NY Army Guard Battalion To Welcome New Commander At Camp Smith

CORTLANDT, NY — The New York National Guard's 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery, which has a unit in New Windsor, as well elements in New York City, gets a new commander during a ceremony at the Camp Smith Training Site on Friday.

Lt. Col. Eric Emmerling, a New York State Police investigator in civilian life, will take over from Lt. Col. Jeffery Roth, a deputy commissioner for the New York City Department of Veterans Services, who has led the battalion since 2021.

In the traditional change of command ceremony, Col. Bradley Frank, commander of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and presiding officer for the ceremony, will transfer the flag of the 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery from Roth to Emmerling, signifying the change of command for the battalion.

Roth will also be promoted to the rank of colonel by Brig. Gen. Isabel Smith, following the change of command.

Emerling is a resident of Springville in western New York. In civilian life, he is a criminal investigator in Troop A of the New York State Police and a member of the State Police Crisis Negotiation Unit.

He is a veteran of the Iraq War, as well as of the NATO peacekeeping mission in Bosnia. He joined the Army in 1998 and served on active duty until 2005. He served in a variety of field artillery officer positions with the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) and the 1st Infantry Division. This included battery executive officer, target acquisition detachment commander, battalion adjutant and logistics officer and fire direction officer.

Emerling joined the New York Army National Guard in 2015. He has served as a battery commander in the 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery, fire support officer for the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, operations officer for the 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery, and fire support officer for the 42nd Infantry Division.

His military awards include the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Armed Force Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the NATO Medal, and the Army Parachutist and Air Assault badges.

He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from St. Bonaventure University and is a graduate of the Army's Command and General Staff College.

He and his wife live in Springville, New York, and have three children.

Roth was commissioned as a field artillery officer after graduating from Michigan State University in 2001. He served in the Michigan Army National Guard prior to transferring to the New York Army National Guard. While assigned to the Michigan Army National Guard Roth deployed to the Sinai where he served as part of the Multinational Force and Observers force established following the signing of a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

While a member of the New York Army National Guard he has served as a battery commander, operations officer, and executive officer in the 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery, prior to serving as the battalion commander.

He has also served as chief of fires for the 42nd Infantry Division. He deployed to the Middle East with the division, where he served as chief of fires for the headquarters of Task Force Spartan, the 10,000-Soldiers U.S. Army force in the region, and as the deputy officer-in-charge of the Task Force Spartan-Jordan Training Center in Jordan.

His military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, the Multinational Force and Observers Medal and the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge.

He is a graduate of the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College.

Roth holds a master's degree in public policy and urban planning from the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard School of Design, as well as a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University.

Roth is also the author of the book "Fires, Floods, and Taxicabs: Taking a Bite Out of Big Apple Bureaucracy."

In civilian life he is the deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Veterans Services, but he is currently on leave from that job to command Joint Task Force Empire Shield, the New York National Guard security force in New York City.

His next assignment is at New York National Guard Joint Force Headquarters.

The 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery traces its history back to the formation of a New York City artillery company in 1784.

On April 30, 1778, the company was one of the militia units escorting George Washington to his inauguration as the first president of the United States in New York City. The unit has used the nickname of Washington Greys since then, and the colors of Washington's coat of arms are mirrored on the unit crest.

New York State units in the battalion's lineage served in the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the War in Iraq, and the War in Afghanistan.
The battalion's predecessors responded to New York City gang riots prior to the Civil War, and strikes prior to World War I.

On Sept. 11, 2001, members of the 258th were among the first to arrive at the scene of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and for the next several weeks actively assisted in the security and relief efforts at the site.

In 2018, the 258th went through another reorganization to form the current composite battalion consisting of two M119A3 105mm batteries (Alpha Battery located in New Windsor, N.Y., and Bravo Battery located in the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx) and one M777A2 155mm battery (Charlie Battery located in Harlem).

The headquarters battery and support elements are located at the Jamaica Armory.