Troy-Base Army National Guard Division Promotes New General on Saturday

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Col. Gary Yaple

TROY, NY (11/14/2014)(readMedia)-- New York Army National Guard Colonel Gary Yaple, Deputy Commander of the 42nd Infantry Division, receives his promotion to brigadier general in front of the Soldiers and staff of the division headquarters in Troy this Saturday, November 15.

Originally a Newfield, N.Y., native where family still reside, Yaple serves as the division deputy commander with responsibility for support and logistics. He previously served as the division chief of staff from 2009-2012.

The division headquarters includes more than 500 Soldiers and support staff that make up the 42nd Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion.

WHO: Maj. Gen. Harry Miller, commander of the 42nd Infantry Division, presents the one-star rank of brigadier general to Deputy Division Commander Gary Yaple.

WHAT: General officer promotion ceremony in front of the troops.

WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 15 at 3 p.m.

WHERE: New York State Armory, 137 Glenmore Road, Troy N.Y. 12180

BACKGROUND:

Col. Gary Yaple

.Originally a Newfield, N.Y., native where his family still resides, Yaple serves as the division deputy commander with responsibility for support and logistics. He previously served as the division chief of staff from 2009-2012.

In his civilian capacity, Yaple, who resides in Baldwinsville, New York, is the Executive Director of Clear Path for Veterans, in Chittenango, New York.

Yaple began his military career as a New York Army National Guard Soldier in the 1st Battalion, 108th Infantry in 1985. He earned his Infantry Officer commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps from the State University of New York at Cortland in 1987.

Yaple served in numerous company, battalion and Joint Force Headquarters leadership and staff assignments, including serving concurrently on active duty from June 1992 to October 2001 as the Central-Region Commander of the New York National Guard Counterdrug Program. He was assigned in May 2002 as Executive Officer for The Adjutant General. Yaple transferred back to the 27th Infantry Brigade in December 2003 as the Executive Officer serving in this assignment until June of 2006.

He was subsequently selected as the Deputy Brigade Commander and promoted to colonel in March 2007. In 2008, he deployed to Afghanistan with the 27th Infantry Brigade where he served as Deputy Commander for Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix, headquartered in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Upon redeployment he was assigned as the Chief of Staff, 42nd Infantry Division in May 2009 and served in that position for three years, concluding his active duty assignments and returning to a traditional National Guard status in July 2012 as Chief of the Joint Staff for the New York National Guard and then Deputy Division Commander for the 42nd Infantry Division Headquarters in Troy, New York in September 2013.

Yaple is a graduate of the United States Army Airborne School, Infantry Officers Basic Course, Armor Officer Advanced Course, Combined Arms and Service Staff School, The United States Army Command and General Staff College and the United States Army War College.

He earned his Master's in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College and a Bachelor Degree in Economics and Management Science from the State University of New York at Cortland.

His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal; Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters; Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster; Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters; Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal; National Defense Service Medal; the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with campaign star; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Armed Forces Reserve Medal; Army Service Ribbon; Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon; The NATO Medal; the Combat Infantryman's Badge; and the Army Parachutist Badge.

The 42nd Infantry Division

The 42nd Infantry Division, with headquarters in Troy, N.Y., has 20,000 Soldiers assigned to elements in New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New Hampshire.

The 42nd Infantry Division first organized in World War I from National Guard units from around the country. The division's first chief-of-staff, then Col. Douglas MacArthur, said the division would stretch across the United States "like a rainbow" and the nickname stuck. In World War II the "Rainbow Division" landed in France and fought across Germany, taking several major cities, liberating the Dachau Concentration Camp, and occupying Vienna.

Following World War II the division became part of the New York National Guard. Division Soldiers responded to natural disasters, including the major ice storm of 1998, and responded when the World Trade Center was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001.

The 42nd Infantry Division became the first National Guard division headquarters to go to war since 1952 when Major General Joseph Taluto took charge of 23,000 Soldiers in North Central Iraq in 2005.

More recently, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo mobilized hundreds of division Soldiers in support of civil authorities in response to Hurricanes Irene in 2011 and Sandy in 2012.

The division headquarters will next year mobilize and deploy a contingent of approximately 60 Soldiers to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to support security operations at JTF-Gitmo.