NY National Guard Col. Sean Flynn, an Albany resident, takes command of 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team on Saturday, July 17

Change of command ceremony will take place at Fort Drum during the brigade's annual training

Latham, NY (07/14/2021) — New York National Guard Colonel Sean Flynn, a Albany resident an a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, who served in the Operation World Trade Center response to the 9/11 terror attacks, will take command of the New York Army National Guard's 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team during a ceremony at Fort Drum on Saturday, July 17.

Flynn will take over from Colonel Robert Charlesworth who has headed the brigade since 2019.

The 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team has units across the state from Manhattan to Buffalo. The brigades units are currently conducting annual training at Fort Drum.

Flynn, who began his military career in the Air Force, is a full-time National Guard officer. While serving as the brigade commander, he will continue to work as the New York Army National Guard at its Latham headquarters as Director of Plans, Training and Operations.

""In this position Colonel Flynn will be a tremendous commander, mentor and Soldier who will represent the brigade at the highest and most professional level. "," said Major General Thomas Spencer, commander of the 42nd Infantry Division.

Spencer will oversee the ceremony at which Flynn takes over from Charlesworth, who is retiring after 28 years of service.

In the traditional change of command ceremony, the flag of the brigade will be transferred from the outgoing commander, in this case Charlesworth, to the Flynn as the incoming commander by Spencer.

The ceremony was designed so that the Soldiers of a unit could see who they would follow on the battlefield as the unit flag, or colors, was transferred from one leader to another.

Flynn joined the New York Army National Guard in 2000 after serving in the Air Force from 1994 to 2000.

His assignments have included platoon leader, company commander, and eventually battalion commander of the historic 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry, known as "The Fighting 69th" in New York City.

He has also served as the executive officer of the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment in Utica, executive officer of the 27th Brigade, and the operations officer and chief of staff of the 42nd Infantry Division in Troy.

While in the Air Force, Flynn served as a public affairs officer for the 81st Training Wing in Biloxi, Mississippi and the 354th Fighter Wing in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Flynn earned his commission in 1994 through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps.

His major operational deployments include Operation Enduring Freedom in 2012, Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004, Operation Noble Eagle - security support at federal facilities and airports--in 2001, and the New York National Guard's Operation World Trade Center in 2001.

Flynn worked in New York as a financial communications and public relations consultant from 1997 to 2006 before becoming a full-time military officer.

Flynn is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advance Courses, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the Department of Defense's Joint Public Affairs Officers Course.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism from the University of Maryland at College Park and a Master's Degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.

His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Overseas Service, Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon, Air Force Training Ribbon, the NATO Medal, and the Combat Infantryman's Badge.

Flynn is the author of The Fighting 69th: From Ground Zero to Baghdad (Viking 2008), a narrative non-fiction account about the evolution of the National Guard from a strategic reserve to an operational force in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001.

He and his wife Lori Ann have two children.

The 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is headquartered in Syracuse and is a light infantry brigade of more than 4,000 Soldiers, composed of three infantry battalions, a cavalry squadron, an artillery battalion, a brigade engineer battalion and a support battalion. Elements of the brigade are located across New York from Long Island to Jamestown.

One battalion, the 1st Battalion, 182nd Infantry, is part of the Massachusetts Army National Guard.

The 27th Brigade traces its history back to the 27th Division of World War I. Originally known as the 6th Division, the unit was composed of New York National Guard units and was renamed for service in France in 1917.

During World War I, the 27th Division served under British Army command and helped defeat the Hindenburg Line during the attacks which ended that war. In World War II the 27th Division fought in the Pacific, invading the islands of Makin and Saipan and fighting on Okinawa.

In 1968 the division was reorganized as a brigade. In the 1980s the 27th Brigade was reconfigured as an enhanced brigade and was slated to "round out" two Active Army Brigades of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum.

Elements of the 27th Brigade were mobilized for security duties at airports and other critical locations as part of Operation Noble Eagle following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In 2008 the brigade deployed to Afghanistan as the main elements and command of Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix, a multi-national training mission in Afghanistan.

In 2012 the brigade deployed once again, with some elements serving in Kuwait while others deployed to Afghanistan.

The brigade is preparing for a deployment to Europe next year in support of NATO.

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