Duty Calls: Mechanicville soldier commanding battalion
Terry Brown
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New York Army National Guard Lt. Col. Michael J. Hastings, accepts the unit flag of the 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion during change of command ceremonies at ceremony at Camp Smith, near Peekskill.Spc. Marla Ogden / New York Army National Guard
Lt. Col. Michael Hastings of Mechanicville, an Afghan war veteran, assumed command of the New York Army National Guard’s 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion during a ceremony at Camp Smith Training Site, Peekskill, Orange County.
The battalion, headquartered in Yonkers, has elements in Orangeburg and Peekskill. Hastings leads soldiers who specialize in handling satellite communications for military units over vast areas of operation. The unit has deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. Hastings replaced Lt. Col. Ian Seagriff, who has led the battalion for the past four years.
1st BCT, 1st Armored Division Leadership
Commander
COL Stephen A. Fairless
Colonel Stephen A. Fairless was commissioned as an Armor Officer in 1997 following graduation from the United States Military Academy. His first assignment was with the 2nd Battalion, 72nd Armor, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Casey, Korea, from 1998 to 1999. There he served as a Battalion S-1 and as a Tank Platoon Leader. He then served in 1st Battalion, 9th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, as a Mechanized Infantry Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, and as a Support Platoon Leader from 1999 to 2000. While serving as the Support Platoon Leader, he deployed with the Battalion to Kuwait for four months in support of Operation Intrinsic Action.
Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division Leadership
Commander
COL Geoffrey A. Whittenberg
Colonel Geoffrey A. Whittenberg graduated as a Distinguished Military Graduate from Oklahoma State University s ROTC program in 1997, with a degree in Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (Forestry), and received his commission as an Aviation Officer. He attended the Aviation Officer Basic Course and graduated flight school in 1998 as an OH-58D-rated Aviator.
His first assignment after flight school was in the 1st Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York, where he served as a platoon leader, deploying to Bosnia in support of Operation Joint Forge and subsequently as the battalion assistant S-3. Following the Aviation Advanced Course, COL Whittenberg served in the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart, Georgia, where he served as the squadron S1, deploying to Kuwait and Iraq in support of Operatio