Lt. Col. Shawn Hatch, a Highland Falls resident, to take command of New York National Guard Battalion

Iraq War veteran will lead the 642nd Aviation Support Battalion which is headquartered in Rochester

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Lt. Col. Shawn Hatch

LATHAM, NY (10/19/2018) (readMedia)-- New York National Guard Lt. Col. Shawn Hatch, a Highland Falls resident and a veteran of the Iraq War, will take command of the 642nd Aviation Support Battalion during a ceremony at Camp Smith Training Site near Peekskill on Saturday, Oct. 20.

The 642nd Aviation Support Battalion is headquartered in Rochester and has elements in Ronkonkoma on Long Island and in Dunkirk and Olean as well.

The battalion provides logistical and maintenance support to Army helicopter units.

Hatch replaces Lt. Col. Todd Bookless, a Greenwich, Connecticut resident who has commanded the battalion since 2016.

Hatch, a native of Manassas, Virginia, was commissioned in 1999 after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy. He joined the Army and trained as a OH-58 Kiowa helicopter pilot.

He served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) during the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. He served again in Iraq from 2006 to 2007 and in 2011 he left the active Army and joined the New York Army National Guard.

He deployed to Kuwait in 2013-2014 as the commander of B Company of the 642nd Aviation Support Battalion. He has since served at the headquarters of the New York Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division in Troy.

His awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Bronze Star, the National Defense Service Ribbon , the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Air Medal,the Army Aviator Badge, the Combat Action Badge,the Parachutist Badge and the Air Assault Badge.

He is married to the former Marie Lou Roush of Steilacoom, WA. They have four children, Abigail (15), Caleb (13), Miriam (11), and Noah (10).