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Joining Community Forces taps National Guard’s nationwide presence to help all service members
November 3, 2014
Speakers addressed a military and civilian audience at Camp Dawson, W. Va., Oct. 30, 2014. A three-day, first-ever national Joining Community Forces Workshop wrapped up Oct. 31 between local, state and federal representatives.
National Guard agreement with Agriculture Department will assist family outreach
November 3, 2014
Army Gen. Frank Grass, chief of the National Guard Bureau, signs a Memorandum of Understanding, which is designed to assist National Guard Families, Camp Dawson, W. Va., Oct. 29, 2014. Grass, along with Sonny Ramaswamy, director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, signed the Memorandum of Understanding that will better enhance the health and well-being of military families.
Defense Department celebrates Military Family Month in November
November 3, 2014
November is Military Family Month. In this 2013 photo, 3-year-old Maurcellus Smith, 3, son of Master Sgt. Jamila Smith, battalion S-2 Shop noncommissioned officer in charge, 728th Military Police Battalion, 8th Military Police Brigade, performs pushups while Sgt. Guipps Laguerre, supply sergeant, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 728th MP Bn., 8th MP Bde. counts and keeps score at Schofield Barracks to celebrate the battalion's military families.
Utah Army National Guard Soldier bridges language gap during Orient Shield 14
October 31, 2014
Utah Army National Guard Sgt. Keith Albretsen interprets Japanese and English for U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Rafael Nunez, a Petroleum Systems Section noncommissioned officer in charge assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 25th Combat Aviation Regiment from Wheeler Field, Hawaii. Nunez is showing Japan Ground Self-Defense Force aviation personnel one of four nozzle types used with the U.S. Army’s Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck or HEMTT Tanker Aviation Refueling System (HTARS) during Orient Shield 14 here Oct. 28. The aviation refuelers are supporting Soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., and JGSDF members from the 11th Infantry Regiment, 7th Division, Northern Army conducting field training exercises, Oct. 27 – Nov. 7.
Virginia Army Guard takes part in exchange program with Danish Home Guard
October 30, 2014
Danish military officers visit the Fort Pickett-based 183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute Oct. 3, 2014, as part of a Department of Defense Reserve Officer Foreign Exchange, held Oct. 1-7, in cooperation with the Virginia National Guard. The visitors received a capabilities brief from each of the three battalions in the regiment, toured the RTI facility and learned about the various course offerings taught at the schoolhouse.
West Virginia Airman saves woman from knife-wielding son in store
October 29, 2014
2nd Lt. Joshua Nelson, a West Virginia Airman and state delegate, was credited for stopping a potential murder, then stopping a potential suicide, during a trip to Wal-Mart.
North Carolina National Guard activates third Special Operations Forces unit
October 29, 2014
The Special Operations Detachment-X conducted a unit activation ceremony at the Claude T. Bowers Military Center, Raleigh, N.C., Oct. 18, 2014. SOD-X is the newest unit of the North Carolina Army National Guard.
Kiowa helicopters find new life in Florida after National Guard retirement
October 28, 2014
Chief Warrant Officer Sean Hogan of the Florida Army National Guard, right, points out the military features of an OH-58 Kiowa helicopter to Chief Pilot Richard Bray of the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 16, 2014, at Cecil Commerce Center in Jacksonville, Fla. Three of the remaining Florida National Guard Kiowas based in Jacksonville are being transferred to different Florida sheriffs’ offices to augment their aviation programs.
California National Guard earns sexual assault prevention award
October 28, 2014
Air Force Brig. Gen. Dawne Deskins, New York National Guard, spearheads the Air Force National Guard's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program for the 100,000 members of the Air National Guard.
Mission to fight Ebola: 'This is what we do,' Air Guard leader says
October 24, 2014
Air Force Senior Airman Courtnay Hester, a power production specialist with the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group, sets up an electric generator to feed the Joint Operations Center at Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport in Dakar, Senegal, Oct. 5, 2014, in support of Operation United Assistance. Hester and more than 80 other Kentucky Air Guardsmen stood up an Intermediate Staging Base at the airport that will funnel humanitarian supplies and equipment into West Africa as part of the international effort to fight Ebola.
New York's 106th Rescue Wing base honor guard sets a high bar
October 22, 2014
Members of the New York Air National Guard's 106th Rescue Wing Base Honor Guard rehearse a flag folding and presentation ceremony at Gabreski Air National Guard Base Oct. 16, 2014. The Honor Guard Airmen performed more than 619 ceremonies in 2013. This was more than any other Air National Guard Honor Guard in the U.S.
North Carolina chaplain fighting breast cancer on her own terms
October 22, 2014
North Carolina National Guard Maj. Melissa Culbreth before and after she shaved her head during a party at Serenity Grace Farm on Oct. 12, 2014. Culbreth, who is the chaplain for the 449th Theater Aviation Brigade, recently started chemotherapy after being diagnosed with breast cancer for a third time and said she wanted to take her hair on her own terms before she lost it as a side effect of the chemo.
Kentucky Air Guard Airmen support 101st Airborne Division’s movement to Liberia
October 21, 2014
U.S. Air Force Col. David Mounkes, a Kentucky Air National Guard member and commander of Joint Task Force-Port Opening Senegal, discusses the unit’s mission with a delegation representing the U.S. Agency for International Development at Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport in Dakar, Senegal, Oct. 16, 2104. The JTF-PO is funneling humanitarian supplies and equipment into West Africa as part of Operation United Assistance, the international effort to fight Ebola. USAID is the lead federal agency coordinating the U.S. government’s multi-agency response.
Citizen-Soldier brothers from New Jersey deploying to Southwest Asia
October 20, 2014
Davis and Dave Valentin, brothers who grew up in Ridgefield Park, N.J., are deploying to Southwest Asia with their New Jersey National Guard unit.
For its 27th season, New York's 109th Air Wing flies to Antarctica
October 17, 2014
Airmen prep the first LC-130 Hercules headed to Antarctica. The aircraft and aircrew with the 109th Airlift Wing took off from Stratton Air National Guard Base, Scotia, New York, on Oct. 17, 2014. The aircraft is headed to Antarctica for the Wing's 27th year participating in Operation Deep Freeze in support of the National Science Foundation. The 109th AW boasts the U.S. military's only ski-equipped aircraft, which has been supporting the NSF's South Pole research since 1988.
Civil Support Teams - new tactics for new threats
October 17, 2014
Team members of the 102nd Civil Support Team, Oregon National Guard, conduct a decontamination training and evaluation exercise at the old Silverton High School in Silverton, Oregon, in 2011. Sgt. 1st Class Rowena Simshaw and Staff Sgt. April Henrickx of the Decon Team, 102nd Civil Support Team, aid in decontaminating other team members.
Obama activates National Guard, Reserves for Operation United Assistance
October 17, 2014
Airmen with the 123rd Contingency Response Group prepare for their deployment to West Africa from the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, Ky., Oct. 2, 2014. The Guardsmen are working to set up a logistics hub in support of Operation United Assistance.
At Air Guard town hall meeting, Grass praises worldwide enduring relationships
October 17, 2014
Gen. Frank J. Grass, chief of the National Guard Bureau and member of the Joint Chiefs, addresses Air National Guard Airmen and civilians Oct 15, 2014, at the ANG Readiness Center, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. The purpose of the meeting was to review the strategic direction of the National Guard, budgetary issues and recognize the performance of ANG directorates.
Tennessee National Guard Soldier assists colleagues beyond the battlefield
October 16, 2014
Army Staff Sgt. Pamela Pugh, a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and 14-year member of the Tennessee National Guard, helped two homeless soldiers in her unit get a new start in their lives. Pugh guided them to resources and various support programs that aid current military personnel, veterans and their families.
Texas Guard member saves roommate's life after gunshot accident
October 15, 2014
Pfc. Wil Ledford is credited with saving the life of his rooommate after an accident in their apartment. Ledford, of Grapevine, Texas, is a newly trained Combat Medic in the 36th Infantry Division of the Texas Army National Guard.