Decorated Iraq, Afghan Vet to Command of Historic NY Army National Guard Unit, the 'Fighting 69th'

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Lt. Col. Heintz meeting with Afghan villagers during his deployment in March 2008.

• New York Army National Guard Lt. Col. Vincent Heintz.

LATHAM, N.Y. (09/30/2013)(readMedia)-- The Adjutant General of the State of New York, Maj. Gen. Patrick Murphy, recently announced the selection of New York Army National Guard Lt. Col. Vincent Heintz to command of the historic 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry; known as the "Fighting 69th" in a change of command ceremony slated for October 19 at Fort Dix.

Heintz, a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, replaces Lt. Col. James Gonyo II as commander of the historic Army National Guard unit.

The change-of-command ceremony will be conducted at Sharp Field on Fort Dix, part of Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst during a unit training weekend.

Gonyo, who took command of the 1-69th in November, 2010 moves onto a new assignment as the Deputy Commander of the 369th Sustainment Brigade in Harlem.

In the change-of-command ceremony, the battalion's flag, or colors, are ceremonially transferred from the outgoing to the incoming commander, signifying to the unit's members that the leadership of the unit is in new hands. In this case the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Commander, Col. Joseph Biehler, will transfer the colors from Gonyo, the outgoing commander, to Heintz, the incoming one.

The 1-69th Infantry is headquartered in the historic Lexington Avenue Armory in New York City. The battalion's Company A is also based there, while Companies B and D at the Farmingdale Armed Forces Reserve Center and Company C at Camp Smith in Westchester County.

New York Army National Guard Lt. Col. Vincent G. Heintz enlisted in 1988, attended basic combat training as a Private First Class/Rifleman at the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Ga., and earned his officer commission as a second lieutenant in 1991. His military assignments include leadership and senior staff positions through the ranks, including rifle platoon leader; rifle company commander; infantry battalion operations officer; infantry battalion executive officer; combat advisor team chief; forward operating base executive officer; division operations officer; and deputy director of operations for a three-star combined, joint, interagency task force.

Heintz's wartime service commenced on the morning of September 11, 2001, where he assisted in the initial military response during the first hours of the rescue effort. By nightfall, his infantry company had deployed to the attack site itself where, for 13 days and nights, the unit worked with firefighters, police officers and other first-responders in the search for survivors.

In 2004, Heintz deployed his rifle company to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. The company conducted hundreds of raids, ambushes and reconnaissance patrols against Ba'athist insurgents, al Qaeda cells and Shi'ite militias supported by Iran. The company's intelligence operations produced evidence of mass murder by the Saddam Hussein regime committed decades earlier. The Iraqi Special Tribunal later credited the company's intelligence work as contributing directly to the conviction and execution of Saddam Hussein and other members of the Ba'athist regime in an Iraqi court in 2006 for crimes against humanity.

In 2008, Heintz led a combat advisor team of 16 officers and NCOs in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The team's counterinsurgency operations focused on protecting the Afghan people from al Qaeda, the Taliban, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and other destabilizing elements. The team served as embedded combat advisors to Afghan security forces in several contested districts in Konduz and Baghlan Provinces.

In 2012 and 2013, Heintz served as the chief of current operations, and later as deputy director of operations, in Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435 at Camp Phoenix, Kabul, Afghanistan. CJIATF 435, commanded by an Army lieutenant general, exercised responsibility for all aspects of detainee operations in Afghanistan, including the provision of secure and humane care, custody and control over U.S. detainees; mentoring Afghan forces in their own detainee operations; and supporting rule-of-law initiatives throughout Afghanistan.

Among other decorations, the Army awarded Lt. Col. Heintz the Bronze Star Medal for his combat leadership in Iraq in 2004, a second Bronze Star Medal for his combat leadership in Afghanistan in 2008, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal for his service in Afghanistan in 2012 and 2013, the New York State Defense of Liberty Medal with "World Trade Center" device, and the Combat Infantryman's Badge.

Heintz is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses; the Army Airborne School; the Army combat advisor course (Fort Riley, Kansas); the U.S. Air Force's Joint Firepower Course; the Reserve Officer Course at the NATO School (Oberammergau, Germany); and the Army's Command and General Staff College.

In civilian life, Heintz practices law. He served as a prosecutor for 13 years in New York City, focusing his work on the investigation and prosecution of organized crime, white-collar crime and terrorism financing. Following his service as a prosecutor, he worked for three years as in-house counsel at a global financial firm. He now works at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a non-profit organization created by Congress in 2002, where he investigates and litigates regulatory cases involving alleged violations of U.S. securities laws by auditors of publicly-traded corporations.

Heintz and his wife Kathryn have two children, Sarah, age 18, and Daniel, age 15, and live in Westchester County.

The 1st Battalion 69th Infantry traces its heritage back to 1851 when the Second Irish Regiment of the New York State Militia was organized. That regiment was combined with others to form the 69th Infantry Regiment, which became a part of the famous Civil War "Irish Brigade."

Reportedly the 69th got its nickname as the "Fighting 69th" from Confederate General Robert E. Lee during the Battle of Malvern Hill in 1862 in Virginia, when it forced the "Louisiana Tigers" Brigade to retreat. Ironically, the 69th fought in the same brigade as the Louisiana Tigers during its deployment to Iraq in 2004 and 2005 when the 69th was part of the brigade, now the 256th Infantry Brigade of the Louisiana Army National Guard.

In World War I the Army redesignated the 69th as the 165th Infantry and the regiment fought as part of the 42nd Infantry Division, the Rainbow Division, the second U.S. division to arrive in France. The author of the poem "Trees", Joyce Kilmer, was a scout in the 69th Infantry who was killed in action while serving in France.

In World War II the 69th was part of the New York National Guard's 27th Infantry Division and invaded the Islands of Makin and Saipan and fought on Okinawa.

In 2004 the battalion was mobilized for service in Operation Iraqi Freedom. As part of the 256th Brigade Combat Team the battalion secured "Route Irish", the road from Baghdad International Airport to downtown Baghdad. At one time this was termed the most dangerous road in Iraq and the 1-69th turned that around.