Guard News - The National Guard

National Guard Ramping Up COVID-19 Response
March 19, 2020 — ARLINGTON, Va. – About 2,050 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen in 27 states have been activated to support COVID-19 response efforts, the chief of the National Guard Bureau said Thursday. Air Force... MORE

Air Force Gen. Joseph L. Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, briefs Pentagon reporters on the National Guard's response to the coronavirus March 19, 2020. The general said 2,050 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen in 27 states have been activated to support COVID-19 response efforts, with the number expected to double by the weekend and eventually reach the tens of thousands.

Michigan National Guard helping distribute COVID-19 supplies
March 19, 2020 — LANSING, Mich. – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has called up the Michigan National Guard to help the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services assemble and load critical personal protective gear, such... MORE

Soldiers from the Michigan National Guard assist Michigan Department of Health and Human Services with assembling and loading critical personal protective gear, such as gloves, gowns and face shields, March 18, 2020. Once packaged, MDHHS will deliver the supplies to local public health departments.

Guard has long supported local officials in health emergencies
March 18, 2020 — ARLINGTON, Va. – While the National Guard is often called out by governors to respond to natural and man-made disasters, Guard members also have a long history of responding to public health... MORE

Soldiers at Camp Funston, Kansas, are quarantined while recovering from the Spanish flu in 1918. The flu infected about 500 million people around the world.

2nd CST partners with community leaders for vital training
March 18, 2020 — AMSTERDAM, N.Y. -– Twenty-two Airmen and Soldiers of the New York National Guard’s 2nd Civil Support Team sharpened their skills finding weapons of mass destruction inside a six-story warehouse Feb... MORE

Airmen and Soldiers of the 2nd Civil Support Team, New York National Guard based at Stratton Air National Guard Base, Schenectady, N.Y., decontaminate themselves after searching a six-story warehouse for weapons of mass destruction during a training exercise in Amsterdam, N.Y., Feb. 25, 2020. The training prepares the Guard members for certification required every 18 months.

Hundreds of New York National Guard members respond to COVID-19
March 18, 2020 — LATHAM, N.Y. – A week into a mission to help contain the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, the New York National Guard had 900 personnel on duty from Long Island to New York City to the Albany area... MORE

Spc.Sherman Bristol, left, a member of the New York Army National Guard's 4th Finance Detachment, and Airman 1st Class Nieves with the New York Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing, help clean City Hall in New Rochelle, New York, March 14, 2020. New York Army and Air National Guard members are supporting the multi-agency response to COVID-19.

Puerto Rico Guard screening airport passengers for COVID-19
March 18, 2020 — FORT BUCHANAN, Puerto Rico – The Puerto Rico National Guard is screening passengers arriving at the island's main airport to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. More than 280 Citizen-Soldiers... MORE

Citizen-Soldiers of the Puerto Rico National Guard along with the Department of Health and other state and federal agencies have begun evaluating and giving orientation to all passengers arriving at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Carolina, Puerto Rico, through screenings to detect any suspected case of COVID-19 and avoid more infections, March 17, 2020.

W.Va. Guard experts train first responders in PPE safety
March 18, 2020 — CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) trained more than 50 first responders from Kentucky and West Virginia how to use personal protective equipment (PPE) March 16. Members of... MORE

Members of the West Virginia National Guard provide hands-on personal protective equipment instruction to first responders from Kentucky and West Virginia, March 16, 2020, in Huntington, W.Va.

WWII 30th Infantry Division awarded Presidential Unit Citation
March 17, 2020 — RALEIGH, N.C. – President Trump announced Tuesday the Army is awarding the Presidential Unit Citation to the famed World War II National Guard unit, the 30th Infantry Division, for extraordinary... MORE

Some 117th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division and 2nd Armored Division Soldiers with captured German troops near the Siegfried Line - Palenburg, Germany, October 1944.

Space Force Counter Communications System achieves IOC
March 17, 2020 — PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – The first offensive weapon system in the United States Space Force, the Counter Communications System Block 10.2, achieved initial operating capability March 9,... MORE

Lt. Col William Sanders, left, 4th Space Control Squadron commander, receives the Counter Communications System Block 10.2 from Lt. Col. Stephen Brogan, right, combat systems branch materiel leader at the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., March 12 on Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. Once handed over, the B10.2 became the first offensive weapon system assigned to the United States Space Force.

FLNG helps with drive-through virus testing in South Florida
March 17, 2020 — MIRAMAR, Fla. – Florida National Guard (FLNG) Soldiers and Airmen are helping set up and conduct drive-through coronavirus testing in South Florida where the COVID-19 virus is concentrated. The... MORE

Denise Reynolds, left, the chief nursing officer at Memorial Hospital West, discusses tactics for the coronavirus drive-through testing facility with Maj. Mark Sullivan, with the Florida National Guard’s medical detachment, March 16, 2020. The Florida National Guard is mobilizing up to 500 Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen in support of the Florida Department of Health's response in Broward County.

Guard members continue to assist in COVID-19 response
March 17, 2020 — ARLINGTON, Va. – National Guard members continue to assist state and local authorities responding to COVID-19, or the coronavirus. More than 1,560 Guard members in 22 states are on duty. New York... MORE

Army Spc. Reagan Long, left, a horizontal construction engineer with the New York Army National Guard’s 827th Engineer Company, and Army Pfc. Naomi Velez, a horizontal construction engineer with the New York Army Guard’s 152nd Engineer Support Company, register people at a COVID-19 mobile screening center in New Rochelle, New York, March 14, 2020. More than 1,500 National Guard members in 22 states have been activated in support of state and local authorities responding to the COVID-19 outbreak.

PRNG turns from earthquake to COVID-19 response
March 17, 2020 — FORT BUCHANAN, Puerto Rico – The Puerto Rico National Guard is transitioning from supporting victims of a damaging Jan. 7 earthquake to helping respond to the threat posed by the spreading... MORE

The Puerto Rico National Guard is supporting the Puerto Rico Department of Health by screening passengers at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport to detect suspected cases of coronavirus. Citizen-Soldiers received medical evaluations and guidance from Dr. Kendra Caraballo, an epidemiologist, and general instructions from Staff Sgt. Marimar Rivera.

Wisconsin National Guard helps bring cruise passengers home
March 16, 2020 — MADISON, Wis. – Twenty-nine Wisconsin residents who spent a weeks-long ordeal aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship due to confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus arrived back in Wisconsin late Sunday... MORE

An aircraft carrying Wisconsin citizens returning from the Grand Princess cruise ship with confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus arrives at Volk Field Combat Readiness Training Center at Camp Douglas, Wisconsin, March 15, 2020. Wisconsin National Guard Soldiers and Airmen transported the residents to their homes for self-quarantine.

Health of force key to COVID response, says Guard’s top leader
March 16, 2020 — ARLINGTON, Va. – Taking care of Guard members and ensuring our nation has a healthy force ready to address the myriad effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic are among the chief concerns of the... MORE

U.S. Army Spc. Rudy Santos, a unit supply specialist assigned to the Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 42nd Infantry Division, hands out food to members of the community during Operation COVID-19 at the Martin Luther King Community Center, New Rochelle, New York, March 13, 2020. Members of the Army and Air National Guard from numerous states have been activated under Operation COVID-19 to support federal, state and local efforts.

Alaska National Guard’s exercise Arctic Eagle 2020 wraps up
March 13, 2020 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Arctic Eagle 2020, a biennial cold-weather exercise organized by the Alaska National Guard, ended March 7. The two-week exercise across Alaska included about... MORE

Members of a search-and-extraction team of national, state and local agencies assessed, decontaminated and prepared to treat "casualties" of a simulated helicopter crash during exercise Arctic Eagle 2020 on Fort Wainwright, Alaska, Feb. 24. The training is designed to improve interoperability while conducting sustained operations in extreme cold.

341st Military Intelligence Battalion honored for language skills
March 13, 2020 — CAMP MURRAY, Wash. – For the second year in a row, the 341st Military Intelligence Battalion took honors as the top Command Language Program (CLP) among the five battalions in the 300th Military... MORE

Sgt. Robert O'Donnell, a crypto-linguist with Delta Company, 341st Military
Intelligence Battalion, Washington National Guard, is presented with the 2019 Language Professional of the Year award by Col. Shahram Takmili, commander of the 300th Military Intelligence Brigade, Utah National Guard, during the Military Intelligence Conference March 8, 2020, at Draper, Utah.

Tennessee National Guard clears debris from tornado
March 12, 2020 — COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Soldiers and Airmen from the Tennessee National Guard are helping local officials clean up massive amounts of debris, damaged property and trash left in the wake of an EF-4 tornado... MORE

A Tennessee Air National Guard member with the 134th Air Refueling Wing uses a chainsaw March 10, 2020, in Cookeville as part of a debris clearing operation. Both Air and Army National Guard members are conducting multiple operations throughout the state to aid in disaster relief efforts, after tornadoes ravaged central Tennessee March 3.

180th Fighter Wing goes to Green Flag
March 11, 2020 — NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. – An Army convoy is driving through the desert when it runs into an ambush. Enemy vehicles and tanks threaten the lives of Soldiers on the ground. While taking cover, a... MORE

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Brayden Bobp, a crew chief assigned to the Ohio National Guard’s 180th Fighter Wing, salutes a 180FW pilot at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, during exercise Green Flag-West, Feb. 15, 2020. The joint training exercise improves interoperability between aircraft while supporting ground troops by allowing U.S. military branches and other NATO and allied nations to work together.

Utah Guard Hosts 2020 Chief Biathlon Championships
March 11, 2020 — MIDWAY, Utah – Crisp mornings and sunny days set the tone for a week of fierce competition as Soldier-athletes from 22 states convened at Utah's famed Soldier Hollow Resort for the 2020 Chief National... MORE

Soldier-athletes from 22 states compete in the 2020 Chief, National Guard Bureau Biathlon Championships, held at Soldier Hollow Nordic Resort in Midway, Utah, Feb. 28-March 5, 2020. The top 10 females and males will move on to form the All-Guard team and compete at the U.S. National Races in Yellowstone this spring and the Chilean Military Championships in Chile this summer.

Virgin Islands National Guard completes OC/T training
March 11, 2020 — SANTIAGO, Puerto Rico – Members of the Virgin Islands National Guard completed an Observer Coach and Trainers course at Fort Buchanan Feb. 5-9. Instructed by noncommissioned officers from the First... MORE

Staff Sgt. Barbara Guishard throws a pyrotechnic during an Observer Coach Trainer course at Camp Santiago, Puerto Rico in February 2020. The OC/T course instills professionals with the knowledge to properly validate each unit at the home station and deployment mobilization centers.

Maine Army Guard Engineers Build Communities, Readiness

Iowa Army Guard Soldiers Train at Tigerland

Idaho Guard Engineers Aid Redwood Park Restoration

Oregon Army Guard Helps Design Future Medevac Technology

Alaska Air National Guard Rescues Five Distressed Boaters