Photo By Capt. Jason Carr | Soldiers assigned to the 152nd Engineer Support Company stand in formation in front of...... read more read more
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BUFFALO, New York—One hundred and forty-five New York Army National Guard Soldiers heading to the Horn of Africa, were sent off with a formal ceremony at the Connecticut Street Armory in Buffalo, New York on Thursday, January 2.
The Soldiers, members of the 152 nd Engineer Support Company, will be assigned to Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, for ten months.
They will train at Fort Bliss, Texas for four weeks before deploying to Africa. They are expected home in November of 2025.
Major General Ray Shields, the adjutant general of New York, told the Soldiers they could be proud of their unit and themselves, during the ceremony. He also emphasized teamwork, comradery, and situational awareness.
“You are deploying as part of the greatest team our nation has: the U.S. Army,” Shields said.
“While overseas you are representing not just yourself, but our country as a whole and the New York Army National Guard,” he said. “Deploying as a unit is a team sport.”
The 152nd, is based in Buffalo and is an element of the 204th Engineer Battalion. The Soldiers have been training for this mission for the past six months at Fort Drum and other military training area, according to Capt. Daniel Roche, the company command.
For many of the Soldier this is their first deployment, and they said they were looking forward to it.
“I feel like the people I’ve met that have deployed or gone overseas carry themselves differently than those who haven’t,” said Sgt. Nathaniel Romero, a New York City resident. “I’m really excited about how it’s going to influence me as a senior enlisted member when I get back.” Specialist Haley Holmes, from Fillmore, New York said she agreed and felt an added sense of pride in her service.
“As a Guardsman it makes me feel proud, because I feel a lot of people underestimate the Guard,” she said. “Now that I’m deploying it changes their perspective a bit, like ‘oh you’re actually in the Army.’”
While deployed the company will work on base security improvements and buildings related to Soldier welfare and operations, according to Roche.
Combined Joint Task Force- Horn of Africa has a strength of about 2,000 personnel from across the U.S. military operates in Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Seychelles and Kenya.
In 2002 and 2023, the New York Army National Guard deployed 1,100 Soldiers as Task Force Wolfhound to provide security forces at Camp Lemonnier as well as U.S. based in Kenya and Somalia.
| Date Taken: | 01.02.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 01.06.2025 10:27 |
| Story ID: | 488699 |
| Location: | BUFFALO, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 181 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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