CONTACT: Mr. Eric Durr 518.786.4581 or (cell) 518-429-5186

FOR RELEASE: Friday, Jan 16, 2009

Governor David A. Paterson has directed the New York National Guard to deploy more than 200 citizen soldiers and airmen to provide crowd security, traffic control and communications support for the Inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. New York National Guard members will assist a force of more than 4,000 National Guardsmen and women from across the country throughout the duration of the Presidential Inaugural. Commander Lieutenant Colonel Ronnie Ridner of the 104th Military Police Battalion in Kingston will command the contingent during its deployment in Washington, D.C. “New York’s citizen soldiers and airmen stand ready to ensure the safety and protection of our United States citizens, as an estimated one million Americans are expected to witness the historic inauguration of our nation’s first African-American President,” said Governor Paterson. “New York’s National Guard members are expertly trained in providing security for our State and country, and many of these members have honed their professional skills during deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. I trust that they will provide exemplary service in protecting our citizens and representing the great State of New York during the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama.” Major General Joseph Taluto, the Adjutant General and Commander of the New York National Guard, said: “Our National Guard soldiers and airmen are extremely versatile and professional, they can serve in a war zone and provide support for an important event here at home like the Presidential Inaugural and do it incredibly well. Our men and women are proud to be part of this historic day.” In addition to providing soldiers and airmen, New York State will deploy a high-tech communications system called the Joint Incident Site Communications Capability (JISCC) system and six personnel to support the Inaugural. The JISCC allows first responders using different communications systems to communicate with each other whether they are using cell phones, radios, or IP phone service. The system can also serve as a command post with world-wide reach, allowing an incident commander to exchange voice, video and on-line communications and data with anybody, anywhere using a satellite up-link system. The New York Air National Guard is also sending a field kitchen to feed the soldiers and airmen. The New York Guardsmen and women will report to Task Force-DC, a National Guard force comprised of units from several states and commanded by District of Columbia National Guard Commanding Officer Major General Errol Schwartz. New York’s force will be comprised of 156 New York Army National Guard military police soldiers and 59 airmen -- mostly security forces personnel -- from the New York Air National Guard. The soldiers and airmen will not be armed. The military police soldiers will be drawn from the 442nd MP Company, based at the Jamaica, Queens Armory, and the 104th Military Police Battalion, based in Kingston. The airmen will be drawn from the 105th Airlift Wing in Newburgh, the 106th Rescue Wing in West Hampton Beach, the 107th Airlift Wing in Niagara Falls, and the 174th Fighter Wing from Syracuse. All 200 soldiers and airmen will depart from Camp Smith Training Site near Peekskill on January 18 and will participate in mission rehearsal exercises on January 19. They will return to New York on January 21 after the Inauguration. Cutlines: Photo: 0029: A reporter from Westchester Cable News 12 does her standup surrounded by MP Soldiers and Airmen preparing to deploy to Washington to support the Inagural eventss Photo 0019: Soldiers wait their turn for inprocessing at Camp Smith's Baker Hall as they prepare to deploy to Washington to support the Presidential Inaguration on Jan. 20

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