Joint Task Force Empire Shield
{{Short description|New York state military unit}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = Joint Task Force Empire Shield
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| image = Seal of Joint Task Force - Empire Shield.png
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| dates = 2001-Present
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| country = {{Flagu|United States}}
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| allegiance = {{Flag|New York|name=State of New York}}
| branch = New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard, New York Naval Militia, New York Guard
| type =
| role = New York Military Defense, Civil Support Operations
| size = 809(2024)
| command_structure = New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs
| garrison = Fort Hamilton
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| decorations = State of New York Executive Chamber Citation by Governor Kathy Hochul, September 12, 2024
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| current_commander =
| commander1 = Col. Jeffrey D. Roth
| commander1_label = Task Force Commander
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}}
Joint Task Force Empire Shield is an element of the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs partly responsible for the military defense of New York City, primarily the deterrence and prevention of internal security threats. It is composed of personnel from the New York Army National Guard, the New York Air National Guard, the New York Guard, and the New York Naval Militia.
History
Image:106th Rescue Wing Airmen participate in Joint Task Force Empire Shield 141223-Z-SV144-089.jpg
File:New York National Guard at Grand Central Station.png in 2016]]
Joint Task Force Empire Shield was activated in response to the September 11 attacks.{{cite news|last1=Bender|first1=Jeremy|title=A Rare Look Inside New York City's Only U.S. Military Base|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/fort-hamilton-tour-2014-7#joint-task-force-empire-shield-mobilized-after-the-september-11th-attacks-to-help-protect-infrastructure-throughout-new-york-is-also-based-out-of-fort-hamilton-12|access-date=December 30, 2017|work=Business Insider|date=July 31, 2014}}
As of 2009, New York was spending $16 million per biennium to maintain Joint Task Force Empire Shield.{{cite web|title=Military and Naval Affairs, Division of|url=https://www.budget.ny.gov/pubs/archive/fy0809archive/eBudget0809/agencyPresentations/appropData/militaryandNavalAffairsDivisionof.html|website=Division of the Budget|publisher=State of New York|accessdate=December 31, 2017}} By 2011 this had grown to $19.5 million.{{cite web|title=Division of Military and Naval Affairs|url=https://www.budget.ny.gov/pubs/archive/fy1011archive/eBudget1011/agencyPresentations/pdf/dmna.pdf|website=Division of the Budget|publisher=State of New York|accessdate=December 31, 2017}} For 2018 the proposed budget for Empire Shield was $33 million.{{cite web|title=2017–18 Assembly Budget Proposal|url=http://nyassembly.gov/Reports/WAM/20170313/2017_budget_summary.pdf|website=New York Assembly|publisher=State of New York|accessdate=December 31, 2017}}
Organization
Empire Shield is composed of three ad hoc companies: Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie. Personnel are drawn from the New York Army National Guard, the New York Air National Guard, the New York Guard, and the New York Naval Militia who are placed on state active duty status. In 2017, the force had an authorized, but not actual, strength of 500 personnel.https://dmna.ny.gov/blog/resources/jtfes_info.pdf{{efn|In 2009, actual strength was 280 personnel.}}{{cite news|last1=Tilghman|first1=Andrew|title=After Paris attacks, Pentagon quietly shifts to new phase of ISIL war|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/11/17/after-paris-attacks-pentagon-quietly-shifts-new-phase-isis-war/75912156/|accessdate=December 30, 2017|work=USA Today|date=November 17, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=McCarter|first1=Mickey|title=US National Guard Combined Command In The Next Big Catastrophe|url=http://www.hstoday.us/channels/us-national-guard/single-article-page/combined-command-in-the-next-big-catastrophe/1acb7f1e04aebab513d40b88c4296ec7.html|accessdate=December 30, 2017|work=HSToday|date=September 8, 2011}} The three companies rotate between three mission assignments: quick reaction force (QRF), pop-up mission, and training cycle.
The quick reaction force fulfills the National Guard reaction forces mission in New York City, which provides combat units "designed to respond to an incident ahead of federal assets with the capability to be logistically self-sustaining for up to 72 hours".{{cite web|title=National Guard Reaction Forces|url=https://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/ocoi/content/pdf/National%20Guard%20Reaction%20Force%20fact%20sheet.pdf|website=Fort Benning|publisher=U.S. Army|access-date=December 30, 2017}} Pop-up mission elements, meanwhile, conduct preventative patrols of New York transportation hubs including Penn Station, Grand Central Terminal, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport.{{cite news|title=Empire Shield: Soldiers stand watch to prevent another 9/11|url=https://www.army.mil/article/174735/empire_shield_soldiers_stand_watch_to_prevent_another_911|accessdate=December 30, 2017|work=Army News|date=September 9, 2016}} Joint Task Force Empire Shield also conducts random patrols at the Indian Point Energy Center, a nuclear power plant in Buchanan, New York.{{cite web|last1=Greenhill|first1=Jim|title=Task Force Born on 9/11 Still Guards New York|url=http://archive.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=55793|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905201306/http://archive.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=55793|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 5, 2015|website=defense.gov|publisher=U.S. Department of Defense|accessdate=December 30, 2017}} In March 2024 the field of operation was extended to the subway to assist the MTA Police and the NYPD to check bags of commuters, due to increasing crime in the subway system.{{Cite news |last=Cramer |first=Maria |last2=Meko |first2=Hurubie |date=2024-03-08 |title=Do You Have to Let the National Guard Search Your Bag on the Subway? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/07/nyregion/national-guard-subway-bag-checks.html |access-date=2024-03-08 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Felton |first=Emmanuel |last2=Duncan |first2=Ian |date=2024-03-07 |title=Why National Guard troops are being deployed in New York’s subways |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/03/07/new-york-subway-national-guard/ |access-date=2024-03-08 |work=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}
Joint Task Force Empire Shield is headquartered at Fort Hamilton.{{cite news|title=Nosy Neighbor: Where Are the World Trade Center Soldiers Based?|url=https://tribecacitizen.com/2017/02/13/nosy-neighbor-where-are-the-world-trade-center-soldiers-based/|accessdate=December 30, 2017|work=Tribeca Citizen|date=February 13, 2017}}
See also
{{Portal|New York (state)}}
Notes
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