Wildfire Response

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National Guard Members Continue LA Wildfire Response
January 21, 2025 — LOS ANGELES – U.S. Army Sgt. Ricardo Hernandez watched from a cross street as sporadic traffic... MORE

U.S. Army Sgt. Bryce Carter, an infantryman with C Company, 1st Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment, California Army National Guard, sharpens the blade of a hoe to clear brush and other debris as part of remediation efforts along the Mulholland Trail near Tarzana, California, in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire, Jan. 18, 2025. Carter and other members of his unit were assisting CALFIRE in mop-up efforts, which included clearing brush and backfilling firebreaks and other areas to prevent mudslides and reduce the impact of firefighting efforts.

California Guardsman Helps Battle Wildfires in His Community
January 16, 2025 — CHANNEL ISLANDS AIR NATIONAL GUARD STATION, Calif. - Amid the wildfire crisis in California, an Air... MORE

Master Sgt. Alan Franklin, a commander's support Airman with the 146th Airlift Wing, speaks to 1st Lt. Aiden Flores about the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System mission on the flightline at Channel Islands Air National Guard Station, Port Hueneme, California, Jan. 13, 2025. MAFFS aircraft from the Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing, Cheyenne, Wyoming, the 152nd Airlift Wing, Reno, Nevada, the 146th Airlift Wing, Port Hueneme, California, and Air Force Reserve Command’s 302 AW, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, are working together to combat fires in the Los Angeles area.

National Guard Bureau Chief Thanks Firefighting Guardsmen
January 14, 2025 — CHANNEL ISLANDS AIR NATIONAL GUARD STATION, Calif. – The National Guard is part of a multi-agency... MORE

Air Force Gen. Steve Nordhaus, chief, National Guard Bureau, and Army Senior Enlisted Advisor John Raines, SEA to the CNGB, visit National Guard members supporting wildland firefighting in Southern California, Channel Islands Air National Guard Station, Calif., Jan. 11, 2025. Thousands of National Guardsmen are involved in multiple air and ground firefighting in the Los Angeles Basin and Southern California.

Wyoming, Nevada Guard Aircrews Assist California Firefighters
January 13, 2025 — CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Three Wyoming Air National Guard C-130s equipped with the U.S. Forest Service’s... MORE

U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to the 153rd Airlift Wing load and install the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems onto a C-130H Hercules aircraft in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Jan. 10, 2025, in preparation to support firefighting efforts in the Los Angeles area.

California, Nevada, Wyoming Guard Join Firefighting Battle
January 10, 2025 — MOFFETT AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Calif. - Hundreds of National Guard members are now involved in... MORE

U.S. Air Force Airmen with the 129th Rescue Wing, California Air National Guard, at Moffett Air National Guard Base, Calif., prepare an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter to help battle the Palisades Fire Jan. 9, 2025.

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Video by Staff Sgt. Alexandra Minor

AFDIL Scientists Assist in the Identification of Vasa Remains

Armed Forces Medical Examiner System

Nov. 28, 2024 | 6:24

Jennifer Higginbotham, Research Associate and Dr. Kimberly Andreaggi, Chief of Emerging Technology with the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) at the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System test remains from the Swedish warship Vasa in collaboration with the Uppsala University and Vasa Museum at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, November 28, 2024. The Vasa ship sank in Stockholm Harbor on August 10, 1628, and was salvaged from the bottom of the harbor in 1961. The AFDIL scientists processed more than 30 samples using advanced methods that helped predict the phenotype of 15 individuals. The Vasa skeletal remains provided an opportunity for AFDIL to test extraction and analysis methods on samples that had been submerged in water for a long period of time and evaluate new analytical methods that contribute to the improvement of human identification methods used in future crime scene investigations and missing persons cases.