2,000 MORE NAT'L GUARD TROOPS DEPLOYED, AS STRIKE BY NY STATE PRISON GUARDS DRAGS ON
INITIAL DEPLOYMENT OF 3,500 SOLDIERS RISES TO 5,600. 1000s MORE LIKELY.
National Guard troops arriving by helicopter in Malone, New York. They are headed to replace striking prison guards at the Franklin, Upstate and Bare Hill Correctional Facilities. Photo credit: unknown handout.
EXCLUSIVE
Feb. 21, 2025
New York has almost doubled the number of National Guardsmen initially deployed to take the place of striking state prison guards, and plans to deploy more, The Free Lance has learned.
"Over 5,600 National Guard personnel are actively being deployed to help maintain the safety and security of correctional facilities across the state," Gov. Kathy Hochul's press office revealed in an email late Friday afternoon.
Some of the National Guard troops are sleeping in cells, as negotiations between the striking guards and the state continue.
The guards started walking off the job on Monday. By Wednesday, they were on strike at 40 of the state's 42 prisons.
That's when Gov. Kathy Hochul announced she was activating 3,500 troops "as advance crews" before "the larger deployment." Their mission was "to determine logistical needs and roles and responsibilities."
Dramatic video obtained by The Free Lance captured 220 soldiers arriving by helicopter at a remote Adirondack airfield for deployment to the Bare Hill, Upstate and Franklin Correctional Facilities on Thursday.
When asked to identify the units that had been deployed and the prisons they had been deployed to, the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs, which manages the National Guard, referred questions about the deployment to Gov. Hochul.
The 2,000 additional troops were part of Gov. Hochul's original plan, her press office said.
The office pointed to language in the governor's Wednesday news release, which promised "Additional members are expected to report for duty in the coming hours and days."
The office did not respond to a request to state the total number of troops to be deployed. It also refused to state what units had been deployed and where.
"We're not breaking down how many are at each facility for safety and security reasons, but the deployment is systemwide," Matt Janiszewski, Gov. Hochul's upstate press secretary, said.
Visits at all of New York's prisons have been canceled until further notice.
1979 was the last time New York’s Correction Officers walked off the job. Back then, 7,000 National Guardsmen were needed to replace them. There were about 21,000 prisoners that year. In 2025, there are about 33,500.
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