Airman 1st Class Emma Davignon, a Cobleskill resident, plays role in National Guard birthday ceremony

Latham, NY (12/14/2022) — New York Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Emma Davignon, a Cobleskill resident, played a key role in a Dec. 13 ceremony marking the 386th anniversary of the founding of the National Guard.

Davignon was one of two National Guard members selected to cut the National Guard birthday cake during a ceremony at New York National Guard headquarters in Latham.

Traditionally the oldest Guard member present is joined by the youngest Guard member in cutting the birthday cake. The older servicemember represents the history and traditions of the National Guard, while the young Soldier or Airmen represents the future of the Guard.

Davignon, age 18, just finished her training as a security forces Airman in the 109th Airlift Wing, based at Stratton Air National Guard Base in Scotia.

She represented the future of the National Guard during the ceremony.

She was joined by 60-year-old Army National Guard Master Sgt. Jerry Swain from Mount Morris, who represented the traditions and history of the National Guard.

It was a real honor to be part of the ceremony. Davignon said.

She just completed training at the Air Force Security Forces Academy at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas on Dec. 7 and is looking forward to joining her unit, Davignon said.

She enlisted in the security forces, whose mission is to secure air bases both at home and overseas in combat zones, because of an interest in law enforcement, Davignon said.

The National Guard claims Dec. 13, 1636, as its birthday. That was the date on which the legislature of the Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a law organizing separate militia companies into three regiments.

In New York, the first citizen-soldiers were members of the Burgher Guard, organized by the Dutch East Indian Company in 1640 to help protect New Amsterdam from their English neighbors in Massachusetts and Virginia or from hostile natives.

After New Amsterdam became the English colony of New York in 1665, a militia modeled on the system used in Massachusetts and other English colonies was put in place.

Citizen Soldiers of the militia and National Guard have fought in all of America's wars from King Philips War against Native Americans in the New England Colonies in 1675 to Iraq and Afghanistan.

There are 10,000 members of the New York Army National Guard and 5,800 members of the New York Air National Guard.

Currently 1,800 members of the New York Army National Guard are deployed, securing U.S. installations in the Horn of Africa, providing support and airlift to U.S. forces in the Middle East, and training Ukrainian soldiers in Germany. The New York Air National Guard currently has 340 Airmen deployed, including 200 supporting research in Antarctica.

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