News from New York State Division of Military & Naval Affairs

For more information contact: Lt. Col. Richard Goldenberg (518) 786-4581 or on site Master Sgt. Francis DeMaro, 105th Airlift Wing, (845) 563-2040.

Hudson Valley National Guard Units to Support Training Exercise with NYC’s Bravest

Media Advisory for National Guard and FDNY joint training exercise

NEWBURGH, NY (04/29/2008; 1514)(readMedia)-- Members of the New York Air National Guard’s 105th Airlift Wing will provide air transportation on an Air National Guard C-5A Galaxy aircraft from Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station this Friday for more than fifty Army National Guard Soldiers mobilized and deployed to participate in Operation Civil Support. The National Guard training exercise helps prepare the state’s military forces for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear or High Explosive (CBRNE) incidents.

The National Guard engineers will train alongside the City of New York Fire Department (FDNY) at the fire training academy on Randall’s Island to strengthen the coordination, liaison, techniques and procedures for employing the New York National Guard’s premiere CBRNE response elements to assist civil authorities.

WHO: Members of the 105th Airlift Wing provide air movements for more than fifty engineer Soldiers from Company A, 27th Brigade Special Troops Battalion (BSTB) in Buffalo. The C5A Galaxy aircraft deploys the Army Guard engineers from Niagara Falls to Newburgh as part of the unit deployment to New York City in order to train incident response alongside hundreds of emergency responders from the city.

WHAT: Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High Explosive incident response training prepares members of the New York National Guard for supporting civilian authorities with assessment, casualty extraction, decontamination and medical triage. The training exercise at the FDNY training academy site will include a realistic scenario with simulated casualties, debris, and the challenges of a response in an urban area.

The exercise provides an excellent opportunity for members of the 105th Airlift Wing to participate in joint homeland security missions with the New York Army National Guard.

WHEN: Friday, May 2, 2008. Media are invited to view the arrival of the engineer Soldiers at noon at the Stewart Air National Guard Base main gate to be escorted on base to meet the aircrews and troops after their arrival at 12:30 p.m.

WHERE: Stewart Air National Guard Base, 2 Mcguire Way. Newburgh, N.Y.

BACKGROUND:

The New York National Guard currently maintains a full-time Civil Support Team (CST) whose 22 members are trained, certified and equipped to augment civil authorities to rapidly identify, assess and respond to homeland security Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) or hazardous materials (HAZMAT) events.

The team is further enhanced by a traditional National Guard CBRNE Enhanced Response Force Package (CERFP). Its 300 Soldiers, Airmen and N.Y. Guard volunteers, including the Western N.Y. search and extraction team engineers, mobilize and deploy to provide emergency responders with additional CBRNE casualty extraction, decontamination and triage for the evacuation and initial treatment assessment of victims of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, high explosive or other hazardous materials incident.

The N.Y. National Guard regularly trains these elements to support civil authorities and elements of the CST routinely perform homeland security missions in support of law enforcement officials throughout New York City during key events.

The Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) has the responsibility for protecting the citizens and property of New York City's five boroughs from fires and fire hazards, providing emergency medical services, technical rescue as well as providing first response to biological, chemical and radioactive hazards. The FDNY is the largest municipal fire department in the world with approximately 11,400 uniformed officers and firefighters.

The Air National Guard’s 105th Airlift Wing from Newburgh, N.Y. provides the C-5A Galaxy aircraft for the deployment mission.

The Stewart Air National Guard Base is home to the New York Air National Guard’s 105th Airlift Wing, the only Air National Guard flying wing utilizing the C5-A Galaxy aircraft. The use of the facility and personnel from the 105th Airlift Wing strengthens the capabilities of New York State’s Military Forces to respond to contingencies or homeland security needs anywhere in the state.

Media members interested in covering the deployment for the training exercise should contact Master Sgt. Francis DeMaro, 105th Airlift Wing, (845) 563-2040 no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 1 to arrange access to the secure facility. Media should be prepared to show photo identification for access to the military installation.