NY National Guard Aviation Soldiers head for two-week command post exercise in Pennsylvania on Wed. Nov. 2

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42nd Combat Aviation Brigade set up their command post at Fort Indiantown Gap on Friday, October 21 in preparation for a Warfighter exercise in November.

LATHAM, NY (11/01/2016)(readMedia)-- Two hundred Soldiers of the New York Army National Guard's 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade will depart from New York National Guard headquarters here Wednesday morning for a major unit training exercise at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania.

The Soldiers will participate in a large-scale battle simulation exercise known to the troops as Warfighter.

Warfighter is a two-week command post exercise that uses computer simulations to test the ability of commanders and their staffs to fight a modern battle. Responding to complex computer-simulated events as if they were in a real-world operation, commanders engage enemy forces, and track movement of supplies and Soldiers on the battlefield.

A critical element of the exercise is the employment of dedicated observer coach/trainers, experienced military personnel and civilians that evaluate commander's actions and provide guidance based on their own experience and Army's standards.

"This Warfighter exercise is the culmination of months of training that have honed the skills of our Soldiers, said Col. Jack James, the brigade commander." This exercise is a critical element of efforts to build our readiness to perform in the demanding environment of a modern battlefield."

As an aviation headquarters, the troops of the 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade will focus on the employment of Army aviation on the battlefield during the two-week command and control exercise.

The 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade, a component of the Troy-based 42nd Infantry Division, provides command and control for Army Aviation units. The brigade is responsible for elements in 11 states.

Components of the 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade in New York include the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Assault Helicopter Battalion, based in Ronkonkoma and Latham, and the 642nd Aviation Support Battalion with elements in Ronkonkoma, Rochester, Dunkirk and Olean.

In 2004/2005 the 42nd was the first Army National Guard aviation brigade mobilized in support of the Global War on Terror. The brigade deployed with the 42nd Infantry Division to Tikrit, Iraq where it conducted combat missions in four Iraqi provinces with units from the Active Army, the California Army National Guard and the Army Reserve.

After returning from Iraq, the brigade coordinated aviation efforts in support of emergency responses to Mohawk and Hudson River flooding and Tropical Storms Irene and Lee in 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

In 2013/2014, the brigade again mobilized and deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, supporting operations in Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The brigade headquarters is based at the New York State Armory in Latham.