New York Guard: Out With The Old, In With The New?

After an in-depth investigation, we are publishing our findings regarding recent changes within the New York Guard. This will be a multi-part, multi-day publication due to the significant number of topics we need to cover.

“We’ve been told it’s not the New York Guard; it’s Ryan’s Guard,” after extensive interviews. Colonel Stephen Ryan serves as the Deputy Command of the New York Guard.

Last year, we conducted an interview with the Commanding General of the New York Guard, Brigadier General Peter Riley, about recent organizational changes. One key topic was the deactivation of crucial units, including the New York Guard’s Search & Rescue Teams, Engineering Team, JAG Team, and Medical Units.

At the time, we viewed these changes as highly abnormal, considering all State Defense Forces maintain such units to assist their state and the National Guard. Each State Defense Force across the nation retains Search & Rescue teams, often utilized during natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and flooding. They also have Engineering Teams that conduct Installation Status Reports (ISR) of National Guard armories and state military facilities, as well as Judge Advocate General (JAG) Units assisting with mobilization and demobilization duties with deploying National Guard units. The recent deactivation of New York Guard Medical units was particularly concerning, as these units were utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic and in assisting the National Guard during various missions. However, our interview with Brigadier General Peter Riley, the incoming New York Guard Commanding Officer, alleviated some concerns. You can find that interview here -> Click Here.

However, in the last few months, StateDefenseForce.com was contacted by many current and former New York Guard members, each expressing shock at the changes within the New York Guard. It all started with a massive reorganization a few years ago when New York Guard brigades were reduced to Area Commands, e.g., the 88th Brigade to the 88th Area Command. These area commands retained the necessary positions to facilitate assistance to and augmentation of the National Guard, representing more of a name change than an organizational shift. However, in 2023, this change was exacerbated by reducing these area commands to platoon-size strengths instead of brigade-sized units, significantly affecting the positions of hundreds of New York Guard soldiers serving in these Area Commands. For reference, brigade-size units can retain many more soldiers than platoon-sized units, resulting in the elimination of many soldiers’ positions in transitioning from a brigade structure to a platoon structure. Those fortunate enough to retain their positions continued but became very demotivated and demoralized. Many others were transferred to a unit based at New York Guard Headquarters at Camp Smith, New York, known as the 12th Support Command Detachment. It is known by many names such as the “control group” or, as New York Guard members refer to it, the Punishment Unit.

The 12th RTI is a headquarters-based unit designed to exercise a multitude of functions. A key expectation for many of these transferred New York Guard members was to develop new regulations and directives for the New York Guard. Reports from many New York Guard members indicated that the former directives & regulations were lost in 2022/2023 during incidents that included flooding and destruction of online backups. However, our communications with the Division of Military & Naval Affairs (DMNA) Public Affairs Department informed us that such documents are available on the public-facing website and in secure locations within the DMNA.

This drastic reassignment within the New York Guard not only demoralized the force but also created significant difficulty for the hundreds of troops transferred to this new command. Instead of conducting their training and duties at their local units, they were now forced to conduct their training drills at Camp Smith. This change could mean a commute from a 10-15 minute drive to driving many hours across the entire state and then staying the weekend in the barracks instead of returning home after the day’s training.

Another point of frustration expressed by soldiers was the attendance system. The New York Guard uses a self-made application called GOps, built in-house in the early 2000s, to calculate soldiers’ drill attendance. Many former New York Guard S1 (Administrative) soldiers informed us that this application is very inaccurate, outdated, and doesn’t function properly. For example, a 1st Sergeant who attended every single New York Guard drill, without missing even one, had a calculated 17% attendance record in GOps for that year. Unfortunately, from the numerous reports we received, this is not an isolated incident, as many soldiers have reported highly inaccurate numbers from the GOps application. Many of these soldiers reported being discharged due to poor attendance calculations.

The DMNA responded to our inquiry regarding the GOps system, informing us, “Our G-OPS algorithm tracks attendance percentages in real-time. The formula takes into account the drilling schedule that is prescribed in NYGD 1379, and the percentages are accurate. The New York Guard Headquarters has had no issues with the percentages for several years, and this system has been in use since late 2005, utilized to make determinations on attendance compliance, promotion eligibility, and overall good standing in the NY Guard.”

Given our experience and expertise, especially among our staff with previous work at major Fortune 500 tech companies such as Apple and Microsoft, we can safely assert that apps require constant development. An application built in 2005, without continuous updates to remove bugs and develop compatibility with newer versions of Windows, macOS, or Linux, will not perform as needed.

Furthermore, the New York Guard’s refusal to accommodate soldiers’ needs for make-up drills has been noted as unusual. In the past, if soldiers missed drills due to family obligations, mandatory work duties, traveling, etc., they could make up that time by coming into the armory to perform their duties on an alternate weekend or weekday. This practice aligns with the Army National Guard’s approach. However, in the past year, New York Guard soldiers have reported being denied such make-up time, contrasting sharply with the Army National Guard’s flexibility in providing waivers and make-up time as needed. One Non-Commissioned Officer, who faithfully served the New York Guard since 2001—that’s over 22 years of service—faced discharge due to an attendance below the threshold of 75% of drills required. When he requested a waiver due to exigent circumstances or to make up the time, both requests were denied, and he was shortly thereafter discharged due to poor attendance.

We’ve heard from numerous individuals about a significant number of discharges. When we approached the DMNA regarding the large amount of discharges, they responded, “The New York Guard reorganized last year to better serve the mission requirements for civil support operations across the State of New York. While our area commands remain, their manning documents reflect a greater demand for company grade level members. Senior members of the NY Guard, up to age 68, that no longer have authorized positions within the area commands were welcome to continue their volunteer service with the 12th Support Command Detachment as a subordinate element of the NY Guard Headquarters. Many of those individuals either asked to be retired, gone on the State Retired List, requested discharge, or reassigned to other positions. The bulk of separations were by request, or due to non-compliance with attendance or medical directives. The New York National Guard leadership anticipated this shift in manning during the 2023 reorganization. The rightsizing of ranks/positions across our area commands has had a direct impact on many of the recent administrative separations. Essentially, our state defense force has a much-reduced demand for senior grade officers or NCOs in the area commands, and the entire organization made efforts to balance out individual assignments throughout the past 6-9 months. Not every senior member wanted to be part of the 12th Support Command Detachment, but slots were no longer available in their former area command.”

This statement aligns with the vast number of discharges we’ve heard about from former Senior Enlisted and higher-ranking officers. However, we’ve also spoken to lower-ranked enlisted members who have been discharged for similar issues, such as discrepancies with the GOps system, failure to allow for make-up drills or waivers for not attending drill, and especially medical waivers. One soldier who requested a medical waiver for a shaving profile (unable to shave due to skin irritation) found his request unapproved in the New York Guard, although such waivers are commonly granted in the US Army and Army National Guard. Reports from soldiers and officers suggest that doctors are being pressured by New York Guard HQ, specifically by Colonel Ryan at Camp Smith, to find reasons to discharge personnel from the New York Guard, regardless of rank. We are currently verifying these allegations with former medical doctors of the New York Guard and will provide further insights in an upcoming article.

Here is an image of an individual who experiences bumps and irritation from shaving. This condition is recognized as a medical issue by the US Army, and nearly all affected soldiers are granted a medical waiver to be exempt from shaving. However, based on these allegations, the New York Guard does not seem to grant such waivers, according to our interviews.

This controversy may be linked to a new program within the New York Guard. Confirmed statements from current and former personnel indicate that both officers and enlisted members will now be paid for their monthly training drills and annual training. This marks a significant departure from previous State Defense Force policy, where soldiers were not compensated for their weekend training drills nor their weeklong annual training. Volunteers typically used personal time or took vacation from work to ensure their finances were not adversely affected by their commitment. Reducing the number of Senior Officers and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers likely diminishes the financial impact of paying soldiers for attending drills, as these senior members would typically receive larger compensation than lower enlisted soldiers. While it is beneficial to have more lower enlisted in the New York Guard, capable of performing the necessary work, the loss of experience, skills, and leadership provided by Senior NCOs and officers during emergencies raises concerns.

It’s worth noting that the New York Guard is not the only State Defense Force moving towards compensated weekend monthly drills and annual training, with legislation and directives being discussed in other states to pay troops for their training and annual training sessions. We will explore this topic further in a future article.

Throughout our investigation, one individual consistently emerged as a focal point of attention: Colonel Stephen Ryan. Even those who have had positive interactions with Colonel Ryan have described him as “not a friend of the soldiers.” Allegations suggest that all command decisions originate directly from him, rendering Brigadier General Peter Riley, the Commanding General of the New York Guard, as merely a figurehead. This perception has led to the sentiment, “It’s not the New York Guard; it’s Ryan’s Guard.” When we discussed these concerns with the DMNA, they responded, “Brigadier General Peter Riley is the commander of the New York Guard State Defense Force and maintains a staff to provide him with counsel, information, and input for his decisions.”

In conclusion, this first installment aims to present the current situation and the major grievances veteran and longstanding New York Guard members have experienced in recent years with the leadership. Tomorrow, we will release a podcast by two high-ranking former members of the New York Guard that will shed more light on the situation within the New York Guard. Furthermore, we plan to cover more areas, including a legal case brought against the New York Guard & Adjutant General and major changes in other elements of the New York Guard.

Editor’s Note: We have heard great things about the New York Guard in recent years, being utilized heavily by the New York National Guard for a multitude of missions, augmenting National Guard units, and being a pivotal element in Joint Task Force missions. Despite these issues plaguing the force, our future coverage, especially our podcast episode releasing tomorrow, will cast a better light on the future of the New York Guard.

If you are one of those affected soldiers who served or are currently serving in The New York Guard we recommend contacting your Assembly member -> Click Here. You can also contact your State Senator -> Click Here. If you wish to do even more you can contact The Adjutant General of New York directly by calling (518) 786-4502.

*Update 3/6/24 – “known as the 12th Support Command Detachment. It is known by many names such as the “control group” or, as New York Guard members refer to it, the Punishment Unit”