Guard News - The National Guard

4,000 Veterans hired through Missouri Guard employment programs
May 17, 2013 — JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - As the National Guard transitioned from a strategic to operational reserve since 9/11, the Missouri National Guard evolved with the times, adapting and spearheading a number of... MORE

DoD furlough days will be 11, Defense Secretary Hagel says
May 15, 2013 — WASHINGTON - After weeks of review, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has concluded budget cuts will require most of the department's civilian employees to be furloughed beginning in July, but that... MORE

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced plans for 11 furlough days at a meeting May 14, 2013.

Several programs offer assistance to Guard members seeking civilian employment
May 15, 2013 — ARLINGTON, Va. - With the economy continually changing, and many finding themselves out of work, National Guard members who may find themselves unemployed have a number of resources within the Guard... MORE

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Bill Marley recently counseled a member of the Tennessee National Guard enrolling in a job connection program.

Maryland celebrates partnerships with Estonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina
May 15, 2013 — ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley recognized the 20 and 10-year anniversaries of the Maryland National Guard's partnerships with Estonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina with a reception for... MORE

Maj. Gen. James A. Adkins, adjutant general of Maryland, discusses the Maryland National Guard's State Partnership Program with Gov. Martin O'Malley during a reception for senior delegations from the two nations on May 13. At right is Gen. Frank Grass, chief of the National Guard Bureau.

Arizona Army National Guard sustainability manager wins Secretary of Defense award
May 15, 2013 — ARLINGTON, Va. - With green initiatives taking the United States by storm, it can be difficult to imagine a time when environmental consciousness did not exist."I started reading about this thing... MORE

Defense Secretary Hagel announces 11 furlough days for civilian employees
May 14, 2013 — Editor's note: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, speaking Tuesday afternoon at a town hall meeting in Alexandria, Va., announced that civilian employees would be furloughed for 11 days beginning in July... MORE

Airmen’s home-made fuel helps Afghan homes
May 13, 2013 — KABUL, Afghanistan - Shredded paper, sawdust and water may seem unimportant to many people, but to others it can mean fuel to stay warm or cook food. These are small but vital comforts that members of... MORE

Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Griffin and Airman 1st Class MelissaBradley mix shredded paper, sawdust and water to make fuel pucks and bricks May3, 2013, at Kabul International Airport, Afghanistan. Griffin is with the 440thAir Expeditionary Advisory Squadron and Bradley is with the 439th AEAS.

Illinois mom returns from deployment in time for Mother's Day
May 10, 2013 — ROCHESTER, Ill. - The bond between a mother and her children is one of the most foundational, yet significant relationships between human beings. This connection is so profound that not even time and... MORE

Sgt. 1st Class Sarah J. Campbell pushes her children, Austin and Kiana, on a tire swing at the Rochester Community Park May 6, 2013. Campbell was reunited with her children in March, after serving for nine months in Kuwait.

D.C. Guard wife named Military Spouse of the Year
May 10, 2013 — WASHINGTON - Alicia Hinds Ward, wife of Tech. Sgt. Edwinston Ward, 113th Wing Logistics Readiness Squadron, Joint Base Andrews, Md., is the winner of the 2013 Military Spouse of the Year.Representing... MORE

Alicia Hinds Ward accepts the 2013 Military Spouse of the Year award alongside Lt. Gen. Stanley E. Clarke III, the director of the Air National Guard.

Missouri National Guard hosts Central American visitors
May 10, 2013 — JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Missouri National Guard's State Partnership Program and the Missouri Highway Patrol hosted five Panamanians and five Costa Ricans for a vehicle operation course at the Ike... MORE

Costa Rica National Police Officer Francisco Vargas prepares for the Missouri Highway Patrol driving course as part of a Missouri National Guard State Partnership Program event May 8, 2013. Guiding Vargas through the course is Missouri State Trooper Bruce Baker and Air National Guard 1st Lt. Todd Cantwell who served as the interpreter.

Camarillo Springs Fire hits home for Guard’s 146th Airlift Wing
May 9, 2013 — PORT HUENEME, Calif. - When hot, dry, gusty winds from the east, known as Santa Ana winds, carried the sparks and embers of the Camarillo Springs wildfire dangerously close to homes and neighborhoods... MORE

Master Sgt. Amy Zuniga of the 146th Airlift Wing and CAL FIRE officer Dan Sendek coordinate movement and reloading of CAL FIRE aircraft at the air tanker base staging out of Channel Islands Air National Guard Base in Port Hueneme, Calif.

Traumatic brain injury researchers looking more at Guard members
May 9, 2013 — NATICK, Mass. - They tend to be older, more experienced, and more likely to have families, but deployed members of the National Guard share something in common with their active-duty brothers and... MORE

Dr. Kristin Heaton, a neuropsychologist at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, is working with other USARIEM researchers to collect data from 3,000 National Guard Soldiers from eight states to provide a traumatic brain injury baseline.

TRICARE eases authorization rules for West Region beneficiaries
May 8, 2013 — FALLS CHURCH, Va. - TRICARE West Region Prime enrollees referred for specialty care from April 1 up to May 18 do not need authorization before seeking care.The authorization requirement has been... MORE

Wisconsin Guard helicopter crew chief plays on Army beach volleyball team
May 8, 2013 — HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah - A member of the Wisconsin Army National Guard competed among the military's best beach volleyball players at the 2013 Armed Forces Volleyball Championships from May 2-6 at... MORE

Spc. Shandra Pulver (holding volleyball), a Black Hawk crew chief with the Wisconsin Army National Guard, participated in the 2013 Armed Forces Volleyball Championships held at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, May 2-6.

Hagel initiatives take aim against sexual assault
May 8, 2013 — WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is vowing to change the culture that allows sexual assault to be a serious problem for the Defense Department.In a memo released Tuesday, Hagel announced a... MORE

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced plans to combat sexual assault in the military May 7, 2013.

Rhode Island National Guard medical team meets with Panamanian doctors
May 8, 2013 — COLÓN, Panama - Members of the Rhode Island National Guard Medical Detachment met with Dr. Tristan Pinzon, medical director of Hospital Colón, in support of Beyond the Horizon-Panama 2013 here April... MORE

Maj. Dan Winschel, center, and Capt. David Donth, right) Rhode Island National Guard, meet with Dr. Tristan Pinzon, director of Hospital Colon, to tour the facility and meet the Panamanian staff.

California Air National Guard's 146th Airlift Wing completes wildfire battle
May 7, 2013 — PORT HUENEME, Calif. - California National Guard assets that had been fighting raging wildfires in Ventura County have been deactivated, officials said early Tuesday.At the height of the operation, 26... MORE

A C-130J from the 146th Airlift Wing at Channel Islands ANGS, Port Hueneme, CA is being prepared for possible use on the wildfires in the Camarillo Springs area today. The aircraft from the California Air National Guard is equipped with the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems or MAFFS and can drop up to 3000 gallons of fire retardant at any one time.

Maryland Air National Guard member: 'I want to inspire people'
May 7, 2013 — BALTIMORE - On July 5, 2011 Senior Airman Gideon L. Connelly, repair and reclamation crew chief, 175th Maintenance Squadron, was involved in a motorcycle accident in Baltimore County with serious... MORE

Senior Airman Gideon L. Connelly practices at a Baltimore area track. Connelly, a repair and reclamation crew chief, 175th Maintenance Squadron, was involved in a motorcycle accident with serious damage to his left leg in July 2011. He is training for the Paralympics.

Baby boom awaits deployed Wisconsin National Guard Airmen
May 7, 2013 — CAMP DOUGLAS, Wis. - By the time the 101 airmen of the 128th Air Control Squadron return to the United States in mid-May, the unit could have as many as seven new babies to add to its family.The unit,... MORE

Kathryn Western, wife of Maj. Michael Western of the 128th Air Control Squadron, cradles her two children, Owen, 1, and newborn Jaxson, who was born Jan. 25. The Westerns were one of seven families in the 128th that had a child or are expecting one during the unit's deployment to the Middle East.

Florida's Explosive Ordnance Disposal experts share know-how with Guyana
May 7, 2013 — GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Three National Guard members brought their expertise of ordnance and demolitions to Guyana recently, continuing an ongoing partnership between Florida and the South American... MORE

Members of the Guyana Defence Force and the Florida National Guard conduct an armory assessment at a compound housing expended artillery shells and ammunition in Guyana, April 24, 2013.

Guard, Reserve and Navy Test Helicopter Countermeasures Over Water

Georgia Guard Trains to Bolster Domestic Response Capabilities

Nordhaus, Raines: National Guard Delivers Outsized Impact at Home, Abroad

Specialized Oregon Guard Unit Conducts Training at Camp Rilea

Caine: When you Mobilize the Guard, you Mobilize the Nation