New York National Guard

Army Guard Lt. Col. Gary Barney, a Fairport resident, is named executive officer of New York City National Guard unit

Niagara Falls, New York (12/22/2025) — New York Army National Guard Lt. Col. Gary Barney, a Fairport resident and a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, turned over command of the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment during a Dec. 14 ceremony at the unit's headquarters at Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.

Barney was replaced by Lt. Col. Joseph Moeller, a resident of Corinth.

Barney is now serving as the second-in-command of the 53rd Digital Liaison Detachment, which is based at the Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan.

The detachment is composed of senior officers and non-commissioned officers whose role is to interface with coalition partners operating at the theater level. The unit deployed several times to Iraq during the conflict there.

Barney enlisted in the New York Army National Guard in 2000 as a field artillery canon crew member. He earned his commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at SUNY Brockport and entered the Active Army.

He served as a fire support officer with the 8th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment of the 4th infantry Division and deployed to Iraq. After serving in Iraq, he became an armor officer and served with the 3rd Infantry Division where he commanded a tank company in the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor.

He served as an observer controller at the National Training Center before deploying to Afghanistan in support of a NATO training mission. He also commanded a cavalry troop and serving as a battalion operations officer, before leaving active duty and rejoining the New York Army National Guard

Barney served in a number of positions in the 42nd Infantry division and deployed with the division headquarters to Kuwait in 2020.

Barney served as the operations officer for the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team before serving as the operations officer and then commander of the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry.

Barney served as the commander of a joint task force in New York City during the New York National Guard COVID-19 response mission and also served as the Officer-In-Charge of the National Guard force working in support of the Department of Custodial and Community Services for several months.

LTC Barney holds a Bachelor of Science in History from SUNY Brockport and a Master of Science in Crisis and Emergency Management from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He is also a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College.

His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, the Meritorious Unit Citation, Afghanistan Campaign, Iraq Campaign Medal with 3-Campaign Stars, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO-ISAF Medal, and Combat Action Badge.

In his civilian career, Barney is an Industrial Specialist at the Defense Contract Management Agency stationed in Rochester, NY.

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New York Army National Guard Lt. Col. Gary Barney (right) a Fairport resident, displays a gift presented to him by the Soldiers of the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry during a ceremony in which he turned over command of the unit on Dec. 14, 2025.

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New York National Guard

Army Guard Lt. Col. Gary Barney, a Fairport resident, is named executive officer of New York City National Guard unit

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