egyptian army as the senior Army Forces headquarters during the joint, multinational Bright Star exercise in support of U.S. Army Central.

The Rainbow Division, as it is known in the Army for its unique shoulder sleeve insignia, is scheduled to deploy its headquarters element to Japan in December of this year for the Pacific Command's joint, multinational training exercise Yama Sakura alongside the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.