Joseph J. Taluto

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Joseph J. Taluto


Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1965-1968 (enlisted) 1968-present (officer)
Rank	Major General (United States Army)
Commands held	Adjutant General, New York
Battles/wars	Operation Iraqi Freedom
Awards	Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit Bronze Star

Joseph J. Taluto is an United States Army general who serves as the Adjutant General of New York State. He holds the rank of Major General. As such, he is the director of the New York State Division of Military & Naval Affairs, he serves as overall Commander of the New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard, New York Guard and the New York Naval Militia. Previously, Taluto commanded the "Rainbow Division" in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2004 to 2006.

1 Military career and background
2 Operation Iraqi Freedom
3 References
- 3.1 Notes
4 External links

[edit] Military career and background

Taluto enlisted in the Army National Guard in 1965 while attending Excelsior College. He became a member of the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program, and graduated in 1968 with a Bachelors of Science in Liberal Arts, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.

After graduating from Air Defense Artillery basic course, Taluto served as a platoon leader for Headquarters Company, New York Army National Guard, then was then assigned to the the Nike-Hercules Missile Program. After a transfer to the Armor branch, he held a variety of positions in the 1st Battalion, 210th Armor, including command positions in three companies while completing the Armor Officer Advanced Course. After serving in operations officer assignments at several levels of command, he was assigned as Chief of Staff, Headquarters, Troop Command, New York Army National Guard, with subsequent assignments as Chief of Staff, 42nd Infantry Division; Chief of Staff, State Area Command; Deputy Commander, 27th Infantry Brigade; Assistant Division Commander, 42nd Infantry Division; and Commander of the 42nd Infantry Division.

Taluto served as the Joint Task Force Commander during the 42nd Infantry Division’s initial emergency response mission to assist the New York City in its security and recovery operations following the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center. He directed a force of some 2,000 Soldiers, Airmen, sailors and Marines to assist the city’s Office of Emergency Management.

His awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with Silver and two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Achievement Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal with Silver and four Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, the National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Service Star, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with Gold Hourglass, Bronze Hourglass and M Device, and the New York State Conspicuous Service Cross.

Taluto was appointed the Adjutant General for the State of New York on January 23, 2006.

[edit] Operation Iraqi Freedom

See also: Operation Iraqi Freedom

General Taluto was assigned as the Commander, 42nd Infantry Division, New York Army National Guard, and commanded the division as well as Task Force Liberty during its deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III. The unit rotated into Iraq to replace Task Force Danger, composed of the 1st Infantry Division and commanded by Maj. Gen. John R. S. Batiste.

The Task Force included the first and third brigades of the 3rd Infantry Division, the 116th Infantry Brigade, engineer and aviation units of the 82nd Airborne Division, the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, and the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion.^[1]