Yonkers and Orangeburg-base National Guard Soldiers returning from Middle East Deployment
Soldiers of the 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion provided communications for Army's Task Force Spartan across Middle East
FORT CAVAZOS, Texas (06/07/2024) — Three Hundred and thirty New York Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion and based in the lower Hudson Valley have returned to the United States after a 10-month deployment to Kuwait.
The Soldiers returned to Fort Cavazos on June 5 and 6 for out processing, before returning home to New York.
The 101st Signal is based at the New York state armories in Yonkers and Orangeburg.
The battalion's Soldiers were mobilized in mid-August 2023 and deployed to the Middle East after 45 days of post-mobilization training.
The battalion provides theater-wide satellite communications using the Army's Warrior Information Network-Tactical satellite communications system. Their mission was to support the Army's Task Force Spartan, a 10,000-Soldier force which operates in the region.
The battalion's Soldiers operated from locations across the Middle East during their deployment.
In January, 14 of the battalion's Soldiers were on duty at the called Tower 22 in Jordan, when the base was attacked by a drone strike, three Army Reserve Soldiers who were also stationed there.
Those Soldiers, from the battalion's C Company, received the Army Combat Action Badge in an April ceremony.
The Soldiers will begin returning to New York as the complete out processing from active duty.
A small number of Soldiers have elected to extend their deployment to continue serving in the Middle East with another unit.