Guard News - The National Guard

Washington Guard, Thai Partners Strengthen Cybersecurity
March 20, 2023 — CAMP MURRAY, Wash. - Since he first supported the Cobra Gold exercise in 2018, Washington Air National Guard Lt. Col. Jason Silves has focused on strengthening cybersecurity.“I started at Cobra Gold... MORE

Group photo from Cyber Exercise during Exercise Cobra Gold, March 1, 2023, at Camp Red Horse, U-Tapao, Kingdom of Thailand. Cobra Gold is a Thai-U.S. cosponsored training event that builds on the longstanding friendship between the two allied nations and brings together a multinational force to promote regional peace and security in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

National Guard, Canada Conduct Tactical Arctic Insertion
March 20, 2023 — RESOLUTE BAY, NUNAVUT, Canada - Thirty-seven U.S. and Canadian Soldiers were tactically inserted by an LC-130 Hercules on Arctic Ocean ice just east of Little Cornwallis Island in Nunavut, Canada,... MORE

Guard Recognizes Milestones that Brought Positive Change
March 20, 2023 — ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Guard will recognize three anniversaries this year that legally established racial integration in the military, opened more opportunities for women to serve and ended the... MORE

Senior Enlisted Advisor Tony Whitehead, the SEA to the chief of the National Guard Bureau, recognizes an Alaska Air National Guard member during a visit to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Feb. 2, 2023. Whitehead recently participated in a discussion on Black History Month as the National Guard this year celebrates three anniversaries that legally established racial integration in the military, opened up more opportunities for women to serve and ended the draft.

Kentucky Civil Response Team Hosts Multi-agency Exercise
March 17, 2023 — LOUISVILLE, Ky. – If there ever were an incident at the Churchill Downs Racetrack requiring the specially trained chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) unit of the National Guard,... MORE

An officer with Louisville Metro Police's Hazardous Incident Response Team gets out of his hazardous material suit after working a simulated scenario with the help of Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Dormbrusch, 12th CST, New Hampshire National Guard, during a training event at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., March 13, 2023. National Guard CSTs from eight states participated in the one-day exercise.

Arctic Guardian Overcomes Obstacles to join Alaska Air Guard
March 17, 2023 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska - Rain boots. An old pair of rain boots was the difference between Airman 1st Class Heather Pope realizing her dream of becoming an Airman or a lifetime of... MORE

Alaska Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Heather Pope is a ground transportation specialist with 176th Logistics Readiness Squadron, 176th Mission Support Group, 176th Wing. Pope worked to lose 133 pounds to enlist a day before her 40th birthday, the cutoff age to join the military.

Tennessee Guard Honors Former President Jackson
March 16, 2023 — HERMITAGE, Tenn. – A wreath-laying ceremony honoring former President Andrew Jackson on what would have been his 256th birthday was held March 15 at Jackson’s home, The Hermitage, outside... MORE

Col. Jason Glass, Tennessee National Guard’s assistant adjutant general–air, and Nashville Mayor John Cooper place a commemorative wreath on former President Andrew Jackson’s tomb at Jackson’s home, The Hermitage, outside Nashville March 15, 2023. The ceremony took place on what would have been Jackson’s 256th birthday.

176th Wing Guardian Angels Parachute to Pilot Station for Medevac
March 16, 2023 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska - During a complex medevac involving three 176th Wing Guardian Angel teams, two HC-130J Combat King II aircraft and one HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter, a combat... MORE

Guardian Angels of 212th Rescue Squadron exit a 211th Rescue Squadron HC-130J Combat King II during a training exercise. Members of the 212th RQS jumped from a 211th RQS HC-130J into Pilot Station, Alaska, March 8, 2023, and evacuated a critically injured patient on a 210th Rescue Squadron HH-60G Pave Hawk.

NY Guard Soldiers Become Citizens During African deployment
March 16, 2023 — DJIBOUTI, Djibouti – Fifteen New York Army National Soldiers serving with Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa became U.S. citizens during a naturalization ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti... MORE

Fifteen New York Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa became U.S. citizens during a naturalization ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti City, Djibouti, Mar. 10, 2023. The Soldiers, all belonging to the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, are on a 9-month deployment.

Idaho Guardsman Blazes her own Trail in Firefighting
March 15, 2023 — BOISE, Idaho - Beads of sweat dripped down her face and collected at the bottom of her mask. Her firefighting suit and breathing apparatus were heavy and weighed her down. She crawled forward and... MORE

Idaho Army National Guard Pfc. Bailey Craig attends her first drill at the Orchard Combat Training Center, Feb. 8, 2023, with the organization's 937th Engineer Detachment. She is the unit's first female to earn the 12M firefighter military occupational specialty after graduating in December from the Department of Defense's 68-day basic firefighting training academy at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas.

NY Guard’s 69th Infantry Carries Poet’s Crucifix to Africa
March 15, 2023 — CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti - Poet Joyce Kilmer, most famous for the poem “Trees,” was killed over 100 years ago while serving as a sergeant in the New York National Guard’s 69th Infantry Regiment scout... MORE

New York Army National Guard Lt. Col. Shawn Tabankin, the commander of the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry, holds the "Kilmer Cross" at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, where the battalion is stationed while on duty at locations in the Horn of Africa. The crucifix was the property of poet Joyce Kilmer, who died while serving in the 69th Infantry in World War I.

Guard Soldier Featured in Army ‘Be All You Can Be’ Campaign
March 15, 2023 — ARLINGTON, Va. – Many military members consider their service life-changing, but for 1st Sgt. John Melson, it was lifesaving — literally. After doctors at Melson’s military entrance screening... MORE

First Sgt. John Melson, then a Sgt. 1st Class and member of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, was presented the Bronze Star Medal with "V" device for valor at Fort Benning, Ga., Aug. 23, 2013, for his actions in 2009 while fighting off a Taliban ambush in Gerani, Afghanistan. Melson, now a member of the Georgia National Guard, is featured in the new U.S. Army recruiting campaign commercials.

Army National Guardsman Shares Journey to Citizenship
March 15, 2023 — CAMP MURRAY, Wash. - When you ask Sgt. Osse Jeanpierre, JP for short, about immigrating to the United States, he smiles and talks so vividly about how it helped his family. His smile widens when he... MORE

Sgt. Osse Jeanpierre shows off his U.S. citizenship certificate following his swearing in as a U.S. citizen Dec. 15, 2022, in Tukwila, Wash. The Washington National Guard member left Haiti as a 9-year-old.

Vermont Guard Soldier Thrives in Canadian Arctic Exercise
March 15, 2023 — RESOLUTE, Nunavut - U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Shane Yuknis first came to Resolute in 2019 while participating in Guerrier Nordique.This is his second visit to the northernmost location for the... MORE

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Shane Yuknis, cavalry scout for B Troop, 172nd Cavalry Squadron (MTN), 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (MTN), Vermont Army National Guard, before tactical insertion training at the airfield in Resolute, Nunavut, Canada, March 14, 2023.

Washington National Guard, Thailand Conduct Wildland Firefighting Exchange
March 15, 2023 — CAMP MURRAY, Wash. - The Washington National Guard and service members from the Kingdom of Thailand shared best practices for fighting wildfires during a State Partnership Program exchange in... MORE

Members of the Washington National Guard, 176th Engineer Company, and the Royal Thai Army share wildland firefighting best practices Feb. 25, 2023, in Chiang Mai, Kingdom of Thailand. The exchange marked just the second time in their more than 20-year relationship under the State Partnership Program that Guard members and their Thai counterparts conducted a wildland firefighting exchange.

Sultanate of Oman Joins Growing State Partnership Program
March 14, 2023 — MUSCAT, Oman – A relationship formed almost two centuries ago – when the Sultanate of Oman became the first Arab Gulf state to sign a bilateral accord with the United States – deepened this week with... MORE

Air Force Maj. Gen. Kerry Muehlenbeck, adjutant general, Arizona National Guard, speaks during a meeting with leaders of the Sultan's Armed Forces in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, March 13, 2023. Oman and the Arizona Guard signed a security cooperation agreement to pair in the Department of Defense National Guard State Partnership Program immediately after the meeting.

US, Bosnia and Herzegovina Join Crisis Comms Workshop
March 14, 2023 — SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Maryland National Guard led a communication workshop in Sarajevo March 7-9. The event was coordinated with the U.S. Embassy... MORE

Participants work on practical exercises during an international crisis communications workshop in Sarajevo March 7-9, 2023. The workshop was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense Emergency Management and Resilience program and included first responders from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Maryland National Guard and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

New Jersey National Guard Medical Team Trains with Albania
March 14, 2023 — ZALL-HERR, TIRANA, Albania - New Jersey Air and Army National Guard medical branches trained with Albanian Armed Forces Light Infantry Battle Group members March 5-10 as part of the State Partnership... MORE

Sgt. Thomas Marvin of HHC, 2nd Battalion, 113th Infantry Regiment, 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, New Jersey Army National Guard, supervises tactical combat casualty care training scenarios with members of the Albanian Armed Forces at Land Forces Headquarters, Zall-Herr, Tirana, Albania, March 9, 2023, as part of the State Partnership Program. The New Jersey Guard sent more than 40 service members to collaborate with their subject-matter counterparts in the AAF.

NY National Guard 69th Infantry to Lead St. Patrick’s Parade
March 13, 2023 — NEW YORK - Although 1,000 Soldiers are deployed in the Horn of Africa, the New York Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment, will still lead the world’s largest St. Patrick’s Day... MORE

Soldiers of the New York Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment, lead the St. Patrick's Day parade, Manhattan, New York, March 17, 2022. The 69th Infantry started the day, full of tradition, at 6 a.m. with a whiskey toast and then to the parade where city officials estimated more than 2 million showed up to watch which has been held every year since 1762, with the 69th leading it since 1851.

Arizona Guard, Oman Partner in State Partnership Program
March 13, 2023 — MUSCAT, Oman - The Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, Arizona National Guard, and the Sultanate of Oman’s Ministry of Defense signed a State Partnership Program agreement March 13,... MORE

Maj. Gen. Kerry Muehlenbeck, commander of the Arizona National Guard, seated at left, signs an official partnership decree with Vice Admiral Abdullah bin Khamis Al-Raisi, chief of staff of the Sultan's Armed Forces, during a ceremony in Muscat, Oman, solidifying Oman as a partner with the state of Arizona under the State Partnership Program. The SPP links a state’s National Guard with armed forces of a partner country in a cooperative, mutually beneficial relationship.

Washington Guard Unit Receives Coveted Culinary Award
March 13, 2023 — JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - The culinary specialists with the Washington National Guard’s Delta Company, 141st Brigade Support Battalion, 96th Troop Command, take pride in feeding Soldiers. They... MORE

U.S. Army Capt. Jacob Guenther, commander of Delta Company, 141st Brigade Support Battalion, 96th Troop Command, talks with members of his company after being presented the Washington Army National Guard Culinary Award at Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Wash., March 4, 2023. The company will move on to regionals which will be a timed, two-day event.

Massachusetts Guardsman Epitomizes Army ‘Be All You Can Be’

Wisconsin Army Guard Soldiers Reflect on Africa Deployment

New York Guard Completes Horn of Africa Security Mission

Malaysia, U.S. Strengthen Ties at Bersama Warrior Exercise

Maryland Army National Guard ‘Takes Flight’ with Raven