2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment

The 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment is a light infantry battalion in the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the New York Army National Guard. Headquartered in Utica, NY, the battalion includes approximately 800 Soldiers assigned to six companies located across Western, Central and Northern New York State.  The battalion has been heavily engaged in the Global War on Terrorism, serving on Federal homeland defense duty in the wake of the September 11thattacks and then conducting combat operations in Iraq in 2004 and Afghanistan (Companies A, B and D) in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, the battalion conducted counterinsurgency training with the Royal Thai Army during exercise Cobra Gold. The battalion is commanded by Lt. Col. Joseph Biehler of Rochester, NY. Command Sgt. Maj. John O'Hara of Syracuse, NY, is the battalion's senior non-commissioned officer.

"Third New York"The 108th Infantry Regiment was first organized as the 3rdRegiment N. Y. Infantry ("Third New York") in 1898 from several independent companies located in western New York. The Regiment mobilized for duty during the War with Spain in 1898 and served along the Mexican Border in 1916.   

World War I In World War I, the Regiment was officially re-designated as the 108th Infantry and deployed to France with New York's 27th"Empire" Division, the unit best known for breaking the "impregnable" Hindenburg line. The 108th's campaign credits include the Somme Offensive, Ypres-Lys, Flanders (1918), as well as the Aisne-Marne, Oise-Aisne, and Meuse-Argonne for Companies A & C. In 1918 Pvt. Frank Gaffney became the first 108th Soldier to earn the Medal of Honor "when single-handed and wounded he captured a machine gun nest," leading to the capture of 80 enemy men. 

World War II The Regiment mobilized with the 27th Division again in World War II, but was re-assigned in 1942 to the 40th Infantry Division, California Army National Guard. The 108th's campaign credits from World War II include the Bismarck Archipelago, Leyte, Luzon, and the Southern Philippines (with arrowhead), as well as the Eastern Mandates, Western Pacific, and Ryukus for the Headquarters Company and Company C. For its role in the liberation of the Philippines, the 108th received the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation. 

The Cold War The 108th Infantry Regiment returned to the 27th Division following World War II. It saw a score of re-designations in the post-war years, but always maintained a presence in Central and Western New York. The 108th Infantry served in multiple state-led actions, but was not mobilized for war until the current conflict.  

Iraq In 2004, the 2nd Battalion was mobilized for service in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and became the first infantry battalion from the NYARNG to deploy for war since World War II. Augmented by Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 108th Infantry and 1st Battalion, 105th Infantry, the unit conducted combat operations with the 1st Infantry Division in the Sunni Triangle. The unit earned a Meritorious Unit Commendation for its duty in Iraq. 

Afghanistan After returning from Iraq, the 1st Battalion and 2nd Battalion of the 108th merged under the 2nd Battalion's colors as the only active battalion of the Regiment. In 2007, the 108th Infantry mobilized three companies and dozens of individual Soldiers to deploy with the 27th Brigade Combat Team to Afghanistan. Assuming the on-going mission of Task Force Phoenix (VII), the 27th BCT provided security forces and advisors to the nascent Afghan army and police forces. All told, the battalion mobilized more than 350 Soldiers for duty with elements of Task Force Phoenix. The main body of 108th Soldiers returned from Afghanistan in December 2008.