Photo By Avery Schneider | Lt. Col. Delbert Gustave, a logistics officer assigned to the 427th Brigade Support...... read more read more
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – New York Army National Guard Lt. Col. Delbert Gustave, a veteran of the Iraq War and operations in Syria, took command of the 427th Brigade Support Battalion during a Sept. 9, 2023, ceremony at the battalion’s headquarters in Syracuse.
The battalion also got a new senior NCO, as Command Sgt. Major Edward Dowd, a veteran of two deployments to Afghanistan, took over as Gustave’s key advisor on enlisted issues, the same morning.
Gustave, a veteran of Iraq, Operation Inherent Resolve operations in Iraq and Syria, and Operation Spartan Shield in Kuwait to build partner capabilities in the Middle East, is a Newark, N.J., resident and native of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
He works full-time for the New York National Guard with the Counter Drug Task Force in Scotia, N.Y.
“I am very fortunate to be given the opportunity to command the 427th Brigade Support Battalion,” Gustave said, “I am looking forward to the challenges and rewards that battalion command has to offer.”
Dowd, a veteran of two deployments to Afghanistan, is a resident of Bristol, Conn., a native of Brockport, N.Y. and works in his civilian career as a Value Stream Procurement Manager for Pratt and Whitney, based in East Hartford, Conn.
“I grew up in this battalion with a total of 18 of my 26 years having served in Alpha, Bravo and Headquarters Companies leading Soldiers,” Dowd said. “This unit has come a long way and is on a great trajectory. I am elated to be the next 427th Battalion Command Sergeant Major.”
Col. Bradley Frank, the commander of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and presiding officer at the change of command, challenged Gustave to continue the unit’s focus on training and readiness.
“Del, you come highly recommended and your experiences throughout your career will pay excellent dividends as you navigate your time in command. You have big shoes to fill, but I have the utmost confidence that you will thrive in this environment,” Frank said.
The brigade support battalion provides a variety of functions to support the warfighters of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, also based in Syracuse.
Frank also commended Lt. Col. William Hofmann and Command Sgt. Maj. Leylan Jones—the outgoing command team-- for their leadership and commitment to training their Soldiers in the demanding support efforts that focus on large scale combat operations.
"I would match this support battalion up against any in the Army, and I'm confident we could outmatch them in any way," Hofmann said.
The battalion has focused intensely on field craft and the logistics skills to support the warfighter, Frank said, skills that keep combat forces armed, fueled, ready and responsive. That tough, realistic training pays off for Soldiers, he said.
"Your personal impact can be seen and felt throughout the battalion,” Frank said. “Your insistence on digging in whenever possible and dispersing key assets throughout the brigade support area will save lives in the future."
First organized in 1994 from existing units within the New York Army National Guard, the 427th Brigade Support Battalion is one of the larger organizations in the brigade, including nine companies of logistics and support troops based around New York State, each providing unique capabilities to the brigade and its combat battalions.
Companies are spread across Rochester, Fort Drum, Buffalo, Staten Island, Glenville, and Farmingdale.
Soldiers of the 427th responded to 9/11 with state and federal activations, supporting homeland security missions for Operation Noble Eagle at Army installations and supporting security missions at New York airports, train stations and subways.
The battalion had its first overseas deployment in 2003-04 when members served in Iraq as part of the brigade’s 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry task force during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The 427th again deployed in 2008, this time to Afghanistan in support of the 27th Brigade mission to train Afghan National Army and National Police as part of Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The battalion formed the core of the logistics task force that provided all life support services at deployed locations, including transportation, maintenance and medical care to Soldiers and local Afghan civilians.
Throughout the mission, the 427th regularly participated in humanitarian projects such as adopting a local orphanage and helping to construct schools and medical clinics.
In 2012, the 427th returned to Afghanistan and deployed throughout the country as part of Task Force Iron, a mission to locate and transfer military supplies and equipment to centralized locations as patrol bases closed, while other members of the battalion provided security and logistical operations in Kuwait.
In the summer of 2017, elements of the battalion deployed to Australia with the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry to support the international training exercise known as Talisman Saber, serving as the opposing force to an Australian exercise.
Most recently, hundreds of members of the 427th deployed throughout New York State in support of the National Guard support to the state’s COVID-19 response mission from 2020-22.
“The 427th has been my home for nearly six years now and we have accomplished much together during that time which I am proud of,” Hofmann said in his remarks to his Soldiers. “We served together running warehouses during COVID for the better part of nine months, protecting the nation’s capital following the DC riots, and responding on Christmas Day to help the people of Buffalo during one of the worst storms in years.”
Hofmann moves on to full-time military duties as the New York National Guard’s Deputy Director of Logistics at the state headquarters in Latham, N.Y. Command Sgt. Maj. Jones will next serve as the 369th Sustainment Brigade command sergeant major, assigned as the senior enlisted leader to the organization based in Harlem, N.Y.
“The unconditional support from my officers and NCOs has underpinned my success,” Hofmann said, “and I can’t tell you all how much I appreciated your support throughout this adventure.”
| Date Taken: | 09.09.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 09.14.2023 11:22 |
| Story ID: | 453423 |
| Location: | SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 356 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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