Soldiers assigned to the 152nd Engineer Support Company stand in formation during their farewell ceremony at Connecticut Street Armory in Buffalo, New York, Jan. 2, 2025. The unit will train in Texas, before heading to Africa to support Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. New York Army National Guard photo by Capt Jason Carr.
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BUFFALO, N.Y. – One hundred and forty-five New York Army National Guard Soldiers heading to the Horn of Africa were sent off with a formal ceremony at the Connecticut Street Armory Jan. 2.
The Soldiers, members of the 152nd Engineer Support Company, will be assigned to Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, for 10 months.
They will train at Fort Bliss, Texas, for four weeks before deploying to Africa. They are expected home in November.
Maj. Gen. Ray Shields, the adjutant general of New York, told the Soldiers they could be proud of their unit and themselves. He also emphasized teamwork, comradery and situational awareness.
“You are deploying as part of the greatest team our nation has: the U.S. Army,” Shields said. “While overseas you are representing not just yourself but our country as a whole and the New York Army National Guard. Deploying as a unit is a team sport.”
The 152nd is based in Buffalo and is an element of the 204th Engineer Battalion. The Soldiers have been training for this mission for six months at Fort Drum and other military training areas, according to Capt. Daniel Roche, the company commander.
The deployment is the first for many of the Soldiers.
“I feel like the people I’ve met that have deployed or gone overseas carry themselves differently than those who haven’t,” said Sgt. Nathaniel Romero, a New York City resident. “I’m really excited about how it’s going to influence me as a senior enlisted member when I get back.”
Spc. Haley Holmes, from Fillmore, New York, agreed.
“As a Guardsman, it makes me feel proud because I feel a lot of people underestimate the Guard,” she said. “Now that I’m deploying, it changes their perspective a bit, like ‘Oh, you’re actually in the Army.’”
While deployed the company will work on base security improvements and buildings related to Soldier welfare and operations, according to Roche.
Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa has about 2,000 personnel from across the U.S. military operating in Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Seychelles and Kenya.
