New York Guard, the state's volunteer defense force, conducts annual training at Camp Smith Sept. 16-22
CORTLANDT MANOR, N.Y. (09/14/2019) — Two hundred and sixty members of the New York Guard, New York's state defense force, will conduct their week-long annual training at Camp Smith Training Site beginning Monday, September 16, and concluding September 22.
The New York Guard is a force of approximately 500 uniformed volunteers who augment and assist the New York National Guard during state emergencies.
They are paid for their service only when they are activated by the Governor of the State of New York. Their training is in an unpaid volunteer basis.
During the week long training session, some 44 members who are new to the New York Guard will go through an initial entry training program. Current members will conduct a variety of "hands on" skills training together with professional development seminars to prepare the future junior and senior leaders for upcoming operations.
An additional 13 members will undergo officer candidate training to become leaders in the New York Guard.
Training this year will focus on tasks related to those individual skills needed during disaster response - i.e., chainsaw, generator, water pump, forklift, bobcat, communications, logistical requests, and command and control procedures.
Unlike members of the New York National Guard, New York Guard members do not have a federal military role and respond only to the orders of the governor.
Many members of the New York Guard have served in the federal military or have National Guard and/or Reserve service backgrounds. While these veterans bring a wealth of emergency management "skill sets" to the force, previous military membership is not a requirement to enlist in the New York Guard.
The New York Guard was established during World War I to handle domestic security missions when the entire New York National Guard was deployed in France. The organization was reborn again in World War II when the New York National Guard was sent to Europe and the Pacific.
Since then the New York Guard has existed as a force to augment the New York National Guard, and members are involved in supporting all National Guard responses to weather or other emergencies. Over four hundred New York Guardsman participated in post Sept. 11 attack support operations. Most recently, New York Guard volunteers supported operations responding to flooding along Lake Ontario this summer.
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New York Guard volunteers undergo training on the use of a skid steer during annual training in 2018. Photo by Capt. Mark Getman/New York Guard
New York Guard members march in formation during their primary leader development course while attending annual training in 2018. The course teaches problem solving and team building skills for the future NCO's of the New York Guard. Photo by Capt. Mark Getman/New York Guard.
New York National Guard
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