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National Guard to help Afghan agriculture
December 11, 2007
Members of the Missouri Army National Guard's Agri-Business Development Team visit with a local farmer in eastern Afghanistan to discuss how they will assist the farmers in that region in the future.

Operation Deep Freeze main season underway
December 11, 2007
Air National Guard aircrew members utilize a jet-assisted takeoff to depart Shackleton Glacier, located in the Transantarctic Mountains 500 miles south of McMurdo Station, Antarctica, Nov 26. The aircrew conducted an open field landing to deliver a small National Science Foundation geology field camp team to the area. Assigned to the 109th Airlift Wing, Scotia, N.Y., the aircrews are flying the Antarctica missions in support of Operation Deep Freeze.

Five Guard brigades alerted for 2009 deployments
December 5, 2007
US Army (USA) 2nd Battalion (BN)/198th Armor (2nd/198th), Quick Response Force (QRF), Mississippi Army National Guard (MSARNG), Amory, Mississippi (MS), facilitated a live fire weapons training exercise for the Iraqi National Guard (ING) at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Duke.  ING personal attending received training on weapons safety, maintenance and proper handling. Then briefed on firing techniques and given the opportunity to sharpen their marksmanship skills by following a sequence of fire with their Tabuk 7.62 mm assault rifles.  The US Army is helping establish Iraq's defensive forces as part of the rebuilding process of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. The 2nd/198th are deployed to FOB Hotel and are part of the 155th Brigade Combat Team (BCT), Tupelo, MS.

Oregon National Guard rescues hundreds, provides ongoing support
December 5, 2007
The coastal town of Vernonia, Ore., was hard hit by heavy rains Dec. 2 and 3.  Oregon Governor Theodore Kulongoski reviewed the damage from an Oregon Army National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter on Dec. 4.

Governor tours coastal towns damaged by widespread flooding
December 4, 2007

Alaska Guard Conducts Operation Santa Claus
November 30, 2007
Richard Nashoalook of Wainwright, Alaska, smiles as he receives a gift from Santa Claus during Operation Santa Claus Nov. 26. The Alaska National Guard program delivers school supplies, presents and Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus to rural villages across the state.

Trees for Troops program gets boost from National Guard veterans
November 30, 2007
Staff Sgt. Daniel Branner, a New York Army National Guard Citizen-Soldier with the 42nd Infantry Division, passes a donated Christmas tree to FedEx driver Don Pelletier at Ellms Farms in Charlton, N.Y., Nov. 28. The trees are part of a donated shipment for DoD installations in the United States and across the globe as part of the "Trees for Troops" charitable donations for 2007. Brunner volunteered his time to help other area veterans and military family members in loading more than 150 trees for shipment.

Colorful F-16 represents 90 years of history
November 29, 2007
An F-16C Fighting Falcon from the Texas Air National Guard's 111th Fighter Squadron flies with a special paint job in honor of the squadron's 90th anniversary. All the colors and markings have specific meanings, reflecting the unit's nine-decade history. The rudder is painted like a JN-4 Jenny, which the squadron flew in the 1920s. The schemes for the wings and flaps recall the paint schemes of the pre-World War II era. The blue fuselage represents the Korean War, in which the squadron earned credit for two air victories. The gray underside represents the jet age. The "N5 A" was the insignia the squadron's P-51 Mustangs sported during World War II, in which the squadron claimed 44 air victories. Also representing World War II is the star on the fuselage, while the star on the wing represents the pre-World War II era. "Ace in the Hole" and the star on the tail replicate the markings of the squadron's F-84s during the Korean War. The ventral fin, partially obscured, reads "Est. 1917." Today the 111th FS is part of the 147th Fighter Wing, based on Ellington Field in Houston.

Guard film tells Soldier's story
November 28, 2007
A feature-length documentary film called "This is War: Memories of Iraq" recently debuted based on the experiences of the Soldiers from the Oregon National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry, who deployed to Iraq in 2004.

One family, five Guardmembers, one deployment – and one strong wife and mother
November 28, 2007
Five members of Cathy Hammack's family are serving in Iraq. Her husband, two sons, brother-in-law and son-in-law all are serving with the 111th Engineer Brigade. They are Sgt. Maj. Keith Hammack, husband (second from right); Capt. Keith Hammack, Jr. , son (second from left); Spc. Casey Hammack, son (top); Sgt. Roy Hammack, brother-in-law(right), and Sgt. Casey Phalen, son-in-law (left).

Aircraft name now honors a precious payload
November 27, 2007
National Guard members including the Mississippi Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Harold Cross and Purple Heart Medal awardees including the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Mr. Gordon H. Mansfield unveil nose art on a Mississippi Air National Guard C-17 Globemaster III during an aircraft naming and dedication ceremony Nov. 20 at the 172nd Airlift Wing in Jackson, Miss. The wing routinely flies aeromedical evacuation missions from Balad Air Base Hospital, Iraq to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, and then on to Walter Reed Medical Center, District of Columbia. They have transported more then 19,000 patients since its mobilization for the mission in October 2005.

Army National Guard Boots Start Walkin'!
November 27, 2007
From left, Brig. Gen. Darren Owens, special assistant to the director, Army National Guard; Maj. Gen. Deborah Wheeling, deputy surgeon general for the Army National Guard; Lawrence Sadwin, past chairman of the American Heart Association; David Markiewicz, executive director of the American Heart Association, Mid-Atlantic; and Col. David Sproat, the Army Guard's chief surgeon, gather to highlight the Army Guard Readiness Center's efforts to become a Start! Fit Friendly worksite. Start! encourages employers to cultivate an environment of physical activity and health through walking. The initiative expands the Army National Guard's Decade of Health Program, a 10-year outreach campaign that promotes a healthy military force, "Always Ready, Always There...Always Healthy."

Crack house crashes when Counter Drug cracks down
November 26, 2007
A tract loader operated by a Texas National Guardsman begins demolition of a structure that had been identified as a haven for illegal drug use.

Study Jihadists, take advantage of DOD foreign culture, language programs, Guardmembers urged
November 20, 2007

"Exotic" Army Guard aviation unit returns from deployment
November 20, 2007
Lt. Col. Patrick Weber (right) and Command Sgt. Maj. Jimmy Mills (center) unfurl the Operational Support Airlift Command colors to symbolize the unit's safe return home from deployment during the unit's Freedom Salute and Welcome Home ceremony held at Davison Army Airfield at Fort Belvoir, Va., on November 16. Sgt. Joseph Garland (left) holds the colors.

Air Guard readies for expanded center
November 20, 2007
From left: Lt. Gen. Craig McKinley, director of the Air National Guard; retired Lt. Gen. John Conaway, former chief of the National Guard Bureau; Col. Joe Lengyel, ANGRC commander; Air Guard Command Chief Master Sgt. Richard Smith; and J.L. Herndon of Clarke Construction break ground on an ANGRC expansion project Nov. 19 at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

Mears Congratulates Arizona Soldier, NCO of the Year
November 20, 2007
National Guard NASCAR driver, Casey Mears signs an autograph for the Arizona National Guard's 2007 NCO of the Year, Sgt. Frank Ledesma, Nov. 11, during the Checkers Auto Parts 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway.

Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division team with Egyptian counterparts
November 19, 2007
Brig. Gen. Stephen Hines, deputy commander of the Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division, confers with Egyptian Brig. Gen. Sala Fouaad, deputy commander of the Egyptian 9th Armored Division. The two organizations will combine staffs to jointly support a battle simulation exercise as part of Bright Star 2007. The training for the U.S. Central Command and U.S. Army Central leaders and staff during Bright Star fosters greater military to military relations with participating nations.

Air Guard pilots, maintainers make history in Iraq
November 7, 2007
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq -- A 438th Air Expeditionary Group weapons loading team prepares to mount a Joint Direct Attack Munition to an A-10C Thunderbolt II using an MJ-1 “jammer” vehicle here. The Airmen made history in Iraq when their upgraded A-10s successfully employed JDAMs in combat. Because the weapon is guided to targets by pinpoint GPS coordinates, experts here say it is 100 percent more accurate than munitions previously employed on the A-10C Thunderbolt II, dramatically improving precision and reducing fratricide. The Airmen are deployed from the 175th Wing, Maryland Air National Guard, located in Baltimore, Md.

Upgraded A-10s prove worth in Iraq
November 7, 2007
Senior Airman Daniel Young marshals in an A-10 Thunderbolt II for munitions disarming after an Oct. 28 mission at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq. The A-10C's are assigned to the 104th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, which is made up primarily of members from the 175th Maryland Air National Guard. Airman Young is a Maryland Air National Guard crew chief. The 104th EFS is the first unit to use the C-model A-10 in a combat zone. Its upgrades have made air power more efficient and have streamlined the close-air-support mission.