CONTACT: Mr. Eric Durr, 786-4581, cell 429-5186

FOR RELEASE: Sunday, Jan 11, 2009

ON SITE: CPT Patrick Dixon at Cell 518-225-6833 or email patrick.john.dixon@us.army.mil

WHO:

Approximately 150 members of the New York Army National Guard, the New York Air National Guard, and the New York Guard, a volunteer state defense force, will be represented in the transfer of authority ceremony. The Soldiers of the team’s command element come from the 102nd Military Police Battalion, headquartered in Auburn.

WHAT:

Infantry Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry and the New York Army National Guard’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High Yield Explosive (CBRNE) Enhanced Response Force Package, known as a CERFP, will transfer command of the statewide response mission to fellow Soldiers from Central New York in a ceremony here to mark the transition and recognize the contributions of Gloversville Soldiers for nearly two years of training and incident preparedness. The CERFP is a joint force specializing in extracting victims from destroyed buildings, decontaminating them, and providing medical treatment in support of civilian first responders. The Soldiers and Airmen fro the CERFP belong to New York Army and Air National Guard units based in Auburn, Buffalo, Syracuse and Niagara Falls. New York is one of 17 states which maintain a National Guard CERFP. The Army National Guard’s 2nd Battalion 108th Infantry held responsibility for providing command and control and decontamination personnel for the New York CERFP since the summer of 2007. That responsibility is now shifted to the 102nd Military Police Battalion and the transfer of authority ceremony marks the completion of that process.

WHEN:

1 p.m. on Sunday, January 11, 2009.

WHERE:

New York State Armory, 87 Washington Street, Gloversville, N.Y.

The New York National Guard CERFP provides immediate response capability to the governor for incident site search capability of damaged buildings, rescuing trapped casualties, providing decontamination, and performing medical triage and initial treatment to stabilize patients for transport to medical facilities all in direct support of civilian emergency responders. The CERFP is comprised of four elements staffed by personnel from already established National Guard units. These elements include: search and extraction, decontamination, medical, and command and control. The command and control team directs the overall activities of the CERFP, and coordinates with the N.Y. National Guard supporting Joint Task Force and the local incident commander. The search and extraction element is assigned to an Army National Guard Engineer Company, the decontamination element is assigned to an Army National Guard and New York Guard force, and the medical element is assigned to an Air National Guard Medical Group. The unit completed training and validation in late October for the transition of the domestic response mission to the Soldiers of the 102nd Military Police Battalion. The unit will oversee the command and control of the response force and provide troops for the decontamination element. The mission had previously gone to the Soldiers of the 2-108th Infantry who completed their certification in June of 2007. For additional information, contact the DMNA public affairs office at (518) 786-4581.

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