News from New York State Division of Military & Naval Affairs

For more information contact: Lt. Col. Richard Goldenberg, 518-786-4581

Capital Region National Guard unit returns to Middle East

National Guard’s 42nd Infantry Division deploys to Egypt for Bright Star training exercise

TROY, NY (10/29/2007; 1155)(readMedia)-- Members of the N.Y. National Guard’s 42nd Infantry "Rainbow" Division began their deployment to Egypt this past weekend as the first 50 Soldiers departed Albany as part of the U.S. Central Command Bright Star Exercise. Bright Star is a multinational joint training exercise intended to expand military to military relations with partner nations across the Middle East and the world.

Citizen Soldiers from the 42nd Infantry Division culminated months of planning and preparations as members of the division headquarters and special troops battalion deploy to Cairo, Egypt in early November for the unit’s annual training in support of the U.S. Central Command’s Bright Star exercise.

The balance of the unit’s 150 deploying members will depart from Troy for Egypt this coming weekend. The miltinational training exercise is scheduled to continue through November 19 when the troops will redeploy home to New York on or about November 21.

The 42nd Infantry Division will provide a command and control headquarters for U.S. Army and coalition forces employed in a battle simulation exercise. The computer-model wargame will place the senior leaders and staff of the Troy, N.Y. unit in command of more than 110,000 coalition forces during computer-generated battles that will train and rehearse tactics, techniques and procedures for the U.S. Army Central Command and U.S. Central Command commanders and staff. The exercise will mark the largest sized combat force the 42nd Division headquarters and staff have managed for any training event.

The battle simulation will include counterterrorism, consequence management, Humanitarian Assistance, counterinsurgency and conventional operations for the Rainbow Division leadership and staff. The training is supported by the Joint Warfighting Center, the military’s proponent for cost-effective, forward-thinking combat multiplier for joint warfare.

The Bright Star deployment involves more than a dozen participating nations, including Egypt, the United States, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Jordan, the United Kingdom, Kuwait and Pakistan.

Training and preparation for the overseas annual training began nearly one year ago when the division began mission planning and coordination with Egyptian training authorities and military planners from Central Command. In the spring of 2007, the 42nd Division hosted its Egyptian and partner nation’s military leaders in New York City for a Bright Star training conference.

The Rainbow Division will also train alongside partners from the Egyptian Army. Approximately three dozen Egyptian Armored Division senior staff members will work alongside their U.S. partners in the division’s tactical command post.

The training exercise will conclude with a senior leader seminar for the division’s commander, Brig. Gen. Paul Genereux, who will participate with Egyptian and coalition partners in reviewing lessons learned from the Command Post Exercise, Psychological Operations, Consequence Management, Evolution of Warfare (Cold War to the present).

Members of the Rainbow Division Headquarters, including Genereux, deployed to Iraq in 2005 as the combat headquarters for the Multinational Division for North Central Iraq. The unit, organized as Task Force Liberty, operated from Tikrit, Iraq and worked to support the developing Iraqi security forces and assist in the successful Iraqi national referendum for their constitution on October 15, 2005. The unit redeployed and demobilized in the late autumn of 2005.

For additional information contact the DMNA public affairs office at (518) 786-4581.

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Attachments

Majors Al Thiem (left) and Mark Bessen from the NY National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division review information during an exercise in July 2007. The unit deploys in November to Egypt for Bright Star.

Maj. Christopher Ciccone, Deputy Intelligence Officer for the National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division, reviews plans for the Bright Star Exercise with Lt. Col. Mohyful Islam from the Pakistani Army.

Brig. Gen. Paul Genereux (center), commander of the NY Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division, listens to a concept of operations brief during the land forces componenent conference in NYC.