Colonel Paul Ciervo, the State Aviation Officer for the New Jersey Army National Guard and a veteran of more than 21 years in uniform recently had the honor of welcoming his son Paul, Jr. into the ranks of New Jersey's citizen-soldiers when the younger Ciervo enlisted into Battery D 1st Battalion, 112th Field Artillery. Private Ciervo, Collingswood High School-Class of 2000 recently graduated from Camden County Community College and is scheduled to report to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for basic training in August. Following the completion of Basic the 21 year old soldier will proceed to Ft Gordon, Georgia for his Advanced Individual Training (AIT) as a 31C communications / signal specialist. After AIT, he will return to New Jersey to re-join Battery D (which is headquartered in Cherry Hill) and resume his civilian education at either Rowan University or Rutgers. Active members of the New Jersey National Guard can attend any state college or university "tuition free." This education benefit includes graduate and postgraduate studies.

The New Jersey National Guard, which Brigadier General Glenn K. Rieth, The Adjutant General of New Jersey refers to as "New Jersey's Home Town Team", has more than 7,000 Army Guard troops stationed at 32 active armories in 20 of the state's 21 counties; and more than 2,000 Air National Guard troops stationed at McGuire Air Force Base and Atlantic City International Airport. Following September 11th, more than 1,700 citizen-soldiers of the New Jersey Army and Air National Guard were mobilized to provide additional security at the Hudson River Bridges & Tunnels, area airports, the state's two nuclear facilities, and at other key infrastructure throughout the state. National Guard personnel remain actively involved in "Operations Noble Eagle and Liberty Shield", the Homeland Defense missions here in New Jersey, "Operation Enduring Freedom", the ongoing global war against terrorism, and "Operation Iraqi Freedom".

# # # #

Photo by SFC Declan Callan, NJARNG-PAO

Colonel Paul Ciervo, State Aviation Officer and his son, Private Paul Ciervo, Jr. pause for a photo before departing aboard a UH-1 "Huey" utility helicopter for an orientation flight. The Ciervo's are the latest "Father-Son" team to serve in the New Jersey Army National Guard.