LATHAM, NY (07/13/2015)(readMedia)-- New York Army National Guard Lt. Col. Patrick G. Clare, a Clifton Park resident and Iraq War veteran, has been selected to command the 427th Brigade Support Battalion, which is headquartered at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse.
Clare will replace the current commander, Lt. Col. Scott Jessop, who will become the deputy commander of the 153rd Troop Command in Buffalo.
Clare will take command of the battalion in September.
The 427th Brigade Support Command handles the logistical support for the 4,000 Soldiers of the New York National Guard's 27th Infantry Brigade Combat team. The brigade is headquartered in Syracuse but has units located across New York from Farmingdale on Long Island to Jamestown in Chataqua County.
Clare is originally from Weedsport, where he still has family, and graduated from Jordan-Eldridge High School.
Clare joined the New York Army National Guard as an enlisted Soldiers in the 1st Battalion, 108th Infantry in Auburn in 1994. He earned his commission through the New York Army National Guard Officer Candidate School program in 2000.
Clare has served in leadership positions at the company, battalion and division level, and in a number of staff assignments.
He deployed to Iraq in 2004/2005 as the transportation officer for the 42nd Infantry Division in Tikrit. In 2011 in deployed to Kuwait as brigade logistics officer for the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. He has served as the executive officer for the 427th Brigade Support Battalion and as the logistics officer for the 42nd Infantry Division in Troy.
Clare is a full-time employ of the New York National Guard, serving as a civilian technician responsible for Army National Guard vehicle maintenance throughout New York. He will continue to work full-time in that position while serving as the traditional Guard Soldier commander of the 427th.
Clare holds a bachelor's of science from Nyack College and is a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College.
His awards include the Bronze Star, the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Campaign Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, and the Overseas Service Ribbon.
He and his wife Nichol have a son, Ryan, and a daughter, Michaela.