ALBANY (AP) -- The New York Army National Guard says it has reached 100 percent strength for the first time since the Vietnam War era.
Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto, the state National Guard's adjutant general and commander, is holding a news conference at the Guard's suburban Albany headquarters Thursday afternoon to announce that the force has reached its assigned strength of nearly 10,500 soldiers.
Failure to maintain authorized strength levels can result in the Pentagon reallocating units and military equipment to National Guards in other states. That could have an impact on the New York National Guard's ability to respond to state emergencies and homeland security missions.
About 600 New York Guard members are deployed in Iraq and another 1,200 are returning from Afghanistan.
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