Camp Smith-based training unit gets a new commander on Sunday, Sept. 8

CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE, CORTLANDT, NEW YORK (09/06/2024) (readMedia)-- The Camp Smith Training Site unit responsible for training New York Army National Guard Soldiers will get a new commander during a Sunday morning, Sept. 8 ceremony.

Col. William Murphy, a resident of Ballston Spa, will take over command of the 106th Regional Training Institute from Col. Jeffery Csoka, a Greenwich, Connecticut resident, who has commanded the unit since 2021.

Members of the press are invited to cover the change of command ceremony.

WHO: Col. William Murphy, the incoming commander; Col. Jeffery Csoka, the outgoing commander; Major General Michel Natali, the assistant adjutant general, Army for the New York National Guard who will serve as the presiding officer; and the men and women of the 106th Regional Training Institute.

WHAT: Traditional change of command ceremony during which the flag, or colors, of the 106th will be transferred from Csoka to Natali, and the from Natali to Murphy. This ceremony symbolizes the transfer for authority for the unit from the old commander to the new one.

Traditionally the unit flag indicated where the commander was on the battlefield. The transfer of the colors from one commander to another allowed the Soldiers to see who they would follow into combat.

WHEN: 0930 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. The ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. but reporters should be there early to be able to cover the event.

WHERE: Camp Smith Training Site, 11 Bear Mountain Bridge Road, Cortlandt, New York

Coverage Opportunities:

Interviews with the incoming and outgoing commanders, and video and still imagery of the ceremony and troops in formation.

For access to this secure military facility contact Major Michael Clifford at 914-945-7367 or email: michael.j.clifford30.mil@army.mil.

BACKGROUND:

Col. William Murphy:

Col. William Murphy began his military career in 1998 when he enlisted in the Army Reserve as a Military Police officer. After graduating from the University of Connecticut in 2002 he was commissioned as an Infantry officer and served on Active Duty.

Murphy is a veteran of the Iraq War, deploying there in 2003/2004 and in 2005/2006 while on Active duty.

In 2022-23 he led the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine in Grafenwohr, Germany, training members of the Ukrainian military. He also deployed to Ukraine in 2017-18 with that training team.

His assignments include Company commander in the 1st Battalion, 106th Regional Training institute, commander of the 2ns Squadron, 101st Cavalry, deputy commander of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, operations officer for the 42nd Infantry Division, and Commander of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine

His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Valorous Unit Award, the Superior Unit Award, the Iraq Campaign Medal with 2 Campaign Stars, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Ranger Tab, Combat Infantry Badge, and Parachutist Badge.

His civilian education includes a Master of Business Administration, and Master of Arts in International Relations and Homeland Security. He is graduate of the Naval War College and is currently a doctoral candidate at Salve Regina University.

In his full time compacity, Murphy is the Commander of the New York National Guard Counterdrug Task Force.

Col. Jeffery Csoka:

COL Jeff Csoka is a 1997 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and spent 10 years on active duty before joining the New York Army National Guard, in 2009. He is a veteran of the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan and deployed to both Bosnia and Kuwait.

He has served in a number of key positions to include company commander, battalion operations officer, and commander of the New York Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry.

He served as the operations officer for the Troy-based 42nd Infantry Division during a deployment to Kuwait in 2020 to command Task Force Spartan, the Army's 10,000- Soldier force in the Middle East.

He took command of the 106th Regional Training Institute in 2021.

His awards include the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the NATO Medal, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Expert Infantryman's Badge, the Air Assault Badge, the Basic Parachutists Badge and the Ranger Tab.

He is a graduate of the Army War College.

In civilian life he is Director of Construction & Facilities Sourcing for Columbia University and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Affairs at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

The 106th Regional Training Institute

The 106th Regional Training Institute, which is responsible for teaching advanced skills to members of the National Guard, traces its history back to the Brooklyn-based City Guard Reserve, which was mustered into State Service as the 23rd New York State Militia, on January 6, 1862.

The regiment participated in the Gettysburg Campaign in 1863 and then was sent back to New York City to help quell the anti-draft riots which broke out.

In July 1916, the 23rd joined a large force sent to the Mexican border to prevent incursions by forces fighting in that country's civil war. They returned in January 1917, only to be mustered into Federal service, a few months later, to fight in the First World War.

Initially guarding public property like the Croton Aqueduct, the regiment was then sent to Camp Wadsworth, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, to prepare for deployment overseas.

Re-designated as the 106th Infantry Regiment, the unit joined the 105th, 107th and 108th Infantries of New York's Own 27th Division. The 106th took part in the 1918 battles of Flanders, Ypres-Lys and in the Somme Offensive, being the first American regiment to fight in Belgium. After the war, the regiment reverted to State service.

In September 1940, the 106th Regiment was disbanded; its 1st Battalion became the 186th Field Artillery Regiment and the 2nd the 101st Military Police Battalion. The 106th Infantry that fought in World War II, as part of the 27th Infantry Division, was a new organization raised in central New York State. Inducted into Federal service January 7, 1941, the 186th trained at Madison Barracks, Sackets Harbor, New York.

This regiment was re-organized, in 1942, as the 771st Tank Destroyer Battalion, 953rd Field Artillery Battalion and the 186th Field Artillery Battalion. Participating in the 1943 summer maneuvers, the 953rd then went to Fort Dix and finally Camp Kilmer, New Jersey for embarkation overseas.

Both the 186th and 953rd landed at Omaha Beach and fought their way through France and into Germany.

The 101st Military Police Battalion served in Italy, but they also sent cadre to form the 813th and 814th Military Police Companies. Those two units were sent to the South Pacific, at the request of General Douglas McArthur.

They were the first American troops to reach Australia. With troops serving all over the world, the 101st was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. All these organizations were disbanded at the end of the war.

In 1946, the 106th Infantry was re-activated, in Brooklyn, as a Regimental Combat Team, in the 42nd Infantry Division.

Effective 12 March 2003, the National Guard Bureau authorized the organization of the 106th Regiment, RTI (Regional Training Institute).

The Regiment currently provides the Force with commissioned officers through the Officer Candidate School (OCS), Infantry Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) qualification training, Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) operator qualification and Medic re-certification.

In 2008, the 106th Regiment (RTI) deployed forward in support of Operation Enduring Freedom to Kabul, Afghanistan. The unit, also known as the Training Assistance Group, provided mentors from all the sections and assisted their Afghan counterparts in learning to run day-to-day operations in the Basic Training, NCOES, OCS and Military Police training programs to the Afghan National Army Training Command and Kabul Military Training Center.