News from New York State Division of Military & Naval Affairs

For more information contact: Air National Guard Lt. Col. Kimberly Terpening, (518) 344-2103, or Army Reserve 1st Lt. Craig Moore Jr. (518)374-8416x2249

New York Air National Guard Hosts Farewell for Army Reserve Company

SCOTIA, NY (12/19/2007; 1437)(readMedia)-- The New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing will host a farewell ceremony for members of the 962nd Ordnance Company, a United States Army Reserve unit, based in the Hillside Avenue Reserve Center in Niskayuna, which is slated to deploy to Iraq in 2008.

WHAT: Farewell Ceremony for Soldiers of the Detachment 1, 962nd Ordnance Company.

WHEN: 9 a.m., Friday Dec. 21.

WHERE: Stratton Air National Guard Base, Scotia, New York.

WHO: Approximately 40 members of Detachment 1, 962nd Ordnance Company, United States Army Reserve, the Color Guard and Airmen of the 109th Airlift Wing, New York Air National Guard, and family members of the deploying Soldiers. About 100 people in all.

BACKGROUND: The Detachment 1, 962nd Ordnance Company will leave for a month of post-mobilization training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in mid-January. The members of the detachment are due to deploy to Iraq where they will perform maintenance and ammunition support duties. The reserve Soldiers will be on Active Duty for 12 months following their mobilization.

The ceremony on Friday is a chance for unit members to be formally recognized by the community and their families prior to their departure. The Iraq deployment will be the first combat deployment for most members of this element, according to 1st Lt. Craig Moore, the Detachment 1 commander. The other platoon of the 962nd, based in Plattsburgh, is currently deployed in Iraq.

The 109th Airlift Wing is hosting the event because the Army Reserve unit does not have adequate space to hold an event at their facility, and the 109th volunteered to help.

The United States Army Reserve is a totally federal reserve force that provides combat service and combat service support units to the United States Army. Unlike the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard, the Army Reserve is not normally called out for state emergencies or natural disasters.

In order to ensure access to Stratton Air National Guard Base, media interested in covering the ceremony must contact Lt. Col. Kimberly Terpening, the 109th's Community Relations Officer no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 20 at 518- 344-2103. For information on the 962nd Ordnance Company contact 1st Lt. Craig Moore Jr., the detachment commander, at 518-374-8416 extension 2249. Members of the press must have a photo ID for entry.