Staten Island resident Carlos Perez promoted to Chief Warrant Officer 4 in New York Army National Guard
Camp Smith Training Site, New York (06/28/2026) — Staten Island resident Carlos Perez, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, was promoted to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 4 in the New York Army National Guard during a ceremony at Camp Smith Training Site near Peekskill on June 25.
Perez, who also deployed to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in 2020,currently serves as the warrant officer strength manager for the New York Army National Guard's Recruiting and Retention Battalion.
A warrant officer is a technical specialist who lies between the enlisted and officer ranks in the Army's rank structure.
Lt. Col. John Harder, the commander of the Recruiting and Retention Battalion, praised Perez for his effort to fill the warrant officer ranks, during the ceremony.
Perez, he said, is "someone truly special in our formation."
"It takes a lot of time and energy and patience to work with each of those individuals," Harder said, "and we are super proud of Carlos today."
In his remarks, Perez thanked his family-- his wife, Cynthia, and their three children: Kaitlynn, Karlie, and Christian-for their support over the years.
"Thank you for all your sacrifices in my career while you somehow juggle working a full-time job and raising our three amazing children; I love you very much," Perez told his wife.
Perez, enlisted in the New York Army National Guard in August 2002, originally training as a fire support specialist at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Over the next two decades, he built a career focused on field artillery skills. He has served as a target acquisition platoon leader, counterfire officer and targeting officer.
He has also served in Joint Task Force Empire Shield, the New York National Guard's state active-duty security force in New York City.
He deployed to Iraq in 2004, to Afghanistan in 2012 and to the Middle East in 2020 as part of Task Force Spartan Shield, the Army combat force in the region.
Perez served as an enlisted Soldier until 2014 when he became a warrant officer.
His awards include the Afghanistan and Iraq Campaign Medals, the Meritorious Unit Commendation, the Army Commendation Medal and the Combat Action Badge.
Perez also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from St. John's University in Queens, New York.
Media Attachments
New York Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 4 Carlos Perez, has his new rank pinned on by his wife and daughter during a ceremony held at Camp Smith Training Site, near Peekskill on June 25, 2026. Perez, who serves as the warrant officer strength maintenance manager for the New York Army National Guard's Recruiting and Retention Battalion is a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sebastian Rothwyn)
New York National Guard
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