Guard News - The National Guard

Hall: New Policies to Relieve Stress, Promote Unit Cohesion
January 17, 2007 — WASHINGTON - The new Defense Department policy limiting the duration of call-ups to 12 months is already in effect for National Guard and reserve members being ordered to active duty, the senior DoD... MORE

Kentucky Guard Unit Checks Air Quality at Derailment Site
January 16, 2007 — WASHINGTON - A special team of National Guardsmen is conducting an environmental survey at the site of a train derailment that occurred this morning in Brooks, Ky.The derailment occurred south of... MORE

Department Builds on Stryker Experience to Support Extended Guard Unit
January 12, 2007 — WASHINGTON - Tapping into lessons learned after an active-duty unit in Alaska had its deployment in Iraq extended, the Defense Department is rushing assets to Minnesota to help families of deployed... MORE

"Surge" extends Minnesota Guard unit's Iraq tour up to 125 days
January 11, 2007 — ARLINGTON, Va. - At least 4,000 National Guard Citizen-Soldiers may spend an extra four months in Iraq as part of the president's troop increase announced Wednesday.The Minnesota Army National Guard's... MORE

More than 4,000 troops of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division assemble in the shape of the "Red Bull" unit crest during a special formation at their farewell ceremony at Camp Shelby, Miss., March 16, 2006, before their deployment to Iraq. The unit has been extended for up to 125 days on Thursday as part of President George W. Bush's new strategy for Iraq.

Texas National Guard Team Puts Training to Good Use
January 10, 2007 — AUSTIN, Texas - In a scene reminiscent of emergency measures seen in cities across the country after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, downtown Austin was temporarily blocked to people and... MORE

Members of the 6th Civil Support Team in full protective gear ride a Gator, a rugged motorized vehicle, in downtown Austin, Texas, on Jan. 8. The team responded to a report of 60 dead birds in the urban area.

Hudson represents all enlisted members of transformed Guard
January 9, 2007 — ARLINGTON, Va. - He wears a U.S. Army uniform, but Command Sgt. Maj. David Ray Hudson once was in the U.S. Air Force. That makes him uniquely qualified to be the senior enlisted advisor to the chief... MORE

Command Sgt. Maj. David Hudson, right, the senior enlisted advisor to LTG H Steven Blum, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, talks with a Coast Guard member during a visit to National Guard troops deployed to Joint Task Force-Guantanamo on Nov. 15, 2006.

Honors from ‘sea to shining sea’
January 5, 2007 — Guard members help lay former president to restARLINGTON, Va. - National Guard men and women across the nation paid their respects and supported the country’s tribute to Gerald R. Ford, the 38th... MORE

Soldiers of the Michigan Army National Guard's 126th Army Band march to their position during a practice session for former President Gerald Ford's funeral in Grand Rapids, Mich., Dec. 31, 2006. The funeral will be held Jan. 3, 2007.

National Guard rescues people, cattle after severe winter storms
January 5, 2007 — ARLINGTON, Va. - Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen in eight states rescued people and hauled hay to livestock following a severe end-of-year winter storm that stretched from America’s northern to southern... MORE

Wyoming Air National Guard loadmasters aboard a C-130 Hercules aircraft watch as a 1-ton hay bale lands near a herd of cows during an emergency feeding mission in southeast Colorado Jan. 3, 2007. The hay is being dropped near La Junta, Colo., to help feed livestock that have been stranded from a snow storm that has impacted the area.

Squad runs gamut of convoy escort missions
January 4, 2007 — CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq - Staff Sgt. Michael Warmenhoven and his squad from Company B, 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry have run the gamut of convoy escort security missions for the 1st Brigade Combat Team,... MORE

Semi trucks and trailers escorted by Soldiers of Company B, 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, stretch for several miles during a security halt on Nov. 27 on this road in western Iraq.

Platoon's mission changes for the better
January 4, 2007 — LSA ANACONDA, Iraq - During their first three months in Iraq, Staff Sgt. Brad Lahti and his platoon from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 136th Combined Arms Battalion manned an entry control point 24 hours... MORE

Sgt. Ed Raati of Chisholm, Minn., (left), Sgt. Danny Kraskey of Grand Rapids, Minn., Sgt. Brandon Combs of Horace, N.D., and Staff Sgt. Bradley Lahti of Robbinsdale, Minn., wait for cars to approach them to be searched Dec. 13 near Logistical Support Area Anaconda. All are Soldiers from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 136th Combined Arms Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division.

Retired Kentucky Guard Soldier helps expand Freedom Calls program for families
January 4, 2007 — Links families to Soldiers serving in five areas in Middle EastOn the third Saturday in December, the Cats and Cards squared off once again in the commonwealth’s most heated state rivalry, and many... MORE

Retired Master Sgt Tom Gavin and his family talk with son, Spc. Matthew Gavin, currently serving with Kentucky Army National Guard's 198th Military Police Bde., in Afghanistan, during the Freedom Calls event held Dec. 16 at Freedom Hall in Louisville.

Minnesotan Trades Crown for Cammies
January 1, 2007 — WASHINGTON - A 22-year-old college student recently traded her beauty-queen tiara for the Kevlar helmet she'll wear when she deploys with her Minnesota Army National Guard unit to Iraq.For the past... MORE

Army SPC. Jessica Gaulke poses with Ted Zwieg, commodore of the Minneapolis Aquatennial, during her candidacy for 2007 Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes.

National Guard Responds to Second Colorado Storm
December 29, 2006 — WASHINGTON - About 165 members of the Colorado National Guard have been activated since yesterday in the wake of the state's second blizzard in 10 days, the state adjutant general said today.This... MORE

Michigan Guard Members Prepare for President Ford's Burial
December 29, 2006 — WASHINGTON - Hundreds of Michigan National Guardsmen are preparing to welcome home President Gerald R. Ford, who died Dec. 26 at age 93 at his residence in Rancho Mirage, Calif.Ford grew up in Grand... MORE

A makeshift memorial is set up in front of the Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Mortar Operations in Fallujah, Iraq
December 28, 2006 — CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq - In just a couple of minutes, Soldiers of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 136th Combined Arms Battalion, can make the enemy have a bad day.That is the time it takes four Soldiers... MORE

Spc. Anthony Sanborn of Alexandria, Minn., (center) checks the fuse setting of a 120 millimeter mortar as Spc. Steven Luitjens of St. Cloud, Minn., (right) tells him which setting to use during a drill earlier this month at Camp Fallujah, Iraq. Spc. Chris Colliflower of Roseau, Minn., is at the left. All Soldiers are from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 136th Combined Arms Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division.

Puerto Rico Guardsmen experience combat up close
December 27, 2006 — SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) - As luck would have it, Staff Sgt. Victor Vega and his C-130 Hercules aircrew were just about to take off when the attack started. The 198th Airlift Squadron transport had just... MORE

Pilot First Lt. Jose Fernandez (left) and loadmaster Staff Sgt. Victor Vega stand before their C-130 Hercules at Muñiz Air National Guard Base, Puerto Rico, Dec. 15. The Airmen had just returned home after a four-country mission to Central and South American and the Caribbean. The two were also among the first members of the 156th Airlift Wing to deploy their cargo planes to Afghanistan.

Deployment in Iraq is a family affair for Kentucky National Guard unit
December 27, 2006 — Like many units in the Kentucky National Guard, the 410th Quartermaster Company, based in Danville, Ky., considers itself family. When you eat, sleep, and work with the same people day in and day out,... MORE

Sgt. Chris Tarter and Staff Sgt. William Wagoner

370th birthday painting captures Guard’s history since 9/11
December 21, 2006 — JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - “It’s a gift to Soldiers in the Guard and their families,” said Springfield native John Fulton, creator and artist of a watercolor painting presented to the Missouri National... MORE

Springfield, Mo., artist John Fulton and his wife Billie display "Our Legacy is Freedom", a watercolor they created to honor the men and women of the Army National Guard and their families.

National Guard aids victims of holiday winter storm
December 21, 2006 — ARLINGTON, Va - The first day of winter hammered the Midwest, and the National Guard helped to soften the blow.More than 60 Colorado National Guard members and their equipment jumped into action Dec... MORE

Military Aircrews Continue Supporting Mount Hood Rescue Effort
December 19, 2006 — WASHINGTON - After finding the body of one missing climber on Mount Hood, Ore., members of the Oregon Army National Guard, Nevada Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve continued the search Monday... MORE

Lt. Col. Caesar Garduno receives coordinates while flying over Mt. Hood, Ore., Dec. 16. Colonel Garduno and his Air National Guard crew were joined by an Air Force Reserve pararescueman searching for three missing climbers. The colonel is a C-130 pilot from the 152nd Airlift Wing in Nevada.

Nebraska Guard Infantry Trains on Survival Tactics

Air National Guard Crisis Team Recognized for Innovation

Virginia National Guard Soldiers Validated for Poland Mission

Washington Air Guard, Malaysia Sign Sister Squadron Pact

Minnesota Guard, Norway Train Together