Kingston-based 104th Military Police Battalion and 442nd Military Police Company, located in Farmingdale, will serve in Border Patrol’s Laredo (Texas) Sector
One hundred and eighty-eight New York Army National Guard Soldiers are deploying to the southern border on federal orders to support the U.S. Border Patrol mission to prevent unauthorized border crossings.
The Soldiers are assigned to the 104th Military Police Battalion, a headquarters unit based in Kingston, and the 442nd Military Police Company, which is based in Farmingdale.
They will be on federal military orders for 14 months. This includes time for Soldiers’ pre-deployment training and accrued leave.
The 63 Soldiers from the 104th Military Police Battalion departed from Kingston on Sunday, October 12.
The 125 Soldiers of the 442nd Military Police Battalion deployed on Tuesday, October 14,
The Soldiers are heading initially at Fort Bliss, Texas for post-mobilization training. They will be based in the Border Patrol’s Laredo Sector, which is headquartered in Laredo, Texas.
“Our Soldiers have been preparing for this deployment for most of the past year and are ready and well trained for their mission assisting the Border Patrol,” said Lt. Col. Nicholas Paolini, the commander of the 104th MP Battalion.
The role of the 104th MP Battalion will be to command seven companies including a maintenance company, a transportation company, engineer companies and a forward support company operating in the Laredo Sector. This amounts to about 1,000 Soldiers.
The 442nd Military Police Company will be one of those companies.
The New York National Guard has deployed troops to the southern border in the past where they have provided administrative and logistics support to the Border Patrol.
On March 8, 2024, two New York Army National Guard helicopters pilots – Chief Warrant Officer 2 Casey Frankoski, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 John Grassia-were killed while flying a mission in support of the Border Patrol near Rio Grande City, Texas.
A Border Patrol agent also died in the crash and Sgt. 1st Class Jacob Pratt, the crew chief, was badly injured.
For this deployment, the 442nd Military Police Company will be bringing military vehicles with them. This includes four M1151 Humvees which are equipped with surveillance systems.
On previous missions, Soldiers used Border Patrol vehicles.
Currently over 850 New York Army National Guard Soldiers are deployed on federal missions.
This includes 600 members of the 42nd Infantry Division headquarters, operating in the Middle East, and 110 members of the 206th Military Police Company who are on duty at Guantanamo Bay.
Another 145 Soldiers assigned to the 152nd Engineer Support Company are on duty in the horn of Africa.
