New York Army National Guard Captain Shawn Tabankin, a Rexford Resident, Invited to Inagural Ball

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Captain Shawn Tabankin

LATHAM, NY (01/17/2013)(readMedia)-- New York Army National Guard Captain Shawn Tabankin, a Rexford resident, will be one of four New York Army National Guard members attending one of President Barack Obama's two inaugural balls on Monday, Jan. 21.

Tabankin and his wife Jennifer will attend the Commander-in-Chief's Ball.

The Commander-in-Chief's Ball is one of two inaugural balls which the president sponsors. It is open to members of the military and their guests. President George W. Bush organized the first Commander-in-Chief's Ball in 2005 and President Obama has continued the tradition to honor Active Duty and Reserve service members.

He is one of 230 members of the Army and Air National Guard attending at the invitation of the president.

President and Mrs. Obama are expected to make an appearance at the ball and deployed troops in Afghanistan will be able to observe the festivities via video.

Tabankin, a full-time member of the Army National Guard and a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is the force integration officer for the New York Army National Guard.

He joined the U.S. Army in 1997 as a Private, serving as a Combat Medic in the 82nd Airborne Division. In 1999, the Green-to-Gold program selected CPT Tabankin for early separation from active duty in order to earn a commission through the ROTC. In 2002, CPT Tabankin was the Distinguished Military Graduate from Florida International University's ROTC program, choosing a commission from the New York Army National Guard so that he could attend New York Law School on a full-time basis.

In 2003, Tabankin took a leave of absence from law school in order to volunteer and deploy to Iraq with 1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 2-108th Infantry. Tabankin served as a Rifle Platoon Leader, conducting full spectrum, counter-insurgency operations for eleven months within the city of Al Zourr, Iraq, and spearheaded the southeastern assault upon the city of Samarra, Iraq during Operation Baton Rouge in October, 2004.

Upon return from Iraq in 2005, CPT Tabankin was assigned as the Executive Officer for Alpha Company, 1-69th Infantry. During this time, CPT Tabankin returned to law school, graduated, passed the bar and became an admitted attorney in the State of New York.

From 2007 until 2010, Tabankin commanded Charlie Company, 1-69th Infantry, the highlight of which was the company's three-week deployment to Thailand, participating in Operation Cobra Gold 2009 in order to train with

the Royal Thai Army and Royal Thai Marines.

From 2010 until 2013, Tabankin commanded Charlie Company, 2-108th Infantry, deploying in 2011 to Afghanistan in order to advise and assist the Afghan National Police ("ANP") Highway One Kandak in Regional Command West. In just six months, Charlie Company greatly increased the professionalism and proficiency of the ANP, successfully mentoring their Afghan counterparts to conduct intelligence-based raids against the Taliban with little to no NATO assistance.

Tabankin's awards include the Bronze Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Parachutist Badge, and the Air Assault Badge.

Tabankin and his wife, Jennifer, live in Rexford, NY with their two-old daughter, Addyson, and one-year old son, Ephren.