Explosive Ordnance Disposal Soldiers depart for Middle East Deployment from Glenville on June 10.

GLENVILLE, NY (06/08/2021) (readMedia)-- Twenty-three New York Army National Guard Soldiers will depart the Glenville Armed Forces Reserve Center for a deployment to Kuwait on the morning of June 10, 2021.

Members of the press are invited to cover the deployment ceremony which will begin at 9:30 a.m. on the lawn in front of the facility.

WHO: Members of the 501st Ordnance Battalion are trained to provide mission command, and supervision of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) operations and functions to include administration and logistical support of assigned units.

WHAT: A deployment ceremony at the unit training site before they board UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters to carry them to Fort Indiantown Gap for additional training at Fort Indiantown Gap near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Soldiers will train there for two weeks before heading for Fort Bliss Texas for an additional month of pre mobilization training.

WHEN: 9:30 a.m., Thursday, June 10, 2021

WHERE: Glenville Armed Forces Reserve Center, 251 Rudy Chase Drive, Glenville New York, 12302.

COVERAGE OPPORTUNITIES:

Media members will be able to capture still imagery of the ceremony and speak briefly with New York National Guard leaders, Soldiers and their families.

Members of the press MUST contact Division of Military and Naval Affairs Public Affairs no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday June 9 for access to this secure military facility. Call 518-786-4581. ID and press pass is required for access.

BACK GROUND:

501st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Battalion:

Based at the Glenville Armed Forces Reserve Center the 501st Ordnance Battalion is a headquarters unit which is able to take control of two to five explosive ordnance disposal companies in a combat zone.

The 501st also serves as the higher headquarters for the New York Army National Guard's 1108th Ordnance Company (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), also based at the Glenvile Armed Forces Reserve Center as well as the 1427th Transportation Company and 466th Area Medical Company based at the Queensbury Armory.

The 501st is also aligned for training with the 430th Ordnance Company (EOD) in Greenville, North Carolina, the 387th Ordnance Company (EOD) in Camp Edward, Massachusetts, the 753rd Ordnance Company (EOD) in Camp Dawson, West Virginia, and the 745th Ordnance Company (EOD) in Camp Grayling, Michigan.

This will be the third deployment for the battalion headquarters since it was organized. Battalion Soldiers deployed to Iraq in the fall of 2010, serving there for nine months. During the battalion's deployment in Iraq the unit was responsible for counter-IED operations in nine provinces of southern Iraq, a region of about 81,000-square miles.

In 2018, 19 Soldiers from the battalion deployed to Afghanistan. They served as the command headquarters for American and coalition explosive ordnance disposal experts operating throughout the country.

In this most recent deployment the battalion will oversee explosive ordnance disposal missions throughout the Central Command area of responsibility as part of Task Force Spartan, the U.S. Army force in the region.

The 501st traces its roots back to the New York National Guard's historic 105th Infantry Regiment. The regiment fought in World War I and World War II before converting to an EOD battalion in 2005.