New York National Guard Stability Transition Team Deploys to Afghanistan

Senior Soldiers and Sergeants Will Advise Afghan Army and Police

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Members of the New York Stability Transition Team pose with Major General Steven Wickstrom, commander of the 42nd Infantry Division, prior to deploying to Afghanistan on Wed. Feb. 29.

LATHAM, NY (03/01/2012)(readMedia)-- Forty-five New York Army National Guard Soldiers left Camp Shelby, Mississippi en route to their deployment locations in Afghanistan on Wednesday, Feb. 29.

The men, all senior officers and non-commissioned officers, are assigned to the New York National Guard Stability Transition Team. Their mission in Afghanistan will be to advise and help train elements of the Afghan National Army and Police.

The team mobilized for federal active duty on Jan. 15 at Camp Smith Training Site near Peekskill and has been training at Camp Shelby to prepare for their deployment.

The members of the unit were selected based on their military and civilian skills and experience and come from New York Army National Guard units in the Capital Region and New York City, as well as Western New York. More than half of the Stability Transition Team members have previously deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

The team flew out of Gulfport- Biloxi International Airport. Major General Steven Wickstrom, the commander of the Troy-based 42nd Infantry Division, flew to the airport on Wednesday, along with other Senior New York Army National Guard leaders, to bid the team goodbye before they left.

Their deployment in Afghanistan will last approximately nine months and the Soldiers will be operating from a number of locations in the south of Afghanistan.