New York Army National Guard stands up new unit at Kingston Armory on Sunday, June 9

42nd Infantry Division Division Artillery, or DIVARTY will train 195 Soldiers at the Kingston Armory

Kingston, New York (06/07/2024) — The New York Army National Guard will mark the creation of a new 195-Soldier unit, that will be based at the Kingston Armory on Sunday morning, June 9.

The 42nd Infantry Division Artillery, or DIVARTY for short, is a headquarters which controls the artillery fire of the division's 54 artillery pieces and supporting rockets and missiles.

Members of the press are invited to attend the "uncasing ceremony" for the 42nd Infantry Division Artillery.

WHO: Major General Joseph Biehler, the commander of the 42nd Infantry Division; Col. Marc Lindemann, the commander of the 42nd Division Artillery; and the Soldiers assigned to the Division Artillery headquarters.

WHAT: An uncasing ceremony during which the colors of the DIVARTY will be unrolled, indicating that it is once more a component of the 42nd Infantry Division. The division is headquartered in Troy and has units across New York and would also command National Guard units from across the northeast during wartime. Lindemann, a Miller Place resident, will also be promoted from Lt. Colonel to Colonel during the ceremony.

WHEN: 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 9.

WHERE: 25 Kiersted Avenue, Kingston, NY 12401

Coverage Opportunities:

Video and still imagery of Soldiers in formation, the uncasing ceremony, and the opportunity to interview Major General Biehler and Col. Lindemann.

For access to this secure military facility, members of the press must contact Major Jean Marie Kratzer at 518-496-7150

BACKGROUND

The DIVARTY

The Division Artillery, better known to Soldiers as DIVARTY, is a headquarters whose mission is to coordinate the fire of all artillery units assigned to an Army division. In the 42nd Infantry Division this consists of 54 155 and 105 millimeter artillery pieces assigned to three artillery battalions, as well as any artillery assets - cannons, rockets, or missiles-designated to support the division by higher headquarters.

The artillery battalion in New York is the 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery, which Lindemann once commanded.

From World War II until 2006/2007 the DIVARTY was an integral part of all divisions, including the 42nd Infantry Division, which has elements across the northeast but is headquartered in New York.

To fight the War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army switched to a modular brigade combat team organization, in which each of a division's three brigades could deploy independently with their own artillery and other assets.

The DIVARTY elements across the Army were disbanded so those Soldiers could serve in other artillery units.

As the U.S. Army prepares to fight conventional enemies-like Russia and China-the Army has reorganized again to maximize combat power and the DIVARTY has been created once again in both Active Army and Army National Guard divisions.

The 42nd Infantry Division

The 42nd Infantry Division was created in 1917 as America was mobilizing to enter World War I. National Guard units from 26 states were quickly mobilized to make a division that could be sent to France as quickly as possible.

The creator of this idea, then Col. Douglas McArthur who went on to earn fame in World War II, said the division would "stretch across the country like a rainbow." Since then, the division has been nicknamed "The Rainbow Division."

New York's 69th Infantry Regiment was part of the division, which was mobilized on Long Island where Garden City is today.

The division distinguished itself during World War I and in World War II the division was activated again in 1943. The division fought in France and Germany in 1945 and captured Wurzburg, Schweinfurt Nuremburg, and Munich. It also helped liberate the infamous Dachau Concentration Camp.

The division finished the war occupying Austria.

In 1947 the 42nd Division became part of the New York Army National Guard. Division Soldiers were part of a strategic reserve during the Cold War while responding to state emergencies. Division Soldiers were among the first National Guardsmen on the scene on Sept. 11, 2001.

In 2004 division Soldiers were mobilized for duty in Iraq and the division headquarters became the first National Guard division to go to war since 1952. In 2005 the 42nd Infantry Division headquarters commanded over 20,000 troops in four Iraqi provinces.

Division Soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in the decade that followed and the division headquarters has returned to the Middle East twice to command the Army's 10,000-Soldier Task Force Spartan force in the region.

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