PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - James Siuzdak, recently returned stateside from a near year-long deployment with the New Jersey Army National Guard’s (NJARNG) 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), the largest deployment of New Jersey Army National Guard Soldiers since 2008.
Attached to the IBCT’s 104th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Capt. Siuzdak was one of more than 1,500 NJARNG Soldiers who deployed on Jan. 26, 2024, in support of U.S. Central Command’s Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve. The Soldiers advised, assisted, and enabled partnered forces until they can independently defeat Islamic State of Iraq and Syria – ISIS – in designated areas of Iraq and Syria.
When he’s not performing his Guard duties, Siuzdak is an employee of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center. Coming from a family with military service in its blood helped pave the way for Siuzdak to make the decision to also serve his country. With an uncle and grandfathers on both sides of the family being veterans -- and having one older brother who previously served in the New York Police Department and another serving as a volunteer fireman -- Siuzdak felt compelled to put on a military uniform.
“All three of us wanted to give back to our communities and be a part of the civil service positions,” he said reflecting on his brothers’ service. “Having that family history definitely played a part in my decision to join the military.”
In theater, Siuzdak served as the Brigade Force Protection Antiterrorism Officer, where he was tasked with developing plans for force protection, and advising leadership on real world conditions.
“My skillset as antiterrorism officer directly supported that mission,” Siuzdak said. “I would assess protection and defense measures based on threats we were seeing and mitigate those through measures that we could implement.”
The deployment, Siuzdak’s first, came after having more than six years’ experience in the antiterrorism field.
“When I put the uniform on, I am in a ‘business mindset’ so to speak and I put my nose to the grindstone,” he said. “I wanted to do the best that I could so I soaked up as much knowledge as I could from the team around me, some of whom were on their fourth and fifth deployments.”
After being commissioned into the NJARNG in 2017, Siuzdak was hired as a contract employee serving as antiterrorism coordinator at Picatinny Arsenal’s Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition.
In 2022, his contractor job was converted to a government position. Siuzdak would then transition to becoming the installation’s antiterrorism officer at Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois.
“My ultimate goal was to continue in the antiterrorism line of work but as a government employee,” Siuzdak said of the move.
Eventually Siuzdak would find his way back to Picatinny when he was hired at the DEVCOM Armaments Center. Before stepping foot in the office, the opportunity to deploy with the NJARNG came around and Siuzdak would soon find himself operating overseas.
“It was about taking my experience and my training and applying it to the new environment,” Siuzdak said of the deployment. “Being in a new country with a new culture and people took some time to adjust, but as I traveled throughout the country to conduct assessments, I gained other perspectives as I ate local food and learned some of the customs. It makes you appreciate ‘home’ a little more, but it also helps motivate you and remind you of why you are there. I am there to support and protect the soldiers that are working to defeat ISIS.I was applying everything I learned in both my civilian and military professions as an antiterrorism officer to keep our Soldiers safe.”
On December 12, the first 100 members of the 44th IBCT returned home with time to settle in for the holidays.Eight days later, on Dec. 20, Siuzdak, too, would be back on American soil and reconnect with friends and family at the National Guard Armory in Lawrenceville.
One of those waiting for Siuzdak to arrive was his supervisor, Timothy Jordan, a Mission Support Manager in the Operations Center at the Armaments Center.
“Tim is special. He is more than a boss, he is a leader, he is a mentor,” Siuzdak said.
“He was very persistent about coming to the homecoming. He and the entire Ops team sent me multiple care packages with food and items to help along the way. I only was able to give him a window, a timeframe where I thought we would be arriving at the armory. It was on a Friday evening and snowing.
“I told him, ‘I’ll see you in the office. You do not need to travel.’ He said, ‘Nope, I’ll be there. I don’ t care.’ Sure enough, we were at the armory about three or four hours later and he was the first person there. If that doesn’t tell you how Tim feels about his employees, I don’t know what will. Coming home and seeing my friends and family, but then seeing my boss, meant a tremendous amount to me.”
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