New York Guard Sentinel Fall 2020

New York Guard Sentinel
Life After IET
PFC Christopher Stout
Headquartered in the 10 th Area Command, PFC Stout has primarily
been assigned to the Thompson Road Armory in Syracuse since the
start of his SAD in March 2020. In April, Stout received his promotion
to Private First Class. Before his SAD activation, PVC Stout
worked in the grocery field and volunteered for his local volunteer
ambulance corps. As a NYS EMT-Basic, PFC Stout has been assigned
as a medic for SAD, taking temperatures and performing
basic health screening. He was pleased to report that, to date, he did
not identify anyone as symptomatic. PFC Stout credits IET’s focus
on military customs and tradition as teaching him the demeanor and
attitude that allows him to successfully function with his National
Guard peers. So successful, that at one point a National Guard sergeant
approached him and asked “what was up with the black name
tapes.” After PFC Stout explained what the “colors” of the New
York Guard are and what the New York Guard’s mission is, the sergeant
responded that he had no idea that such a state defense force existed.
So where is the IET 2019 class now? The Covid-19 mission is extended through December 31 2020, Approximately
ten members of the class remain deployed (on orders). The four NY Guardsmen interviewed for this
update all expressed a commitment to seeing the mission through to completion, despite many facing some
serious personal hardships. It is through this sense of selfless service, duty and personal courage, Army values
which they were exposed to in IET 2019, that they provide critical support (as New York battles the Covid-19
epidemic). In the spirit of “One team, one fight,” the IET 2019 class continues to demonstrate the New York
Guard’s ability to provide administrative and logistical support to the other State of New York Military forces.
33 Fall 2020