New York Army National Guard Engineer Soldiers deploying to Kuwait

By Sgt. Harley JelisOctober 18, 2016

New York Army National Guard Engineers deploying to Kuwait
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers of the New York Army National Guard's 1156th Engineer Company, are recognized before leaving for their mobilization training Oct. 15, 2016, at Camp Smith, N.Y.The 1156th Engineers will conduct several weeks of mobilization training in Texas ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
New York Army National Guard Engineers deploying to Kuwait
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers of the New York Army National Guard's 1156th Engineer Company, are recognized before leaving for their mobilization training Oct. 15, 2016, at Camp Smith, N.Y.
The 1156th Engineers will conduct several weeks of mobilization training in Texas... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army)
VIEW ORIGINAL
New York Army National Guard Engineers deploying to Kuwait
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers of the New York Army National Guard's 1156th Engineer Company, are recognized before leaving for their mobilization training Oct. 15, 2016, at Camp Smith, N.Y.
The 1156th Engineers will conduct several weeks of mobilization training in Texas... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army)
VIEW ORIGINAL

CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE, CORTLANDT MANOR, N.Y. -- 150 New York Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 1156th Engineer Company are training at Fort Hood, Texas as they prepare to deploy to Kuwait later this year.

The company marked the end of the pre-deployment training and the start of their active duty deployment with a ceremony here on Oct. 15.

The 1156th, based at Camp Smith, is part of the New York Army National Guard's 204th Engineer Battalion, which has elements in Horseheads, Binghamton and Walton as well.

The company is deploying to Kuwait in support of U.S. Army Central Command operations.

"Our main mission is to provide engineer support, carpentry, masonry, plumbing and electrical expertise as far as vertical engineering assets in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and the ultimate defeat of ISIS," said Capt. John Scott, commander of the 1156th.

The overseas deployment will be the company's first, and with that came some unique hurdles, especially in qualifying new Soldiers for the engineering tasks of the unit, said Scott.

The company had to add Soldiers for the deployment, but because there is no other similar unit in the New York Army National Guard, he could not just draw Soldiers from other units, Scott explained.

The 80 Soldiers who volunteered for the deployment had to go to school and be trained in a new MOS, he said.

Spc. Danielle Dillard was one of those Soldiers given an opportunity to re-classify. She was a combat medic and is now a carpentry and masonry specialist as well.

She did it because she "really wanted to deploy," Dillard said.

"At the 204th in Binghamton, where I was originally stationed, they said "Hey, there is a deployment and they need some volunteers." We volunteered and so we switched from 204th to the 1156th, which is awesome," she said.

"This unit is amazing, all about hard work and getting stuff done, so I'm really glad I am deploying with them," Dillard added. "Whatever I can do to help my brothers and sisters in the Army, I'll do it."

"We have been pretty hard on ourselves," Scott said about the company's train up for mobilization.

"We have worked really hard, so at this point we are sitting comfortably where we need to be. Once we get to Texas for pre-mobilization training it's really the struggle of getting over into theater and making sure all of our equipment gets there with us," said Scott.

The company is bringing much of their own equipment and vehicles from New York with them, staging it in Kuwait for missions.

"I really look forward to getting on ground, getting our orders and equipment, and at that point we should be all set," said Scott.

The company is expected to deploy to theater before the end of the year and return home to New York in the fall of 2017.