LATHAM — Maj. Gen. Joseph J. Taluto, the Adjutant General for the State of New York, recently announced the promotion of members of the New York Army National Guard in recognition of their capabilities for additional responsibility and leadership.
Corey Wille of St. Johnsville, serving with Detachment 1 HQ and HQ Company 2-108th Infantry, was promoted to the rank of private first class.
Army National Guard promotions are based on overall performance, attitude, leadership ability and development potential. Promotions additionally recognize the best qualified soldiers and attract and retain the highest caliber citizen soldiers for a career in the Army National Guard.
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CHARLESTON, S.C. — Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer David P. O’Connor, son of Eleanora T. O’Connor of Ilion, recently returned from a five-month deployment to Iraq while assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit 6 home based at Naval Weapons Station Charleston, S.C.
During the deployment, O’Connor’s unit protected coalition forces against improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The team conducted more than 1,869 missions which led to the safe disposal of 417 IEDs. As experts in explosives, diving and parachuting, EOD personnel have the responsibility of analyzing and handling foreign, domestic and homemade explosives. The unit disposed of car bombs, conducted 63 post-blast investigations and was responsible for the clearance and destruction of 471 enemy caches and 915 explosive remnants totaling 226,161 pieces of ordnance.
O’Connor is a 1981 graduate of Ilion Central High School.