Photo By Lt. Col. Al Phillips | New York Army National Guard Sgt. Warren Solomon, a member of the New York Army...... read more read more
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BUFFALO, N.Y.-New York Army National Guard Sgt. Warren Solomon, a member of Charlie Troop of the 2nd Squadron 101st Cavalry has been named New York National Guard Counterdrug Analyst of the Year for 2020.
Solomon, a cavalry scout who joined the New York Army National Guard in 2015, has been working full-time as an intelligence analyst for the New York Counter Drug Task Force for the past three years.
He is one of 130 Soldiers and Airmen across the state who put their military skills to work assisting law enforcement and community anti-drug efforts.
Trained Soldiers and Airmen provide case analysis support to law enforcement across the state. Other Airmen and Soldiers provide demand reduction support by pairing trained civil operations specialists with specific community anti-drug groups that are combatting serious drug related issues in their communities.
Solomon was picked for the recognition by the leadership of the Counter Drug Task Force. He’ll now be considered for a national award.
Solomon’s first assignment was working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive’s Buffalo office. Now he is working with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Homeland Security.
The office investigates transnational crimes and criminal networks that exploit the U.S Border.
Solomon is part of that effort.
“It’s not a typical workday for an Army Soldier; waking up and going to work and not wearing a uniform,” Solomon said.
Solomon is the first Soldier or Airmen from Western New York to be awarded this title.
Solomon and the other Counter Drug Task Force Soldiers and Airmen provide additional “capacity” to law enforcement, according to Col. Robert Epp, the former Counter Drug Task Force commander.
In recent years, the National Guard overall and the New York National Guard in particular has increased its efforts to counter illegal drugs both entering and exiting the country, Epp said.
Solomon is one of seven New York National Guard analysts working with HSI personnel across New York. They are trained by the National Guard Bureau and Drug Enforcement Administration personnel on how to take what they learned in the military and apply it to law enforcement work, Epp said.
“What I enjoy most is the fact that I am gathering intel on real time targets helping to further operations and dismantle transnational criminal organizations,” Solomon said.
Solomon and the other New York National Guard analysts make a positive impact on the investigations HSI is running, said Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kelly.
“What the New York National Guard is doing here in Buffalo is blazing a trail and cross-cutting because our analysts like Solomon are advancing the threat out of New York,” Kelly said.
“We fully integrate these analysts with our agents, which has resulted in a winning formula and significate successes,” Kelly added.
This formula has resulted in the seizure of nearly 80,000 pounds of marijuana, Kelly said.
Analysts are working anywhere from six to nine cases at a given time.
Typical cases include firearms, organized crime cartels cocaine cases, said Supervisory Special Agent Christopher Nasca who supervises Solomon on a day-to-day basis.
“We give our National Guard Analysts liberty to do their job—not just running numbers and viewing images,” Nasca said.
Although, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed a state law which legalized and regulated a commercial marijuana market in New York, and will allow adults to grow amounts of the plant for personal use, HSI and other federal agencies are still working to keep out illegal drug shipments.
According to the special agents, marijuana is a currency used for other crimes such as prostitution, money laundering, cocaine, human, and weapon trafficking, etc.
What the law does not grant is the right for individuals or organized crime syndicates to grow the drug for their own nefarious reasons on a black market for their own profitable gains. Such acts are illegal and will be prosecuted accordingly, Kelly said.
“At the end of the day it’s not about the award which is a tremendous honor but it is about strengthening partnerships and that’s what being an analyst is all about, regardless on the battlefield or intel shop,” Solomon said.
| Date Taken: | 04.26.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 04.27.2021 07:36 |
| Story ID: | 394860 |
| Location: | BUFFALO , NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 642 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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