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Buffalo-based Army National Guard Soldiers return home after nine-month African deployment

Media Advisory

Buffalo, New York (11/10/2025) — One hundred and twenty Soldiers of the New York Army National Guard's Buffalo-based 152nd Engineer Support Company will return to Western New York on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2025.

The Soldiers will be flying into Buffalo Niagara International Airport after nine months serving in the Horn of Africa as part of Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa, a U.S. force operating in the region.

Members of the media are invited to cover the return of the Soldiers at the airport.

Members of the press must call or text Call/text Major Avery Schneider at 917-443-1864 for access.

WHO: Soldiers of the 152nd Engineer Support Company, which is based at the Connecticut Street Armory in Buffalo and their families

WHAT: Return after nine months of deployment in the Horn of Africa

**The when and where information is embargoed until after the event. Please do not report. This event is not open to the general public **

WHEN: 12:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025 ( Note aircraft is expected between 12:45 andd 1:15 p.m.)

WHERE: Buffalo Niagara International Airport Cargo Facilities, 285 Cayuga Road, Buffalo, NY 14225

Coverage Opportunities:

There will be an opportunity to speak with returning Soldiers, family members, and New York National Guard leaders. Visual opportunities include family reunions and Soldiers exiting their plane.

Images of the 152nd ESC completing its overseas mission are available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/nyng/albums/72177720329829437/.

Additional photos and news from their mission is available at: https://www.dvidshub.net/search/?q=152nd+engineer+support+company&filter%5Bdate%5D=1y&view=grid.

BACKGROUND

The 152nd ESC was headquartered at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, but also operated in Somalia and Kenya.

The company, which is part of the 204th Engineer Battalion, completed 205 construction projects valued at over $7.5 million during the deployment. These projects included aid station construction, improved operating base perimeter walls, improving operations centers and building personnel bunkers.

These projects contributed to force protection and enabled the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa to better execute missions in the region.

The company's Soldiers also responded when monsoon rains caused flooding at base facilities, using pumps to drain water and shoring up water-logged defenses.

The company mobilized for this mission on January 2, 2025. The Soldiers have been conducting demobilization at Fort Bliss, Texas prior to returning to Western New York.

Media Attachments

DJIBOUTI--New York Army National Guard Capt. Daniel Roche, commander of the 152nd Engineer Support Company, and his first sergeant, case the guidon of the company during a transfer of authority ceremony at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, on October 20, 2025. Roche and his Soldiers concluded a deployment spanning three countries across East Africa, where they provided critical engineering and construction support to ongoing counterterrorism operations. The deployment marked the unit’s first overseas activation as a company, earning the 152nd ESC its first campaign streamer. ( U.S. Air Force Photo by Airman 1st Class Anthony Nunez- Pellicer)

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Avery
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