ARLINGTON, Va. – From deploying overseas to responding to events at home, 2015 stood as a busy year for the National Guard and included the Guard's most active domestic response since 2011.
"I am extremely proud of Guard members' service to our nation right here in the homeland this year," said Army Gen. Frank Grass, the chief of the National Guard Bureau. "On average, about 1,500 Guard members were on duty each day – 4,000 when you factor in our Aerospace Control Alert mission protecting the nation's skies and our Counterdrug mission supporting law enforcement."
Snowstorms crippled the South and Midwest. The West burned. Riots hit a major city. South Carolina flooded. For these and dozens of other missions, the National Guard was "Always Ready, Always There." In January, Michigan Air Guard firefighters responded to a whiteout-triggered 193-vehicle interstate pileup, and the New York National Guard assisted the state's response to what the media called Winter Storm Juno.
Massachusetts National Guard Soldiers and Airmen also responded to Juno, which dumped up to three feet of snow in parts of the state. Massachusetts Guard members were on duty again for February snow, assisted by Guard members from Maine and Vermont under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact that enables mutual aid between states. Guard members rescued stranded motorists, assisted evacuations, conducted wellness checks, dug out thousands of fire hydrants and transported first responders.
In February, Virginia Guard members flew food, mail and medical supplies to the stranded residents of iced-in Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay, part of the Virginia Guard's response to winter weather in the state that continued into March. At least three times, lives were saved by troops who provided transportation through heavy snow.
"It is great that we get to provide service to our community," said Pfc. Dakotah Wilson, with the Virginia Army Guard. "It warms the heart and reminds me why I joined the Guard."
In late February, it was the Tennessee National Guard's turn: Troops conducted welfare checks and ferried supplies to motorists stranded on a 50-mile stretch of interstate.
In March, about 1,500 Soldiers and Airmen were on duty in a dozen states helping hundreds of stranded motorists, clearing roads and debris, transporting first responders, delivering dialysis supplies, oxygen, food and drinking water and making wellness checks during winter weather that at one point stretched in a 1,500-mile icy swath from the South to the Midwest in a winter storm the media named Thor, affecting an estimated 100 million people.
"I don't believe I've seen damage this extensive as a result of a winter storm - or any storm for that matter - my entire life," the Tennessee Army National Guard's Maj. Colby Tippens said.
By April, North Dakota Guard members were battling one of the first wildfires in what would turn out to be the busiest fire season in more than a decade. In May, the Massachusetts Guard used UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to help extinguish a fire, and the New York Guard turned a Catskill forest fire into an opportunity both to train and to support civil authorities with aerial water drops.
The Oklahoma Guard, meanwhile, was dropping feed to flood-stranded cows. "Without the National Guard's help, many of the cattle could have died," said Dr. Rod Hall, state veterinarian.
Texas National Guard members used a helicopter to pluck a couple to safety from a flooded mobile home, two of more than 100 people saved during flood responses in both that state and Oklahoma in May.
"They showed me the reason why they put on the uniform that night," Texas Army National Guard 1st Lt. Max Perez said of his Soldiers after flood rescues. "Their bravery and dedication was amazing."
Massachusetts Soldiers and Airmen supported public safety at the 119th Boston Marathon and Operation Baltimore Rally saw the Maryland National Guard respond to a state of emergency in that city.
In June, Louisiana Guard members responded to spring flooding, moving almost a million sandbags, conducting levee seepage patrols and providing transportation, while Alaska Guard members supported civil authorities fighting a wildfire that destroyed more than 50 structures.
Guard members in multiple states provided support to Independence Day celebrations ranging from crowd and traffic control to musical entertainment.
By August, Guard members were battling dozens of wildfires that scorched tens of thousands of acres and forced evacuations in multiple Western states, notably California, Oregon and Washington. Guard contributions included hand crews, water drops, deploying Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems and providing a temporary bridge for firefighter access over a creek. Back East, drought-stricken Puerto Rico also saw the Guard fight wildfire.
"Our 43-year relationship with the National Guard allows for a seamless interface when these activations occur," said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Chief Clare Frank.
That relationship between the Guard and local first responders is an important one.
"The Guard's help now is vital," said Mary Verner, Washington state's Division of Natural Resource's wildfire deputy. "This partnership is essential to our ability to fight wildfire aggressively and effectively under very challenging conditions."
During one August firefighting peak, more than 2,000 Guard members were on duty supporting the nation's largest wildfire response in 15 years, the largest National Guard natural disaster response since 2012's Hurricane Sandy – a record that would hold for only a month before flooding struck South Carolina and 2,800 Guard members mustered to respond.
The South Carolina flooding saw Guard members rescue stranded residents and fire trucks, conduct health and welfare checks, assist evacuations, distribute food and drinking water, deliver sandbags as well as other missions. The South Carolina Guard's Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team and its North Carolina counterpart alone rescued dozens of residents.
"They do it all," said sheriff's Lt. Dan Maddock. "They've been manning road blocks, patrolling through communities looking for any flooded areas, delivering sandbags. ... I think the citizens are relieved to know their National Guard is there for them."
After the flood subsided, South Carolina Guard members remained on duty supporting civilian contractors as the rebuilding began. "We have helped restore fresh water to the thousands of people affected by the flood," said Spc. Stephen Gragg. "I'm proud to be part of this recovery mission."
About 4,200 Soldiers and Airmen in three states provided security assistance and traffic management during Pope Francis' September visit to the United States. Other special missions in 2015 included support to the president's annual state of the union address, to an avian flu outbreak, to managing lava flow in Hawaii and to the Special Olympics.
In addition to these no-notice domestic responses, Guard members continued ongoing support to the Department of Homeland Security on the nation's Southwest border, the Guard's Counterdrug mission and the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program giving thousands of youths a second chance.
The District of Columbia Air National Guard's 113th Wing reached a milestone contributing to the National Guard's Aerospace Control Alert mission when it responded to its 5,000th alert since the 9/11 attacks, making it the most active contributor to ACA in the nation.
The Guard also continued to provide round-the-clock defense of the National Capital Region from airborne threats while the National Guard's civil support teams – which provide support against contingencies ranging from weapons of mass destruction to biological hazards – had their busiest year on record, supporting more than 3,000 events and serving about 3,000 operational days.
For Alaska National Guard members, rescues of pilots, snowmobilers, hikers, hunters and boaters in trouble in the vast state's challenging outdoors continued to keep them busy. Search and rescue missions were not confined to Alaska, with the South Carolina Guard's rescue of a sick hiker and the Arizona Guard's plucking of a stranded father and daughter from a mountain among numerous examples nationwide.
Even when they are off-duty, Guard members run toward danger: Arizona Guard members who drove up to a fresh crash before civil first responders pulled injured victims from vehicles, treated them and secured the scene. A New York Guard member saved a veteran suffering seizures beside a road. A New York Airman saved a man in cardiac distress. A California Guard member rescued 42 people trapped in a burning bus. And Oklahoma Guard members who had just marched in a parade were among the first to help when dozens were injured after a woman drove her car into parade spectators.
"Even as we were loading the bus to leave, people were thanking us," Oklahoma Army National Guard 1st Sgt. Brent Pearce said. "They know the Guard is always going to be there."
By November, it was again snowing, and Guard members in Colorado and Kansas were rescuing stranded motorists and clearing snow in their states.
When they weren't responding to disasters, Guard members were busy training, including taking part in international training exercises.
Airmen from the New Jersey Air National Guard's 177th Fighter Wing traveled to Bulgaria to take part in exercise Thracian Star 2015, a training exercise designed to boost interoperability with the Bulgarian air force. In June, Airmen from the South Carolina Air National Guard's 169th Fighter Wing took part in a similar exercise in Poland, flying training missions with the Polish air force.
Meanwhile, Army Guard members from Tennessee and Alabama worked with Bulgarian and Romanian military members during exercise Atlantic Resolve. Members of the Idaho Army National Guard trained in Cambodia with the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and Soldiers from the Georgia Army Guard's 560th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade took part in exercise Eager Light 15 in Jordan. Guard members also took part in training exercises in Japan, Canada, South Korea, Spain, Latvia and numerous other locations.
Throughout the year, Soldiers and Airmen participated in other exercises and events with international partners as part of the State Partnership Program, which pairs up National Guard elements with partner countries worldwide. Established in 1993, the program has grown to include 70 partnerships, including two added this year when partnership agreements were made with Kenya and Djibouti.
"We couldn't be more proud to be partnering with the Republic of Kenya," said Air Force Maj. Gen. L. Scott Rice, adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard. "We are excited to exchange ideas and share knowledge to foster an enduring partnership."
This year saw continued deployments of Army and Air Guard units overseas. For the Soldiers of the Wisconsin Army Guard's 950th Engineer Company, who saw service in Afghanistan, that included a change in mission from providing engineer support to one of providing security for the U.S. Air Force element providing training to the Afghan air force.
"It is an interesting job to get used to," said Spc. Michael Leckel, assigned to the unit. "We were training for route clearance, but were asked to provide base security. The advisors' number one priority cannot be securing the base. They specialize in training pilots. We are tasked with base security and we do that so they can focus on training an air force."
Guard members served in a variety of other functions and roles in Afghanistan in 2015, as well as at other deployed locations such as the Horn of Africa, the Sinai, Kuwait and Kosovo. Air Guard members from Utah and Arizona also provided in-flight refueling for NATO missions and training exercises in Europe.
Though it was a busy year, the Guard stands ready for 2016.
"We fight America's wars, we guard the homeland and we build the partnerships that enable both of those missions," Grass said. "We mustered in 1636 and we've stood ready to serve our neighbors, our communities, our states and territories and our nation for the 379 years since."