Guard News - The National Guard

Guard Leaders Urge Solid Funding to Close Equipment, Training Gaps
April 12, 2007 — WASHINGTON - The National Guard force is second to none in terms of the quality of its people, but severe equipment shortfalls are keeping it from being fully ready, the chief of the National Guard... MORE

Clarke named Air Guard's deputy director
April 12, 2007 — ARLINGTON, Va. - An Alabama Air National Guard general officer who has served at the Pentagon for nearly a year has been named deputy director of the Air National Guard.Brig. Gen. Stanley Clarke III... MORE

Generals Campbell and Fraser Announce Alaska Shield Northern Edge 2007
April 12, 2007 — Anchorage, Alaska - Major General Craig E. Campbell, Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs; Lieutenant General Douglas Fraser, ALCOM Commander; John Madden, Division... MORE

Return to the Middle East; Rainbow Division headquarters partners with Egyptian Army for Bright Star 07
April 10, 2007 — NEW YORK - Members of the New York Army National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division hosted military peers from Europe and the Middle East as planners laid the foundation for the New York National Guard's... MORE

New York Army National Guard Col. Geoffrey Slack, the G-3 (Operations) officer of the 42nd "Rainbow" Infantry Division, reviews the scheme of maneuver for Bright Star 07 over a "sand table." Egyptian and American officers held a planning conference for Bright Star in New York City March 23-27, 2007. Bright Star is an annual Joint / Combined exercise held in Egypt for the last 25 years; this year it will be held Nov. 3-19. 2007 marks the first time a National Guard division will be the tactical headquarters for U.S. forces employed in Bright Star.

Web-based service lets Airmen get out of line
April 10, 2007 — ARLINGTON, Va. - The Air National Guard is allowing its Airmen to get out of line.That's a good thing. Air Guard members tired of waiting in line now have an alternative to waiting for customer... MORE

Air Guard medic part of association's team of the year
April 9, 2007 — ARLINGTON, Va. - Air Force leaders as well as the Air Force Association (AFA) defined teams and teamwork recently as a career group of Airmen from different commands working together. They call them... MORE

Master Sgt. Faith Elmore, right, from the Kansas Air National Guard, tours the Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, on April 3 with her daughter, Elmore, an Air Force ROTC cadet.

Echoes in flight; Charter members reflect on Air Guard's first 60 years
April 9, 2007 — ARLINGTON, Va. - Their membership gets older and smaller every day. Nearly 60 years have passed since they formed, but time has not removed distant memories of 1946-47 after they had claimed victory... MORE

Harry Emily, 90, was one of the charter members of the Colorado Air National Guard. He was in the 120th Tactical Fighter Squadron which was the nation's first federally recognized Air Guard unit 60 years ago.

Afghan National Police Graduate New Leaders
April 9, 2007 — BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Afghan national police took strides toward taking more control of their own security after a joint team of Soldiers with the 235th Military Police Company, South Dakota... MORE

Army Sgt. Corey Virtue, center of Rapid City, S.D., Army Staff Sgt. Larry Walker, second from right of Custer, S.D., both members of 1st Platoon, 235th Military Police Company, and Air Force Senior Airman Justin Richardson, Bagram Provincial Reconstruction Team Afghan police training team member, talk about classes during a break here April 4. Police chiefs from seven districts across the Kapisa province received classroom instruction on ethics/values, leadership, community policing, map reading, running a tactical operations center, basic communication, hygiene and logistics. Completion of this course, April 2-4, made them the first Afghan police leaders to complete this type of training. (U.S. Air Force photo by)

Four Guard Brigades Alerted for Iraq Duty
April 9, 2007 — WASHINGTON - Four National Guard brigade combat teams have been notified for possible deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, DoD officials said today.The units are the 39th Infantry Brigade... MORE

President Thanks National Guard for Helping Secure U.S.-Mexico Border
April 9, 2007 — WASHINGTON - President Bush today thanked National Guard members deployed across Texas, California, Arizona and New Mexico for helping the Border Patrol crack down on illegal entry across America's... MORE

Army Guard helicopters primed for Southwest border duty
April 5, 2007 — GULFPORT, Miss. - The first of three-dozen upgraded and overhauled OH-58 Kiowa helicopters are scheduled to arrive on the U.S. border with Mexico in April to boost the National Guards support to the... MORE

Staff Sgt. Dennis Tillery refits an Army National Guard OH-58 Kiowa helicopter for Operation Jump Start (OJS) duty at the Mississippi Army National Guard's 1108th Aviation Classification and Repair Depot (AVCRAD) in Gulfport, Miss., on March 23, 2007. Thirty-six Kiowas are being upgraded and overhauled at the National Guard's four AVCRADs for OJS, the National Guard's mission to assist the Border Patrol in securing the U.S. border with Mexico. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jim Greenhill) (Released)

'Only one chance' First honor guard competition strives for excellence among Guard teams
April 5, 2007 — RENO, Nev. - Staff Sgt. Jeromy Turner knows all about the finality of funerals, about the idea that you have only one chance to make a good first impression."We only have one chance per veteran. We... MORE

Sgt. Charles Rice commands the Oregon honor guard's firing detail during the National Guard Bureau's first National Honor Guard Competition held in Reno, Nev., from March 20-22. The team won the competition. Team members are, from left, Sgt. Robert "Luke" Summers, Sgt. Kenneth Kaiser, Spc. Scott Mahe, Sgt. Thomas Barella, Sgt. Timothy Tompkins, and Staff Sgt Jeromy Turner, the team's noncommissioned officer in charge.

Army medic recalls his actions during convoy attack
April 3, 2007 — BALAD, Iraq - "Watch any war movie," said Spc. James Black, "and you always see some crazy and brave guy with a red cross on his arm doing the impossible to save his brothers “ that is what people... MORE

Spc. James Black, a combat medic formerly attached to the Lincoln, Neb.-based 1st Squadron, 167th Cavalry Regiment, poses for a photo while preparing for a convoy mission.

Citizen-Soldier molds future
March 30, 2007 — BARBERTON, Ohio - he hallways of Barberton High School bustled with activity as students hurried to get to class on time. As the bell rang, students in one classroom settled into their seats to face a... MORE

Henry D. Muren, a mathematics teacher at Barberton High School and a staff sergeant in the Ohio Army National Guard, explains a problem to his class while solving it on the board.

Ohio Airman paces all others in Air National Guard recruiting
March 30, 2007 — An Airman from the Toledo-based 180th Fighter Wing was recently recognized for leading the Air National Guard in accessions through the Guard Recruiter Assistance Program (G-RAP). Maj. Gen. Gregory L... MORE

Staff Sgt. Ashley Schmidt, 180th Fighter Wing, receives an award from Col Mark Bartman, 180th FW commander, for leading the Air National Guard in the Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (G-RAP) enlistments since the program began in April 2006. The program is designed for military members who want to volunteer to become recruiting assistants.

Air Force announces milestone in force transformation
March 27, 2007 — WASHINGTON - The Secretary of the Air Force and chief of staff recently announced the completion of the next phase of Total Force Integration initiatives after discussions with Airmen from the... MORE

Commission: Changes Needed to Ensure Long-Term Guard Readiness
March 26, 2007 — WASHINGTON - The National Guard has problems that affect its readiness, particularly at home, but fixing them requires a sweeping, intergovernmental effort, the chairman of the Commission on the... MORE

Helicopter crews help prevent flooding in Maryland
March 26, 2007 — OAKLAND, Md. - Soldiers and their helicopters from two Maryland National Guard aviation companies were called out in early March to move pumps into position to drain water from an overflowing... MORE

A Maryland Army National Guard CH-47D Chinook helicopter from Company B, 3rd battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment, assists local authorities by hauling two giant pumps used to relieve pressure on a dam in the western Maryland town of Oakland on March 7, 2007. The dam had become dangerously full when a submerged outflow pipe had become clogged with sticks and mud placed by beavers.

Ohio Air Guard unit best food services operation
March 23, 2007 — COLUMBUS, Ohio - The 121st Air Refueling Wing Services Flight located at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio, earned the title of "The Best Food Service Operation in the Air... MORE

Tech. Sgt. Derrick McElrath serves lunch during the Disney competition.

Alaska Air National Guard aid injured British Sailor
March 23, 2007 — ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (AFNEWS) - Airmen in Alaska came through for a wounded British Sailor March 21 when he was injured during a deadly explosion aboard the Royal Navy submarine HMS... MORE

An Alaska Air National Guard HC-130 aircraft like this one from the 211th Rescue Squadron, with pararescuemen aboard from the 212th Rescue Squadron, evacuated an injured British Sailor March 21 from Deadhorse to Anchorage where he received medical treatment. The Sailor, assigned to Royal Navy submarine HMS Tireless, was injured during a deadly explosion while the vessel operated in Arctic waters north of Prudhoe Bay.

Forging Partnerships: The National Guard in the Indo-Pacific

Kentucky Guard MEDEVAC Prepares for Deployment to Europe

Minnesota Guard Joins Wildfire Experts for Training

Kansas National Guard Airmen Recognized for Excellence

Wyoming Guard Aviators Sharpen Wildfire Response Skills in Training