New York National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division Holds Change of Command Ceremony

Media Advisory

ALBANY, N.Y. (05/05/2017) — New York Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Steven Ferrari, a veteran of the Iraq War, takes command of the 42nd Infantry Division, Saturday May 6 during a ceremony at the Empire State Plaza. Ferrari, a one-star general, had been serving as Assistant Division Commander for the combat headquarters since 2011.

The 54-year old National Guard officer replaces Major General Harry Miller who has moved into a full-time active duty assignment with the Army National Guard.

The 42nd Infantry Division is based in Troy, N.Y. but has training responsibility over National Guard brigades throughout the northeast including units in New York, New Jersey, Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. In 2005, the 42nd Infantry Division was responsible for command of 23,000 Soldiers in north-central Iraq for combat operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The 42nd Infantry Division is also responsible for the Federal Emergency Management Region II Homeland Response Force which can deploy 1,200 New York and New Jersey National Guard Soldiers and Airmen in the event of an emergency.

WHO: Brigadier General Steven Ferrari, incoming commander of the Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry (Rainbow) Division takes the guidon from outgoing commander Maj. Gen. Harry Miller. Brig. Gen. Raymond Shields, the commander of the New York Army National Guard, participates in the ceremony as the reviewing officer.

WHAT: Ferrari takes command of the 42nd Infantry Division during a formal change of command ceremony which includes the division band, troops in formation, and a battery salute. The Army change of command ceremony is steeped in tradition. The incoming commander will review a formation of troops with their unit guidons (colors) present. The two general officers will then pass the divisional colors, representing the transition of command.

WHEN: 1 p.m., Saturday, May 6, 2017. The ceremony will last about one hour.

WHERE: Empire State Plaza, at the steps of the New York State Library above Madison Avenue, Albany, N.Y. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the concourse.

MEDIA OPPORTUNITY

Reporters will have the opportunity to interview both the incoming and outgoing commanders. Video and photographic opportunities include Soldiers in formation as well as the ceremony in which the unit colors are transferred. Members of the media seeking access to this ceremony should contact Col. Richard Goldenberg 518-727-7314.

BACKGROUND:

Brigadier General Steven Ferrari

Brig. Gen. Steven Ferrari previously served full-time as the Deputy Adjutant General for the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Assistant Adjutant General - Army for the New Jersey Army National Guard.

His previous leadership assignments include Deputy Commanding General - Maneuver, 42nd Infantry Division and the 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Ferrari joined the New Jersey Army National Guard in January 1981 and was commissioned through Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning Georgia in March 1982. He served as an Active Duty, full-time, Guardsman from June 1986 to August 2011.

Ferrari served as the 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander during Operation Iraqi Freedom (2008-2009) which served as a Security Force Brigade with duties in Camp Cropper, Camp Bucca, Balad, Ashraf and Baghdad.

He has held numerous field artillery staff assignments and leadership positions at the battery and battalion level before assignments to the New Jersey Army National Guard Joint Force Headquarters as Director of Military Support, Strategic Planner and Chief of Staff.

His military education includes the Army War College, Dual Status Commander Course, Army Strategic Leadership Development Program - Intermediate and Basic, Command and General Staff Officer Course, Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course, and the Master Fitness Trainers Course.

He holds a Bachelor's of Science in Business Information Systems and a Master's degree in Strategic Studies.

Ferrari's awards include the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with 6 Oak Leaf Clusters, National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Service Star, Iraqi Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with Gold Hourglass and M Device, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal, and the New York Meritorious Service Medal.

Ferrari, from Winslow Township, N.J., and his wife Tracy have four children Steven, Nicholas, William and Malyssa.

Brigadier General Harry E. Miller

Brigadier General Harry E. Miller leaves command of the 42nd Infantry (Rainbow) Division for a full-time position with the Army National Guard, serving as the Mobilization Assistant to the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C. since February 2017.

As division commander, he had training oversight of the 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in New Jersey, the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Vermont, 197th Fires Brigade in New Hampshire, the 26th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade in Massachusetts, and the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade and 369th Sustainment Brigade from New York.

Prior to division command, Miller served as the New York National Guard's Assistant Adjutant General from 2012-13.

While on active duty at Fort Drum as senior post commander from 2010 to 2011, he was responsible for the readiness, safety, and well-being of the 38,000 Soldiers, Families and civilian employees at the post. Miller deployed to Iraq twice between 2006 to 2008 and also served as Director of Joint Operations for the New Hampshire National Guard in Concord, N.H., and was the Director of Doctrine, Training and Force Development at the National Guard Bureau. Miller's assignments also include service with the 1st Armored Division, 82nd Airborne Division and the 1st Special Forces Group.

During his first combat tour Miller served as the senior advisor to Iraqi Security Forces along the Iraq/Iran border. During his second tour he served with the 5th Special Forces Group as senior advisor to the Commander of Multinational Corps-Iraq.

Miller holds an Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts from Valley Forge Military Junior College in Wayne Pennsylvania, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, a Masters of Business Administration from Saint Martin's College in Lacey, Washington, and a Masters in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. His military education includes the Army Officer Basic and Advanced courses, the Combined Arms Services Staff School, Command and General Staff College, Army War College, and the Army's Strategic Leadership and Development Courses.

His awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (awarded twice), the Bronze Star (awarded twice), the Meritorious Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Special Forces Tab, the Ranger Tab, and the Master Parachutists Badge.

Miller resides in Nashua, N.H. with his wife, Melissa, and three daughters; Courtney, Emily and Abbey.

The 42nd Infantry (Rainbow) Division

The 42nd Infantry Division, with headquarters in Troy, N.Y., has 20,000 Soldiers assigned to elements in New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New Hampshire.

The 42nd Infantry Division first organized in World War I from National Guard units from around the country. The division's first chief-of-staff, then Col. Douglas MacArthur, said the division would stretch across the United States "like a rainbow" and the nickname stuck. In World War II the "Rainbow Division" landed in France and fought across Germany, taking several major cities, liberating the Dachau Concentration Camp, and occupying Vienna.

Following World War II the division became part of the New York National Guard. Division Soldiers responded to natural disasters, including the major ice storm of 1998, and responded when the World Trade Center was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001.

The 42nd Infantry Division became the first National Guard division headquarters to go to war since 1952 when Major General Joseph Taluto took charge of 23,000 Soldiers in North Central Iraq in 2005. More recently, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo mobilized hundreds of division Soldiers in support of civil authorities in response to Hurricanes Irene in 2011 and Sandy in 2012.

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