Guard News - The National Guard

Mich. and V.I. Guard build relationships stronger than storm
December 18, 2018 — ST. CROIX, Virgin Islands – One hundred and thirty Soldiers from the Michigan National Guard arrived in the U.S. Virgin Islands, prepared to provide disaster assistance, less than 20 hours after... MORE

Soldiers passing in the night before a dimly lit C17 from the 172nd Air Wing of the Mississippi National Guard, are arriving for a training exercise in the Virgin Islands to provide support to civil authorities in a post hurricane training scenario.

New York Air Guard members help NORAD track Santa
December 18, 2018 — ROME, N.Y. – As North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Tracks Santa ramps up this year, the New York Air National Guard members and Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of the Eastern Air... MORE

New York Air National Guards Master Sgt. Shane Reid, front, and Tech. Sgt. Brady King, both of the 224th Air Defense Squadron, train for upcoming Santa tracking operations at the Eastern Air Defense Sector in Rome. A headquarters unit of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), EADS supports the NORAD Tracks Santa operation every year.

N.Y. National Guard Soldiers test problem-solving skills
December 17, 2018 — WEST POINT, N.Y. – Sixteen Officers and NCOs from the New York National Guard's 642nd Aviation Support Battalion spent their December drill weekend honing their teamwork and problem solving skills at... MORE

Officers and noncommissioned officers assigned to the 642nd Aviation Support Battalion, New York Army National Guard, work together on the “river crossing” obstacle at the United States Military Academy Leadership Reaction Course at West Point, N.Y., on Dec. 8 2018. The training was designed so 642nd senior leaders could test their problem solving and decision-making skills while learning how to work better together.

West Virginia National Guard aided in mine rescue operations
December 17, 2018 — CHARLESTON, W. Va. – When the West Virginia Watch Center, operated by the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM), received a call on Dec. 9 that four people were... MORE

Soldiers from Charlie Company, 1st Squadron, 150th Cavalry Regiment, West Virginia National Guard, assist in convoy operations of mine rescue teams with the West Virginia Miners’ Health, Safety, and Training agency at the Rock House Powellton coal mine in Whitesville, W.Va., Dec. 12, 2018. The WVNG assisted rescue operations for three missing people. A fourth person left the mine earlier.

CENTCOM: SPP underscores commitment to regional stability
December 14, 2018 — MacDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – A National Guard-administered program that has paired states with foreign nations around the world since 1993 continues to strengthen defense relations in the Middle... MORE

U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Jon K. Mott, right, U.S. Central
Command's director of exercises and training, and U.S. Army Staff
Sgt. Michael Tousey prepare to cut the cake to honor the National
Guard's 382nd birthday Dec. 13, 2018. The National Guard-administered State Partnership Program, established in 1993, is a key component of CENTCOM's mission and the National Defense Strategy.

Joint Task Force Civil Support is prepared for any CBRN disaster
December 13, 2018 — FORT EUSTIS, Va. – Task forces can be formed at the time of a crisis, but a unit in Newport News, Va., Joint Task Force Civil Support (JTF-CS), works 365 days a year with people on call 24/7 for the... MORE

A decontamination team of Airmen and Soldiers care for casualties in a simulated mass casualty decontamination line during the 503rd Military Police Battalion field training exercise at Camp Blanding, Fla., on Oct. 24, 2018. Army Maj. Gen. William “Bill” Hall participates as a mock victim of a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear catastrophe. (Courtesy photo by Navy Chief Petty Officer Zach McKinley)

Tenn. Guardsmen celebrate Ukrainian holiday with orphans
December 13, 2018 — YAVORIV, Ukraine – Soldiers from the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment of the Tennessee National Guard visited the local orphanage for children with special needs to celebrate and participate in a... MORE

Children from local orphanage pose for picture alongside members of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment deployed in Yavoriv, Ukraine, Dec. 12, 2018. Many regiment members have visited with the children regularly.

Pa. Guard welcomes Lithuanians to Fort Indiantown Gap
December 13, 2018 — FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – Lithuania's vice minister of defense and other senior officials visited the Pennsylvania National Guard's Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site (EAATS) here... MORE

Lithuanian senior officials visited the Pennsylvania National Guard’s Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site (EAATS) Dec. 5, 2018. The delegation toured the Black Hawk Aircrew Trainer (BAT) simulation system, the Non-Rated Crewmember Manned Module (NCM3), and the Aviation Maintenance Instructional Building (AMIB).

National Guard Bureau chief pens holiday message
December 12, 2018 — ARLINGTON, Va. – As we enter the holiday season, let's all take a moment to reflect on our accomplishments and achievements over the past year. This year, National Guard units supported emergency... MORE

Gen. Joseph L. Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, issued his holiday message Dec. 12, 2018.

How is the National Guard 140 years older than the U.S.?
December 12, 2018 — CARSON CITY, Nev. – When the National Guard celebrates its 382nd birthday Thursday, skeptics might ask the obvious question: "How can the National Guard be 140 years older than the nation, and exist... MORE

Spc. Ashley Hartman cuts the ceremonial birthday cake for the National Guard's 381st birthday alongside Nevada Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. William Burks, left. The Nevada National Guard Joint Forces Headquarters office celebrates the National Guard's birthday every year with the highest and most junior ranking members available as cake cutters.

Cal Guard’s new helicopters make fire debut during Camp Fire
December 12, 2018 — MATHER, Calif. – Two of the Army's newest helicopters worked their first wildfire missions recently as the California National Guard supported state agencies battling the deadly Camp Fire in Northern... MORE

A U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter assigned to the 1st Assault Helicopter Battalion, 140th Aviation Regiment, California Army National Guard, flies through the smoky Feather River Canyon while helping authorities contain the northeastern edge of the Camp Fire in Butte County, California, Nov. 16, 2018. The Cal Guard provided four helicopters, including two of its new M-models, to help state agencies contain the deadly fire.

S.C. National Guard honors fallen troops with wreath-laying
December 11, 2018 — COLUMBIA, S.C. – While this time of year is traditionally a time to celebrate, there are military families with heavy hearts who are missing a loved one deployed far away or who paid the ultimate... MORE

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Brad Owens, director of joint staff for the South Carolina National Guard, and U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Scott Lambe, assistant adjutant general for air, South Carolina National Guard, place a wreath at the South Carolina Armed Forces Memorial at the South Carolina State House, Dec. 10, 2018. The wreath is placed to honor the service men and women who served in the Armed Forces and made the ultimate sacrifice.

Six N.Y. Guard Soldiers will be part of National Army Museum
December 10, 2018 — BROOKLYN, N.Y. – When the National Museum of the United States Army opens to the public outside Washington, D.C., in 2020, six New York Army National Guard Soldiers will be a permanent part of it... MORE

New York Army National Guard Maj.Robert Freed poses with a mock M-4 and block of wood replicating a radio handset, as photos of his pose are taken at Studio EIS in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Nov. 15, 2018. Freed is one of six New York National Guard Soldiers who served as models for life-size figures that will be part of two exhibits at the National Museum of the United States Army when it opens in 2020. The figure Freed served as a model is of a platoon leader in Afghanistan calling for air support.

Puerto Rico Army Guard honors MIA Soldier from Korea
December 10, 2018 — SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Cpl. Francisco Ramos Rivera, a 19 year-old Puerto Rican from Aibonito and member of the 24th Infantry Division, was declared missing in action (MIA) during the Korean War in... MORE

Cpl. Francisco Ramos Rivera was an MIA from the Korean War. He was identified in 2017 and returned home to his family for burial at the Puerto Rico National Cemetery in Bayamon. A Puerto Rico Army National Guard honor guard participated.

Seattle firefighters train with Washington National Guard
December 10, 2018 — JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. - If a natural disaster hits, the Washington National Guard aviators will have to work with multiple agencies at a moment's notice."I really think it's a matter of... MORE

Members of the Seattle Fire Department participated in a training exercise with the Washington Army National Guard aviators doing personnel movement on UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

Northern Strike 19 planning underway in Michigan
December 7, 2018 — BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – With 6,400 participants from 10 countries and 22 states, Northern Strike 18 was the Department of Defense's largest joint, reserve-component exercise of 2018. Hosted annually by... MORE

Maj. Gen. Gregory Vadnais, Michigan National Guard adjutant general, speaks at the Northern Strike 19 Initial Planning Conference (IPC), Fort Custer Training Center, Mich., Dec. 4, 2018

Unmanned aircraft enhances Army Guard response capabilities
December 6, 2018 — ARLINGTON, Va. - In the aftermath of Hurricane Florence and during recent Northern California wildfires, Army National Guard members deployed two types of unmanned aircraft systems that allowed for... MORE

Army Pfc. Michael Makowski, with the South Carolina Army National Guard's D Company, 1st Battalion, 118th Infantry Regiment, launches an RQ-11B Raven in Bucksport, South Carolina, during Hurricane Florence response operations, Sept. 26, 2018. The unmanned aircraft system assists Army Guard units in gathering situational awareness of disaster scenes and sharing that information with other Guard elements, emergency officials and first responders.

Citizen-Warrior: Ohio Air Guard member fights drug suppliers
December 6, 2018 — CINCINNATI, Ohio - Two men in an unmarked black sports utility vehicle sat idle, engine off, in a parking garage. They had been there long enough that their coffee had cooled from near boiling to room... MORE

Staff Sgt. Alicia Stayonovich, a criminal analyst for the Ohio Counterdrug Task Force, tracks drug trafficking patterns as part of her work with Homeland Security Investigations, an arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in Cincinnati. Stayonovich, who provides real-time intelligence and analysis for HSI agents in the field, takes a personal interest in helping remove drugs from the street as her brother died of a heroin overdose in 2015.

New York National Guard marks birthday of eighth president
December 6, 2018 — KINDERHOOK, N.Y. —As the United States mourned the death of George H.W. Bush, the 41st president on Wednesday, the New York National Guard commemorated the country’s eighth president, Martin Van... MORE

New York Army National Guard Command Sgt. Major David Piwowarski and Brig. Gen. John Adonie, render honors to President Martin Van Buren, the 8th president of the United States, during a Dec. 5, 2018 ceremony at his gravesite at Kinderhook Reformed Church Cemetery in Kinderhook, N.Y.

N.Y. Guard Civil Support Team trains local fire departments
December 6, 2018 — KINGSTON, N.Y. - The scene was set like something out of a zombie apocalypse movie. A large 150-year-old charity house was in obvious disrepair, unmarked blue trailers with satellite dishes around the... MORE

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Kristin Northrup, a survey team chief, and Spc. Sean Murray, a survey team member, assigned to the 2nd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team (CST), New York National Guard, move to inspect, scan and catalog the contents of a simulated bomb maker's vehicle during a hazardous materials exercise with the City of Kingston Fire Department in Kingston, N.Y., Nov. 28, 2018.

Puerto Rico Air Guard Conducts Deployment for Training at Aviano

Alaska Air Guard 168th Medical Group Trains for High-Stakes Missions

Civic Leaders Fly With Alaska Air Guard During Red Flag Alaska 25-2

Washington Army Guard Trains in Water Bucket Operations

Alaska Army Guard Rescues Family Stranded on River During Storm