New York Army Guard Aviation Battalion Changes commander on Saturday, Oct. 17

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Soldiers from the 3-142nd Assault Helicopter Battalion conduct annual door gunnery training in April 2012 at Fort AP Hill, Va.

CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE, NY (10/16/2015)(readMedia)-- Lt. Col. Kevin Ferreira, an Iraq War veteran and New York Army National Guard Aviation Officer will take command of the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Assault Helicopter Regiment, a UH-60 Blackhawk battalion, from Lt. Col. Jeffrey Baker here on Saturday. October 17.

The battalion has elements at McArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma and Albany International Airport.

WHO: Lt. Col. Kevin Ferreira, the incoming commander; Lt. Col. Jeffrey Baker, the outgoing commander, and the men and women of the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Assault Helicopter Regiment.

WHAT: Traditional change-of-command ceremony in which Lt. Col. Baker will hand the battalion flag, commonly called the colors, to Lt. Col. Ferreira to mark the transition from one commander to another.

WHEN: 11 a.m. Saturday, October 17, 2015

WHERE: Main Parade Field, Camp Smith, New York State Training Site in the Town of Cortlandt Manor located near the intersection of routes 202 and 9.

Coverage Opportunities:

Interviews with Lt. Col. Ferreira, and Lt. Col. Baker about the missions of the battalion and its role in supporting troops in combat. Visual opportunities will include the passing of the battalion colors and imagery of the troops in massed formation.

For access to this military facility, reporters must contact Capt. Charles Ackley, battalion personnel officer at 585-435-1437.

BACKGROUND:

The Change of Command:

The Change of Command Ceremony dates back to the days in which a military unit's flag marked its position in the line of battle. The colors were always near the commander, so troops knew where to rally on the battlefield. Today the transfer of the colors marks a change in the unit and givens the soldiers their first opportunity to see and hear their new leader.

The change of command ceremony recognizes the accomplishments of the outgoing commander and the Soldiers who served under him. In addition, the ceremony identifies the new commander to the Soldiers, so they can follow him on the field of battle.

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Baker:

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Baker, a Rotterdam resident, is a pharmacist in civilian life working for Price Chopper, and a veteran of the Iraq War. He took command of the 3rd Battalion 142nd Aviation, an Assault Helicopter Battalion, in September 2012.

Baker has served in the New York Army National Guard since 1990 as a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter platoon leader, company commander, battalion staff officer and battalion executive officer. He served in Iraq with the 3rd Battalion 142nd Aviation in 2008 and 2009 as a staff officer and pilot in command, flying more than 200 hours in a combat environment.

Baker also deployed with the battalion to Bosnia in 2002 where he served as flight detachment commander supporting the Commander of the Stabilization Force (SFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Baker has also led Soldiers during deployments to Iceland, Nicaragua the Army's Joint Readiness Training Center, and in two missions to Honduras. He has also flown missions to provide relief support following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and after Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, as well as during the 1998 Ice Storm in northern New York.

A native of Harrisville, New York, Baker holds a degree from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, where he received his commission through ROTC in 1990. He also holds a degree from the Albany College of Pharmacy.

His awards include the Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal with device, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, NATO Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbons with device, Senior Army Aviator Badge, Armed Forces Reserve Medals with M device, Global War on Terrorism Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, New York Long and Faithful Service Award, the New York State Operation Iraqi Freedom Ribbon and the New York Exercise Support Ribbon. He also holds a Senior Army Aviator Badge.

Baker and his wife Lisa live in Rotterdam with their 2 children Noah and Gabrielle.

Lt. Col. Kevin Ferreira:

New York Army National Guard Lt. Col. Kevin J. Ferreira is a native of Youngstown, New York and was commissioned into the Field Artillery in May 1994 as an ROTC Scholarship graduate from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

He initially served as a Field Artillery officer on active duty with Battery C, 4-11 Field Artillery at Fort Richardson Alaska.

He left active duty in 1997 and joined the Alaska Army National Guard as Executive Officer for 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, and completed initial entry rotary wing training in December 1997 at Fort Rucker, Alabama with a branch transfer from Field Artillery to Aviation. Returning to Alaska, he served as the Army Aviation Facility commander in Bethel, Alaska until transferring to New York in March 2001.

Ferreira served in Latham as the operations officer for Army Aviation Support Facility #3 and as the lead planner for a four-month New Horizons mission to Nicaragua in 2001. In 2002 he took command of Company A, 3-142 Assault Helicopter Company for deployment in support of SFOR 12 to Bosnia Herzegovina.

He relinquished command in 2005 and subsequently held positions as the battalion logistics officer and operations officer through deployments in 2008-10 to Baghdad and Al Kut, Iraq. After deployment, Ferreira became the operations officer then executive officer for the 42d Combat Aviation Brigade where he deployed again in support of OEF-Kuwait.

While deployed to Kuwait he assumed command of the 3-238th General Support Aviation Battalion, consisting of units from six different states, providing utility and fixed wing aircraft support and air traffic control support across the Middle East, leading a 150 person Task Force for a multinational training partnership in Saudi Arabia in addition to building multinational partnerships in Kuwait and Jordan.

He continues to serve the New York National Guard as a Federal Technician as Aviation Support Facility Commander in Latham.

Ferreira is a graduate of the Field Artillery and Aviation Officer Basic Course, Aviation Captains Career Course, Command and General Staff College, and Advanced Operations course. He holds a Bachelor's of Science in Wildlife management. He holds the Army Parachute Badge, Master Aviator Wings and is a UH 60 Instructor Pilot. He has over 2,600 total flight hours and is qualified in the OH 58A/C, TH-67 and UH-60.

His decorations include the bronze star, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster, NATO Medal, Overseas Service ribbon with device and numerous other decorations.

He is married to his wife Skeeter and they have a son Blake and two daughters Shea and Elcie.

3rd Battalion, 142nd Assault Helicopter Regiment:

The 3-142 Assault Helicopter Battalion traces its heritage back to 1947 with the formation of a fixed wing aviation detachment of L-19 Bird Dogs assigned to Miller Field in Staten Island, New York. Ultimately, this section of aircraft along with other aircraft from II Corps and the 101st Armored Cavalry Regiment formed the 42nd Aviation Company at Huntington Station, New York in 1959.

In 1963, the units were again reorganized as the 42nd Aviation Battalion at Freeport, New York. By this time, the unit was equipped with O-1A Bird Dogs and U-6 Beavers. Over the next decade, the 42nd Aviation Battalion would grow, having letter companies assigned across New York and Massachusetts.

In 1968, the battalion received the OH-13 Sioux and OH-23 Raven helicopters and three years later, Alpha Company, located in Niagara Falls, New York picked up the first UH-1 "Hueys" as did Bravo Company based in Massachusetts. Although these companies were predominantly lift units with "D" and "H" models, they were supplemented with attack platoons of "C" and "M" model gunship versions.

Over the next several years and through several additional re-organizations, the 42nd Aviation Battalion, in 1985, had over 1000 personnel and 125 aircraft that included the AH-1 Cobra, OH-6 Cayuse, and UH-1 Iroquois. All division aviation assets were now under the control of the battalion commander.

In October 1986 the 42nd Aviation Battalion (Combat) was re-designated as the Aviation Brigade, 42nd Infantry Division, with assets scattered throughout New York State: 1-142nd Avn Regt (Attack) in Latham, 2-142nd Avn Regt (Assault) in Niagara Falls, and C & D/101 Cavalry on Long Island. Further restructuring in 1995 led to the deactivation of the Niagara Falls unit and 1-142nd moving to Rochester. This unit received "F" model Cobras and began their transition to the attack mission.

The now flagless Latham unit was re-designated as the 3-142nd Avn Regt (Assault) and began receiving the first UH-60 Blackhawks of the state.

Following this transition to the new airframe, 3-142nd began a series of deployments and state active duty missions including the New York State prison guard strike in 1979, several New Horizons assistance deployments to Honduras (1998 - 2006), World Trade Center 9/11 assistance in 2001-2002, a mobilization and deployment to Bosnia (2002-03), assistance to New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina (2005), guarding the New York City bridges, tunnels, rail stations, airports (2006) and border patrol along the US Mexican border (2006). Likewise, in 2006, the battalion moved its headquarters from Latham and the state capital region to Ronkonkoma at Macarthur / Islip airport on Long Island.

In May 2007, following yet another reorganization in which the battalion was re-configured to its current make-up as an Assault Helicopter Battalion under LTC Al Ricci, the unit mobilized to deploy to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. For this mission the battalion picked up a helicopter company from the Missouri Army National Guard.

During it's year in Iraq, from August 2008 to the spring of 2009, the 3-142nd deployed to southern Iraq, took control of an AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopter Company, and provided aviation support throughout the region as the headquarters of Task Force Jester, supporting the 10th Mountain Division. The unit's aircrews logged 15,000 hours of flying time, conducted 1,645 general support missions, moved 47,745 passengers and transported 500 tons of cargo during the 3-142nds 10 months in Iraq.

Aircrews from Company A, 3-142nd also deployed in 2013 to Kuwait as part of an aviation task force under the command of the 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade. The company supported aviation training and readiness of multinational forces in and near Kuwait as part of a task force with more than 1,200 Soldiers and a total of 44 aircraft.

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