Duty Calls: Iraq War veteran advances to brigadier general

Bradley Frank of West Valley, Cattaraugus County, an Iraq War veteran, has been promoted to brigadier general and assigned as the deputy commanding general of the New York Army National Guard’s Troy-based 42nd Infantry Division.

Maj. Gen. Ray Shields, state adjutant general, administered the oath of office as Maj. Gen. Jack James, 42nd Infantry Division commander, presided over the ceremony in Buffalo.

Shields noted the significance of the promotion.

“In the New York Army National Guard, we’re a force of 12,024 soldiers,” Shields said. “Of those 12,024 soldiers, 118 are lieutenant colonels, 32 are colonels, and three are brigadier generals. If you think about the pyramid that Brad has just been promoted on, it is a huge accomplishment.”

During the ceremony, Frank’s wife, Krista, received the Saint Joan of Arc Medallion in recognition of her decades of service to military families and the community. Since 2003, she has provided support to families of fallen soldiers, and in 2006, President George W. Bush presented her with the President’s Volunteer Service Award.

Frank previously served as commander of the 42nd Infantry Division’s Syracuse-based 4,000-soldier 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

The division has a historical lineage dating back to World War I, when it mobilized in August 1917 and arrived in France that November, according to Maj. Rolando Sierra.

“Dubbed the ‘Rainbow Division,’ it entered the front lines in March 1918 and remained in contact with the enemy for 174 days before concluding its wartime service in May 1919,” Sierra said.

During World War II, division soldiers liberated the Dachau concentration camp. In 2004 and 2005, the division headquarters deployed to Iraq, commanding more than 20,000 troops.

The division’s headquarters recently returned from an 11-month deployment to the Middle East, serving as the higher headquarters for 10,000 Army troops operating across the region in support of Operation Spartan Shield and the Iran War’s Operation Epic Fury.

Frank is now responsible for sustainment, logistics operations and the coordination of division support elements.

More than 5,400 soldiers are assigned to the division and aligned in units across several states, according to Sierra. The 42nd Infantry Division is one of the eight infantry divisions in the Army National Guard.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point graduate deployed to Iraq three times.

He earned his commission upon graduation from West Point with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2002. Frank earned a Master of Business Administration from St. Bonaventure College and a master’s in strategic studies at the Army War College. He is also a graduate of the Command and General Staff College.

After Frank graduated from the Armor Officer Basic Course, he served on active duty as a tank and mortar platoon leader. He then became an assistant operations officer with the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. He transferred to the New York Army National Guard as commander of B Troop, 2nd Squadron of the 101st Cavalry Regiment.

In 2017, Frank deployed to Iraq as a liaison officer for the 10th Mountain Division’s Main Command Post Operational Detachment. While in Baghdad, he served as deputy director of the Security Sector Reform Group at the U.S. Embassy, coordinating defense institution building with the Iraqi government, NATO and the United Nations.

Frank has earned a Legion of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals, a Defense Meritorious Service Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals, a Joint Meritorious Unit Award, a Valorous Unit Award, a Combat Action Badge, a Parachutist Badge, an Army Staff Identification Badge, and a German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency.

As a civilian, Frank is a program manager for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority at the West Valley Demonstration Project.

Josh Heimroth of Menands, an Afghanistan War veteran, has been promoted to colonel in the New York Army National Guard during a ceremony at the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs Headquarters in Latham.

Heimroth, who enlisted in the Army in 1997, serves as the director of military personnel at the Joint Force Headquarters in Latham.

The colonel oversees the day-to-day administrative support for more than 12,000 soldiers across the state, Shields, the state adjutant general, said during the ceremony.

“Josh was the commander of one of the hardest and most demanding battalions in the state, recruiting and retention, and he excelled in that position,” Shields said. “He will do great in his current position and deserves this rank.”

He had enlisted as a cannon crewmember, with Charlie Battery, 1st of the 321st Field Artillery Regiment (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Heimroth was commissioned as an officer in the Military Intelligence Corps in 2006.

His previous assignments included duty as commander of the Recruiting and Retention Battalion, executive officer in the Adjutant General’s Office, battalion operations officer, assistant human resources officer, casualty assistance, and military human resources officer.

Heimroth earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management at Siena University, a master’s in human resource management at Webster University, and a master’s in strategic studies at the Army War College. He is also a graduate of the Command and General Staff College.

He has earned a Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, a Meritorious Service Medal, an Army Commendation Medal, an Army Achievement Medal, an Army Good Conduct Medal, a Humanitarian Service Medal, a Joint Meritorious Unit Award, a Senior Parachutist Badge, an Air Assault Badge, a German Parachutist Badge and a French Parachutist Badge.

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