CW4 York Kleinhandler, USANG (Green Beret) (R-NY-17) of West Nyack, New York has served for 29 years in the US Army, the active US Army Reserves, and the US Army National Guard and is running for election for Congress in the 17th Congressional District of New York.  He is running against Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17), an extremely liberal 21 year incumbent; Rep Engel has held the NY 17th Congressional District seat for the past 17 years, and for the first 4 years in Congress, Rep Engel held the seat in the 19th Congressional District.  York was born in 1961 and raised in the Bronx which is in the 17th Congressional District; York and his younger brother, David, were raised in a single parent household.  He graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in the Bronx in 1980, attended Lehman College of City University of New York, and is continuing his education at Excelsior College, in New York State where he is 16 credits short of his degree.       

York enlisted in the US Army in January 1981.  In 1993 he was promoted to WO1 Special Forces Warrant.  In March 1995 he was promoted to CW2.  In January 2003, CWO2 Kleinhandler was mobilized and in support of Operations Enduring Freedom deployed to Afghanistan in March 2003 where he was  assigned as the Assistant Detachment Commander for Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha in Southeastern Afghanistan, at Firebase Spin Buldak south of Kandahar City; he returned to CONUS in September 2003 and was demobilized in January 2004.  In March 2004 CW2 Kleinhandler; he was promoted to CW3.  In March 2009 he deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and in April 2009 he was promoted to CW4.   On his second deployment to Afghanistan he was assigned as the Special Forces Battalion Senior Warrant Officer filling the position of Operations Officer at Firebase Salerno, a Special Advanced Operational Base in Northeastern Afghanistan outside Khowst City where he was responsible for overseeing 6 Special Forces Operational Detachments Alpha teams.   He returned to the US in February 2010 and was demobilized in March 2010.  He also attended and graduated and from the Special Forces Warrant Officer’s Basic Course, the Special Forces Warrant Officer’s Advanced Course, and the Warrant Officer’s Staff Course.  He graduated form the Special Forces Qualifications Course in 1986 (becoming a Green Beret), is a Master Parachutist, and for combat operations he was awarded the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, two Bronze Star Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, and multiple campaign medals.   CW4 Kleinhandler’s is currently assigned as the Senior Warrant Officer for the 2nd Special Forces Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne). 

From 1990 through 2004 York was a member of the United States Marshal Service.  He served as a Deputy U.S. Marshal and Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal.  While a Deputy US Marshal, York’s accomplishments include, but were not limited to, being lead investigator for SDNY in the capture of a US Marshal Service Top 15 wanted felons; assisting in the investigation and arrest of one of the FBI’s Top 10 Wanted fugitives.  He has been the lead investigator in numerous US Marshal Service Major Cases.  As a Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal he was involved in management and oversight of all operational and select administrative personnel in all essential U.S.M.S. functions.

In 2004 York became the Chief Operating Officer of a small financial service entity, where he managed the daily operations of an organization that generated in excess of $17.5 million in revenue.  He was responsible for growing the corporation’s gross revenue almost fourfold, from $5 million to $17.5 million from 2003 to early 2007.  Since 2007, York became a small business owner where he continued to successfully utilize an effective business plan, promote imaginative sales techniques, and develop an innovative marketing program.  York and his wife, Jackie, have three children; he is an avid runner, enjoys skiing, and in his spare time, he is a volunteer ice hockey coach and girls’ softball coach.   

York is a member of the PTA, Jewish War Veterans Association, Clarkstown Hockey Club, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), Retired United States Marshal Service Association, the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Iraq Afghanistan Veterans of America, and West Nyack Little League.   He has been endorsed by the Bronx County Republican Party, the Rockland Country Republican Party, and the Combat Veterans For Congress PAC. 

A Veteran is someone who, at one point of his life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America” for an amount “up to and including his life.  If you review CW4 Kleinhandler positions on his Web site, you would be pleased with his stands; they agree with the Combat Veterans For Congress Mission Statement.  He is a staunch supporter of the Free Enterprise System.  We look forward to working with him, and are pleased that a Combat Veteran of his stature is running for Congress.  If you have friends, associates, or relatives who know voters in the 17th Congressional District of New York, kindly pass this E-mail on to them, and ask them to support CW4 Kleinhandler by working in his campaign, providing financial support for his campaign in any amount, and/or by networking with others who would be willing to support his campaign.