SYRACUSE — Three-thousand members of the New York Army National Guard’s 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, along with supporting units, trained at Fort Drum over the weekend.
The brigade is headquartered in Syracuse but has units located across the state, from Farmingdale on Long Island to Jamestown in Western New York. Major brigade elements are located in Rochester, Buffalo, Utica, New York City, the Hudson Valley, and northern New York.
The four-day training mission served as the final dress rehearsal exercise before the unit heads to the Army’s Joint Readiness Training Center, known as JRTC, at Fort Polk, Louisiana in July.
“This four day field training exercise will give our Soldiers one last opportunity to refine, improve and set the conditions for our success in July,” said Col. Joe Biehler, the brigade commander, ahead of the training weekend.
JRTC is one of the Army’s three combat training centers at which brigade-sized units can conduct realistic training against an opposing force. JRTC specializes in light infantry warfare and operations. For Soldiers, it is considered the Super Bowl of Army training.
The 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team last trained at JRTC in 2001.
Training included the air assault of the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry from Griffiss International Airport outside Rome to Fort Drum. This will involve repeated flights of UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation from Rome to Fort Drum and back.
Elements of the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry and Headquarters Company of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat team conducted a convoy move from Rome to Fort Drum.
The field training involved platoon and company level tactical exercises, artillery and infantry live fire on the Fort Drum ranges, logistics support operations, and military intelligence exercises.
Units participating in the training included:
- The 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry, headquartered in New York City with companies in Farmingdale, and Camp Smith near Peekskill.
- The 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry, headquartered in Utica, with companies in Geneseo, Ogdensburg, Saranac Lake, Glenville and Gloversville.
- The 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry, headquartered in Niagara Falls, with troops in Niagara Falls, Geneva, Jamestown and Buffalo.
- The 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery from Jamaica Queens with batteries in The Bronx and New Windsor.
- The 427th Brigade Support Battalion headquartered in Syracuse with companies in Rochester, Fort Drum and Buffalo.
- The 27th Brigade Special Troops Battalion headquartered in Syracuse with companies in Buffalo, Lockport and Rochester. The unit provides “combat multipliers” to include combat engineers, communications, and military intelligence assets.
- The 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation Battalion, an element of the New York Army National Guard’s 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade which flies the UH-60 Blackhawk transport helicopter.
- The 1st Battalion, 211th Aviation Battalion (Attack) a unit from the Utah National Guard, based in West Jordan, Utah, which flies the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.
- Elements of the 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized) a unit from the Pennsylvania National Guard based in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania.
- The 1st Battalion, 182nd Infantry from the Massachusetts Army National Guard and headquartered in Melrose with companies in Ayer, Braintree, Middleboro, Dorchester and Middletown.
The 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team has deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq multiple times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Brigade Soldiers also responded to Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and Tropical Storms Irene and Lee in 2011.
The brigade was originally the New York Army National Guard’s 27th Infantry Division which fought in Belgium with the British Army in World War I. The division mobilized again in World War II and fought in the Pacific at the battles of Makin, Saipan, and Okinawa.
