Photo By William Albrecht | Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 5 William Solmo, Air National Guard Brig....... read more read more
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LATHAM, New York --The New York Army Guard’s top warrant officer, who’s served since 1986, and an Airman who enlisted in 2023, saluted the National Guard’s 389th Birthday during a Dec. 12 ceremony at New York National Guard headquarters in Latham, New York.
Chief Warrant Officer 5, William Solmo, the state’s command chief warrant officer, and Airman 1st Class Emma Grace Charboneau, cut a birthday cake during the commemoration of the Dec. 13, 1636, birthday of the National Guard.
Traditionally, the oldest servicemember present joins the youngest in cutting the cake. Solmo, age 60, with 39 years of service, represented the history and traditions of the National Guard, while the 20-year-old Charboneau, represented the Guard’s future.
They joined Brig. Gen. Gary Charlton III, the New York National Guard’s assistant adjutant general, Air, the presiding officer for the ceremony, in slicing the cake with a cavalry saber.
Charlton told the 100 service members attending the gathering that they can lay claim to a distinguished history.
Citizens began serving as part-time Soldiers as soon as Europeans began creating colonies in what is now the United States, Charlton said.
These militias defended their colonies against Native Americans and other European powers and then went on to fight in the Revolutionary War and every conflict since, he said.
“You can be proud of your service in the New York National Guard and your role in protecting freedom and democracy and taking care of our fellow citizens in times of disaster,” Charlton said.
Solmo, who is responsible for overseeing the New York Army Guard’s warrant officer program, said it was rewarding to be part of the ceremony.
“It is a profound honor to be here today, representing the deep history and unwavering traditions of the National Guard,” Solmo said.
“My role is not just a title; it is a commitment to the men and women who make up our force, and it is with immense pride that I cut this cake in celebration of their recent service and accomplishments,” he added.
Solmo, who lives in Brooklyn, is a veteran of the Iraq War and has been awarded the Combat Action Badge and the Bronze Star. He has also deployed to the Horn of Africa.
Charboneau, said it felt “really special’ to be representing the future of the National Guard during the ceremony.
“It’s a unique experience,” she added.
Charboneau, a nursing student at Utica University who lives in Fultonville and who serves as a medical technician in the 109th Airlift Wing, said she joined the Guard to help pay for college.
“I really just wanted a new opportunity,” she said.
The National Guard is the oldest armed service in the United States and traces its history back to the citizen militias established when the original colonies were founded.
The Guard claims December 13,1636 as its official birthday, because on that date the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony officially established three militia regiments for the colony. Today, those regiments are the oldest units in the U.S. Army.
In New York, the first citizen-soldiers were members of the Burgher Guard, organized by the Dutch East India Company in 1640 to help protect New Amsterdam from its English neighbors in Massachusetts and Virginia, as well as from hostile natives.
After New Amsterdam became the English colony of New York in 1665, a militia modeled system used in Massachusetts and other English colonies was established.
Citizen Soldiers of the militia and National Guard have fought in all of America's wars from King Philip’s War against Native Americans in the New England Colonies in 1675 to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
New York gave the country the term National Guard for its militia forces.
In 1824, the 2nd Battalion, 11th Regiment of the New York Militia, renamed itself the National Guard to honor the Marquis de Lafayette, a hero of the American Revolutionary War who was visiting New York City.
In the early days of the French Revolution, Lafayette had commanded a force called the "Guard de National".
In 1862, with the Civil War raging, the state legislature formally renamed the New York State Militia as the New York National Guard. New York National Guard units were mobilized several times during the Civil War to supplement federal troops.
Other states began adopting this name, and in 1903, federal law specified that state militias be called the National Guard.
There are over 11,850 members of the New York Army National Guard and over 5,880 members of the New York Air National Guard. The New York Army National Guard is the fourth- largest in the nation, while the New York Air National Guard is the largest Air Guard in the country. The New York National Guard is the second-largest National Guard in the nation after Texas.
| Date Taken: | 12.12.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 12.12.2025 12:44 |
| Story ID: | 554041 |
| Location: | LATHAM, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 38 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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