230 N.Y. National Guard Members Are Headed For Afghanistan
By Associated Press | January 17, 2008
http://www.nysun.com/new-york/230-ny-national-guard-members-are-headed/69701/
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ShareSYRACUSE — Governor Spitzer said farewell to 230 New York Army National Guard members headed to Afghanistan to help train Afghan security forces. The governor calls their mission critically important and says all New Yorkers owe them a debt of gratitude for answering the call to duty.
Konrad Fiedler
A member of the National Guard from the Bronx, Barry Marquez, comforts his mother, Sharon, left, and sister, Shareen, yesterday after a send-off ceremony for a mission in Afghanistan. He is a member of the Fighting 69th, the Army National Guard infantry regiment based in New York City and Long Island, and will be working closely with the Afghan national police force.
The send-off ceremony yesterday at Hancock Field was one of nine around the state as nearly 1,700 members of the Syracuse-based 27th Brigade Combat Team head to Fort Bragg in North Carolina for two months of training. After that, they will spend 10 months in Afghanistan, where they will replace a South Carolina Army National Guard unit.
The 27th Brigade includes units from across New York, from Buffalo to Long Island.
