BATTLEFIELD TOUR
NY Army National Guard gets leadership lesson at Saratoga National Historical Park
STILLWATER, N.Y. >> Members of the New York Army National Guard visited Saratoga National Historical Park on Wednesday for a battlefield tour and study of leadership at the site of the 1777 American Revolutionary War Battles of Saratoga.
A total of 35 individuals preparing to assume leadership or command positions within the New York National Guard were transported to the park Wednesday morning via UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
Once they landed, the National Guard members received a tour of the Saratoga National Battlefield conducted by expert James Hughto of Customized Tours.
“It’s about decision making,” said Hughto, who is honored to be part of this military training. “That’s the key thing.”
Hughto emphasizes decision making on these tours in hopes that what he teaches might someday help a National Guard
leader make the right call in a battle situation.
The military traditionally refers to these battlefield visits as “staff rides” and uses them as a training tool.
Though nearly 250 years have passed since the Battles of Saratoga, known as the turning point of the American Revolution, the National Guard believes there are still lessons to be learned from those events.
“From a military standpoint, from a soldier’s point of view, there are so many lessons from the Battles of Saratoga,”said Col. Richard Goldenberg of the New York Army National Guard. “It’s not just a page out of a history book of the Revolutionary War.”
He continued, “The use of artillery here was critical to the success of the American forces, the use of engineering assets - fortifications, the decisions that leaders made, both on the American and British sides, had a dramatic impact on the outcome of the battle.”
So, every few years the New York Army National Guard takes a group of leaders out out to this important historical site. “Having modern day soldiers walk this ground and discuss what were the decisions made back in 1777, and what can we learn from that, has a lot of value,” Goldenberg said.
This “field trip” is part of a five-day New York Army National Guard Company Commander & First Sergeant Pre-Command Course, for which participants train in a variety of preparatory topics. The training prepares commanders and their senior and non-commissioned officers, known as First Sergeants, to train, lead and prepare Citizen Soldiers for missions at home and abroad.
Training includes understanding unit readiness management for training, personnel and equipment, along with the information technology systems and resources to leverage to prepare units for domestic emergencies or overseas deployments.
Capt. Alix Shepard, of Greenwich, came to the battlefield quite often as a youngster, but Wednesday’s trip was her first time there professionally. “We’re here to learn some more of the area’s history, and maybe see how we can apply some of that history moving forward in our careers as well,” she said. “It’s great that the National Guard is able to coordinate this for us today and bring us out here. It’s a beautiful day, we just had a nice ride out. So I appreciate all of the coordination and work that went into it.”
Ballston Spa resident Sgt. Justin Lamb, who teaches part of the course, said the group’s visit was to learn about tradition, commitment and sacrifice. He said, “It reminds us of what our forefathers and mothers sacrificed for us to have all of our liberties today.”