New Jersey Army National Guard

The New Jersey Army National Guard maintains 64 armories, and is present in 42 communities. Fort Drum is located 20 miles south of the Canadian border in upstate New York. Most New Jersey Army National Guardsmen will spend their entire annual training at Drum.

New Jersey ARNG units performed AT and weekend training all over the Unites States and in four foreign countries in 1999. New Jersey sent four rotations of logistical soldiers to Italy to support SETAF, a company of infantry to provide OPFOR for the active component in Germany, a platoon of MP's to support closure operations in Panama and over 90 medics to support Honduras after Hurricane Mitch. NJARNG soldiers played a pivotal role in Operation Provide Refuge for Kosovar refugees at Fort Dix.

New Jersey units and over 1,600 soldiers were called to state active duty in late September to deal with flooding in northern New Jersey from Hurricane Floyd. Soldiers also performed over 100 other state missions such as hauling water in response to water main breaks and searching for lost persons. Over 10,000 state mandays were used in 1999 and almost 2,000 personnel were called to state active duty.

The New Jersey Counterdrug Task Force continued its war on drugs in FY99, seizing over $400 million in illegal drugs, money and contraband. Soldiers worked alongside local and federal law enforcement officials to assist with aerial surveillance port inspections and translations and intelligence support.

The New Jersey National Guard flexed its combat muscles at Fort Drum for almost all of August 2000. During the first half of the month, the 50th Brigade and the 42nd DISCOM (Division Support Command) practiced wartime skills in the north country. In the second half of the month, the 119th Corps Support Battalion, the 250th Signal Battalion and the 204th Air Weather Flight, New Jersey Air National Guard, supported the joint readiness exercise "Empire Peak." All combined, it was the largest single deployment of New Jersey soldiers and airmen to Fort Drum since the retirement of the 50th Armored Division in 1991.