Guard News - The National Guard

Army, Air Guard at full strength, directors tell Congress
March 4, 2009 — WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Army National Guard is over strength and the Air National Guard has met its end strength for the first time since 2002, the directors told Congress on Tuesday."This is a new era...

Oregon counterdrug program targets middle school students
March 4, 2009 — PORTLAND, Ore. - President Ronald Regan's approach to drug education in the 1980s was "Just say no."But according to an Oregon City middle school teacher, that philosophy just doesn't work today."It's...

Guard team tests its ability to save lives after disaster in Florida
March 4, 2009 — CAMP BLANDING JOINT TRAINING CENTER, Fla. - Nearly 200 members of the Florida National Guard recently participated in a unique exercise and evaluation in North Florida to test their ability to support...

Four states train for Kosovo mission
March 4, 2009 — HOHENFELS, Germany - Just three months after returning to the United States from a 15-month tour in Iraq with the 29th Infantry Division, Spc. Sean Evans of the California Army National Guard's 1st...

McKinley visits Guardmembers during CENTCOM trip
March 4, 2009 — BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq - The National Guard's first four-star general visited with citizen-Soldiers and -Airmen serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait this week in dozens of formal briefings, town hall...

Renuart: Guard, NORTHCOM relationship so good it's boring
March 4, 2009 — BALTIMORE, Md. - The commander of U.S. Northern Command said he got one question repeatedly during recent rounds at the U.S. Capitol."Almost at every stop that I made, members of Congress asked me,...

Alabama Guard deployments increase this year
March 3, 2009 — MONTGOMERY, Ala. - After a slow 2008, the Alabama Army National Guard will see a dramatic increase in the number of activated units during 2009.In 2008, two companies, three teams and a detachment...

Physical fitness earns 59-year-old sergeant silver in athletic competition
March 3, 2009 — CAMP BLANDING JOINT TRAINING CENTER - Some sergeants who promote physical fitness may just "talk the talk."Others - like Staff Sgt. Peter Golden - walk, run, swim, jump, throw and sprint their way to...

New York's aviators gear up for Afghanistan deployment
March 3, 2009 — ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, MD - Four New York Army National Guard aviators got a taste of high-altitude flying in Afghanistan on Feb. 25 without leaving the United States.The Afghan-bound members of...

Massachusetts firefighters lead by example
March 3, 2009 — MILFORD, Mass. - Leading Soldiers during training exercises is demanding, but motivating them to follow you into a burning building is an extra challenge faced by firefighters in the Massachusetts...

Guard Ends New Orleans Mission, Focuses on Wildfires, Snow
March 3, 2009 — WASHINGTON, March 2, 2009 - As the Louisiana National Guard wrapped up its "precedent-setting" law enforcement mission in New Orleans yesterday, the Texas National Guard dispatched helicopters to...

Full spectrum of capabilities needed for Guard missions
March 3, 2009 — BALTIMORE, Md. - Living up to the National Guard's motto of "Always Ready, Always There" requires a full spectrum of capabilities, a senior National Guard official told an audience here at the...

Army Guard to cut recruiting, retention bonuses
February 27, 2009 — ARLINGTON, Va. - Since 2005, the number of Army National Guard enlistees has grown due in large part to enlistment bonuses ranging from $2,000 to $15,000.But that will change March 1 as the Army Guard...

DoD to allow casket photographs with family's permission
February 27, 2009 — WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Defense Department will allow the news media to photograph the flag-draped caskets of fallen U.S. troops returning home if their families agree, Defense Secretary Robert M...

Minnesota Guardsmen ski Birkebeiner on Balad flightline
February 27, 2009 — JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq - While cross-country skiing is traditionally done on the snow, two 834th Aviation Support Battalion Soldiers recently decided to roller ski the 51-kilometer (31.7 miles)...

Stars alight Guard's 4th annual Youth ChalleNGe night
February 26, 2009 — WASHINGTON - The teen wore a military-style, grey uniform similar to the garb of dozens of other teens around him.They crowded the lower lobby of the J.W. Marriott Hotel last night, obviously...

Illinois Guard provides safety net for PRT mission
February 26, 2009 — FORWARD OPERATING BASE GARDEZ, Afghanistan - Army 1st Lt. Nicholas Camardo is a self-described pain in the backside.An infantry officer with the Illinois Army National Guard, Camardo is in charge of...

Canadian troops exercise with National Guard at Fort Pickett
February 26, 2009 — FORT PICKETT, Va. — Soldiers from the Canadian Army Reserve conducted their ninth major field training exercise at the Virginia Army National Guard Maneuver Training Center at Fort Pickett Feb...

Illinois medics treat injured Afghan civilian
February 26, 2009 — KABUL, Afghanistan - When an Afghan civilian is injured in a remote area of Afghanistan, there is little chance of receiving proper medical treatment.But not when it happens right outside the gate of...

New Mexico quartet plays private concert for Vietnam vet
February 26, 2009 — ALBUQUERQUE, NM - On a cold and wintry afternoon in January, members of the 44th Army Band warmed up a Vietnam veteran's heart and home.The "Darn Saxy" quartet of the New Mexico Army National Guard's...

Washington Guard Strengthens Fiscal Readiness

Kentucky Guard Prepares Incoming Command Teams for Leadership

New PSYWAR Course Strengthens Guard Capabilities

Idaho Guard Strengthens Wildland Firefighting Capabilities

West Virginia Air Guard Trains for Complex Trauma Response