Ceremony on Saturday Marks "Reflagging" of Utica's 107th Military Police Company

Historic National Guard company has a heritage stretching back to the War of 1812

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Soldiers of the 107th Military Police Company meet with Major General Patrick Murphy, the Adjutant General of New York, during their Guantanmo Bay deployment in 2011-2012.

UTICA, N.Y. (02/08/2013)(readMedia)-- Citizen Soldiers who now belong to the New York Army National Guard's 107th Military Police Company will be reassigned to the Latham-based 206th Military Police Company.

The "flag" of the 107th Military Police Company, which has been based at the New York State Armory here, will move to New York City.

The reorganization is designed to allow New York City-area residents who wish to serve in a Military Police unit to have that opportunity without driving long distances.

The Military Police Soldiers who currently train at the Utica Armory will continue to be based there as a detachment of the 206th Military Police Company.

The 107th Military Police Company traces its heritage back to the Utica Independent Infantry Company which was organized in 1808 and served at the military base at Sackets Harbor in 1813-1814 during the War of 1812.

The realignment will be recognized in a short ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 9, as the guidon of the 107th Military Police Company is retired in Utica. The 107th Military Police Company will now be based at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn.

Soldiers from the 206th Military Police Company will be bused to the Utica Armory for the event, which will also be a regular training day for the unit.

The 206th Military Police Company deployed to Iraq in 2009 and 2010 and many members of the 107th Military Police Company deployed with them. The soldiers trained Iraqi military police and also helped provide security during parliamentary elections.

In 2011-2012 the 107th Military Police Company deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to provide security at the detention camp there.

The 107th is just one of several New York Army National Guard units which have been reorganized in recent years. In 2006 the flag of the 101st Cavalry, which had been based at armories in Staten Island, Albany and Kingston was shifted to western New York, while the 1st Battalion 108th Infantry and 1st Battalion 105th Infantry were consolidated with the 2nd Battalion 108th Infantry. The New York National Guard has also formed new Military Police units in order to provide the Army with the kinds of elements needed for projected missions at home and abroad.

EDITORS NOTE: The ceremony marking the transition from command of the 107th Military Police Company to the 206th Military Police Company will occure at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9. Members of the media interested in covering the short ceremony in which the guidon of the 107th Military Police Company will be furled should contact 1st Sgt. Heather Rocheleau, 518-424-9388, for access to this secure military facility.

HISTORY OF THE 107TH MILITARY POLICE COMPANY

The 107th Military Police Company traces its history back to 1808 when the Utica Citizens Corps was created as a volunteer unit of the New York State Militia. In 1813 and 1814 the company was part of the garrison of Sackets Harbor, the major American naval base on Lake Ontario.

In 1837 the company was reorganized as the Utica Citizens Corps, an independent military company that was not part of the New York State Militia.

At the start of the Civil War the members of the Utica Citizens Corps volunteered to serve as Company A of the 14th New York Volunteer Infantry. The unit served in the Army of the Potomac and took part in the Seven Days Battle, the Battle of Antietam , and the Battle of Fredericksburg.

After the war the Utica Citizens Corps was reconstituted and in 1887 the members voted to become part of the New York National Guard and entered service as the 44th Separate Company.

During the Spanish American War in 1898 the company joined the 1st New York Volunteers and served in Hawaii as part of an American occupying force.

In 1905, the 44th Separate Company was re-designated as Company B, 1st New York Infantry. When the United States entered World Ward I the company was called into federal service and became Company B, 1st Pioneer Infantry –an engineer unit--where it participated in the Aisne-Marne, Oise-Aisne, and Meuse-Argonne Offensives.

In 1919 the Soldiers returned to Utica and in 1921 the company became Company L, 10th Infantry Regiment of the New York National Guard.

In 1940 the Utica Soldiers, along with the rest of the National Guard, was federalized as World War II raged in Europe and renamed Company L of the 106th Infantry Regiment of the 27th Division. The Soldiers fought in the Central Pacific Campaign at Eniwok Atoll and Saipain in 1944 and at the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.

In 1959 the company was transformed into a Military Police Company and in 1968 it was consolidated with the 107th Military Police Company. The unit served in Kuwait in 1991 in support of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.