Guard News - The National Guard

Michigan Air Guard member follows path to England
June 1, 2021 — RAF MOLESWORTH, England – With four stars on his shoulder, he was the highest-ranking officer U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Sydney Suwannarat had ever seen. The staff was called to attention, the room... MORE

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Sydney Suwannarat, an all-source intelligence analyst with the 217th Air Operations Group, 110th Wing, Battle Creek Air National Guard Base, Michigan, stands outside RAF Molesworth, England, May 7, 2021. Suwannarat is serving a multiyear tour at RAF Molesworth’s Joint Intelligence Operations Center, Europe (JIOCEUR) Analytic Center.

Vermont seeks to expand partnership with North Macedonia
June 1, 2021 — COLCHESTER, Vt. – Maj. Gen. Greg Knight, the state adjutant general, traveled to North Macedonia May 29 with Vermont Lt. Gov. Molly Gray and Lindsay Kurrle, the state secretary of commerce and... MORE

Maj. Gen. Greg Knight, Vermont's adjutant general, talks during a press conference May 27, 2021. Knight, along with Lt. Gov. Molly Gray, right, and Lindsay Kurrle, left, Vermont's secretary of commerce and community development, will spend several days in North Macedonia discussing building upon the State Partnership Program to explore economic development.

WING helps administer almost 100,000 COVID-19 vaccines
June 1, 2021 — MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin National Guard Citizen-Soldiers and -Airmen have helped local health departments administer nearly 100,000 COVID-19 vaccines since establishing the first mobile vaccination... MORE

Wisconsin National Guard members assist with mobile vaccination team operations March 10, 2021, in Greendale, Wis. Citizen-Soldiers and -Airmen have helped local health departments administer nearly 100,000 vaccines across Wisconsin since establishing the first mobile vaccination teams in late January.

NY Guard Airmen plant 'Survivor Tree' to commemorate 9/11
June 1, 2021 — ROME N.Y. – Airmen of the Eastern Air Defense Sector marked the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center by planting a seedling from a tree that survived the attack outside... MORE

Left to right, Col. Paul M. Bishop, EADS commander; Rome Mayor Jackie Izzo; Col. Joseph F. Roos, 224th Air Defense Group commander, and Lt. Col. Josh Klemen, EADS Canadian Detachment commander, planted the 9/11 Survivor Tree seedling at EADS during a short ceremony May 26, 2021. The seedling was taken from a tree found in the World Trade Center rubble in October 2001 and nursed back to health.

National Guard chief begins Memorial Day weekend by renewing ties with survivor group
May 28, 2021 — ARLINGTON, Virginia – The National Guard’s senior general officer reaffirmed today the component’s relationship with a group providing comfort, care and resources to those grieving the death of a... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief, National Guard Bureau, addresses attendees at the TAPS 27th Annual National Military Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp, Arlington, Virginia, May 28, 2021.

Secretary of state, Greenland premier tour NYNG LC-130
May 28, 2021 — KANGERLUSSUAQ, Greenland – The New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing gave Greenland Premier Múte Bourup Egede and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken a close-up look at one of the wing’s... MORE

New York Air National Guard Maj. Shay Price, an LC-130 navigator, briefs Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Greenland Premier Múte Bourup Egede, and other officials, about the LC-130s used by the wing to support climate science research on Greenland's Ice Cap at the Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, airport May 20, 2021. The 109th Airlift Wing operates from the airport when supporting National Science Foundation research in Greenland.

NYNG remembers sacrifice in Memorial Day ceremony
May 28, 2021 — LATHAM, New York – The New York National Guard’s headquarters remembered 10 Soldiers and Airmen who died in the past year – on duty and off – during a short Memorial Day ceremony May 27.Those... MORE

Air Force Maj. Gen. Timothy LaBarge, assistant adjutant general for New York, and Air Force Command Chief Master Sgt. Denny Richardson, state command chief for New York, render honors while taps is played during a Memorial Day service in Latham, N.Y., May 27, 2021. Each year the facility holds a service to recognize New York Guardsman who died the previous year.

Alaska Air National Guard helps rescue injured hiker
May 28, 2021 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Alaska Air National Guardsmen of the 176th Wing partnered with multiple civil search and rescue partners to rescue a hiker injured in a fall May 26 near... MORE

Pararescue personnel with the Alaska Air National Guard’s 212th Rescue Squadron transfer an injured hiker from a 210th Rescue Squadron HH-60 Pave Hawk to a Guardian Flight, AirMedCare air ambulance after a multiagency rescue from an avalanche near Donoho Peak in Wrangle-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve May 26, 2021.

LANG conducts tree drop to fight erosion, help wildlife
May 28, 2021 — NEW ORLEANS – The Louisiana National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 244th Aviation Regiment, supported the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during the annual Christmas Tree Drop in the Bayou Sauvage National... MORE

The Louisiana National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 244th Aviation Regiment, in support of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, loads and transports bundles of recycled Christmas trees provided by Orleans Parish residents to rebuild marshland in Bayou Sauvage in New Orleans East May 26, 2021. The trees create new marsh habitats.

Kentucky National Guard helps vaccinate inmates
May 27, 2021 — PAINTSVILLE, Ky. – The Kentucky National Guard continues to play a major role in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations in the commonwealth.Kentucky Guard Mobile Vaccination Strike Teams have... MORE

Kentucky National Guard Sgt. Okoarye Dishman, a medic, vaccinates a detainee at the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center in Paintsville, Ky., May 20, 2021.

Washington National Guard prepares for wildfire season
May 27, 2021 — JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – Washington National Guard Soldiers and Airmen are transitioning from COVID-19 response and civil disturbance missions to prepare for what could be another... MORE

Soldiers from the Washington National Guard take part in wildland firefighter training with the Washington Department of Natural Resources at Joint Base Lewis-McChord May 25, 2021. The Washington National Guard has partnered with the DNR since 2013 to conduct annual wildland firefighter training.

Iowa Army National Guard Soldier earns PhD while deployed
May 27, 2021 — UNDISCLOSED LOCATION – Pursuing a doctorate usually requires countless hours dedicated to research, exams, colloquium and dissertations. Accomplishing this even in the most ideal setting can be a... MORE

Capt. Thackery Faugstad of Lakeville, Minn., acting executive officer of Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Iowa Army National Guard, in front of his battery’s land-based phalanx weapon system (LPWS) at an undisclosed location in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of operations on May 12, 2021. Faugstad earned a doctorate while deployed.

Alabama Guardsmen take top honors in CNGB Postal Matches
May 27, 2021 — HAMPTON, N.C. – National Guardsmen from across the nation competed in the 2021 Chief, National Guard Bureau (CNGB) Postal Matches-Phase III at Camp Butner Training Center May 17-21.Alabama Army... MORE

National Guard competitors fire on line from the kneeling position May 19, 2021, during the 2021 Chief, National Guard Bureau Postal Matches at Camp Butner, Hampton, North Carolina.

NCNG, 1st responders practice helicopter aquatic rescue
May 27, 2021 — RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina National Guard aviators joined first responders from 16 state and local agencies for helicopter aquatic rescue team (HART) training in Weldon May 19-20.The training at... MORE

North Carolina National Guard Aviators join first responders from 16 state and local agencies for North Carolina helicopter aquatic rescue team training at Weldon, North Carolina, May 20, 2021. The training at the rapids of the Roanoke River simulated swift water rescue missions.

AZNG partners with Active Component for COVID vaccinations
May 26, 2021 — PHOENIX – The Arizona National Guard is partnering with its active-duty counterparts from the 56th Medical Group at Luke Air Force Base, Glendale, and the 355th Medical Group at Davis-Monthan Air... MORE

Airman 1st Class Samantha Gomez, 162nd Medical Squadron, aerospace medical technician, vaccinates a military dependent at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Ariz., May 6, 2021. The Arizona National Guard is partnering with Active Components to surge capacity and capability in providing vaccinations to service members and their dependents.

Pennsylvania helicopter crews practice using water buckets
May 26, 2021 — FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – Pennsylvania National Guard helicopter crews conducted water bucket training May 11 at Fort Indiantown Gap.Crews in UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters filled... MORE

One CH-47 Chinook and two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters conduct water bucket firefighter training May 11, 2021, at Memorial Lake State Park and Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania National Guard crews take water from Memorial Lake and drop it in Fort Indiantown Gap’s training corridor.

Soldier's journey from refugee to pilot goes full circle
May 26, 2021 — FARKE AIRFIELD, Albania – If there is someone who knows about hard work and determination, it's 2nd Lt. Valdeta Mehanja, a pilot with the 1-131st Aviation Regiment. Mehanja is an Albanian native born... MORE

2nd Lt. Valdeta Mehanja, a pilot with the 1-131st Aviation Regiment, posed for a photo in her flight helmet May 26, 2021, in Albania. Mehanja is an Albanian native born in Kosovo and a U.S. citizen; she never thought she would get to see Albania before participating in DEFENDER-Europe 21.

Louisiana National Guard responds to flooding
May 26, 2021 — BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana National Guard, directed by Gov. John Bel Edwards, responded to flooding throughout the state following multiple days of steady rain since May 18. At the height of the... MORE

Louisiana National Guardsmen worked with local and state officials to combat rising floodwaters throughout the state following multiple days of steady rain since May 18, 2021. Using as many as 79 high-water vehicles and 19 boats, Guardsmen rescued 25 people and two pets in Lake Charles.

141st Air Control Squadron attends 2021 Southern Strike
May 25, 2021 — AGUADILLA, Puerto Rico – Airmen with the Puerto Rico Air National Guard’s 141st Air Control Squadron attended 2021 Southern Strike training in Gulfport, Mississippi, April 15-29.These Airmen, from... MORE

Airmen from the 141st Air Control Squadron, Puerto Rico Air National Guard, prepare to depart to Gulfport, Mississippi, at Muniz Air National Guard Base, Carolina, Puerto Rico, April 14, 2021. The Airmen participated in the Southern Strike exercise in Gulfport April 15-29.

VNG adapts to changing COVID-19 support missions
May 25, 2021 — RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia National Guard is continuing COVID-19 response missions across Virginia with task forces supporting vaccine clinics and providing mobile vaccine teams to help administer... MORE

A Virginia National Guard Soldier vaccinates a citizen during a mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Norfolk, Virginia. VNG teams are supporting a Federal Emergency Management Agency vaccine hub with mobile vaccination teams administering shots at satellite clinics in Hampton Roads.

Pennsylvania Guard Competes in Governor’s Twenty Marksmanship Competition

N.Y. National Guard Aircrews Train with Forest Rangers to Prep for Wildfires

Idaho Army National Guard Hosts Region VI Best Warrior Competition

Canine Callie, DOD’s Only Search-and-Rescue Dog, Retires from Service

Maryland, Pennsylvania Guard Soldiers Emerge as Region II’s Best Warriors