NY National Guard Command Sgt. Major Anthony McLean, a Middletown resident, unfurls unit colors in Kuwait

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Col. Stephen M. Bousquet, Commander of the 369th Sustainment Brigadeand Command Sgt. Maj. Anthony V. McLean ( right) uncase the brigade colors on Oct. 26 in Kuwait

LATHAM, NY (11/03/2016)(readMedia)-- New York Army National Guard Command Sgt. Major Anthony McLean, a Middletown resident, is serving as the senior enlisted Soldier for a National Guard unit which recently assumed responsibility for logistics missions in Kuwait and the surrounding region.

The 250 Soldiers of the 369th Sustainment Brigade took over the job of providing supply and maintenance and other support to U.S. forces in the Middle East from the Nevada Army National Guard's 17th Sustainment Brigade in a ceremony on Oct. 26 at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

The flag, or colors of the unit, which is headquartered in New York City's historic Harlem Armory, were uncased during the ceremony, signifying the transfer of authority.

The 369th will oversee sustainment operations in more than six countries throughout the Middle East. Operations will include providing both supplies and services to units throughout the U.S. Central Command area of operations.

The uncasing of the brigade's unit colors is significant, because according to McLean, the 369th's senior enlisted advisor, "The military is always about representing one's unit and one's colors. It gives identity to the unit, and for us, to me gives [an] identity to New York; showing up and actually saying 'we're here.'"

"It's symbolic of tradition. It's symbolic of what we represent as Soldiers, but more so as a country," McLean added.

As command sergeant major, McLean is the brigade commander's key advisor on matters concerning enlisted Soldier morale, discipline and training.

.According to Brig. Gen. Bruce E. Hackett, deputy commanding general of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command-Operational Command Post, "What sustainment brigades do on a day-to-day basis is vital to protect the U.S. national interests in the Middle East."

The 369th was originally organized as the 15th New York Infantry in 1916 in Harlem and was an African-American unit in the segregated Army of the time.

In 1917, as the United States entered World War I, the unit was mustered into federal service and assigned to the 185th Infantry Brigade. In 1918 the 15th Infantry was renamed the 369th Infantry and assigned to France's 161st Division.

The Soldiers served in combat under French command and earned a regimental Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) and many individual awards for heroism while serving under fire for 191 days in 1918. The unit's historic nickname, "The Hell Fighters," was reportedly bestowed on them by their German opponents.