Guard News - The National Guard

Changes in GI Bill transfer benefits coming July 12
June 18, 2019 — ARLINGTON, Va. – Provisions allowing Guard members to transfer some or all of their Post- 9/11 GI Bill benefits to their spouse or children are set to change in less than 30 days, limiting the... MORE

National Guard members will soon see changes to the program that allows them to transfer their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to their spouse or children that will limit the time frame they can initiate that transfer. Set to go in effect July 12, Guard members will need to have served six years before they can transfer benefits and they must transfer the benefits by the time they hit 16 years of service. Additionally, Guard members extend their enlistment contract by at least four years to transfer benefits.

Power outage doesn't dim community health clinic in Illinois
June 17, 2019 — CAIRO, Ill. — Cairo Junior/Senior High School lost power Sunday morning during an Innovative Readiness Training mission that provides a no-cost health clinic to the surrounding community in Cairo... MORE

Navy Reserve Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Tellington, left, a dentist with the Operational Health Support Unit, Bremerton; Air National Guard Tech. Sgt. Ashley Craig, center, the dental noncommissioned officer in charge and a dental technician with the 175th Medical Group, Baltimore, and Air Force Capt. Aaron Gause, a dentist resident at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, complete a dental procedure after a power outage stripped the facility of electricity. The lack of power introduced a new obstacle for service members to overcome while training in a real world scenario.

Freedom Award 2019 recipients named
June 14, 2019 — WASHINGTON – The Department of Defense announced the 15 recipients of the 2019 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the highest U.S. government honor to employers for support of... MORE

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve has announced its Freedom Award recipients for 2019.

National Guard Bureau chief to Army: Happy birthday!
June 14, 2019 — On behalf of the entire National Guard, I extend best wishes and congratulations to our fellow warfighters of the United States Army on the occasion of their 244th birthday! Since its founding on June... MORE

Gen. Joseph L. Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, delivered a happy birthday message to the U.S. Army, which is celebrating its 244th birthday.

Firefighters practice water rescue at Global Dragon
June 13, 2019 — PERRY, Ga. – Firefighter Airmen from across the country participated in water rescue training, during Exercise Global Dragon 2019, held at the Guardian Centers of Georgia.During Domestic Operations... MORE

Fire Protection Airmen from around the country participate in water rescues during Global Dragon 2019, held at the Guardian Centers of Georgia in Perry, Ga., June 3, 2019.

Florida Guard discusses capabilities for hurricane season
June 12, 2019 — STARKE, Fla. – Ahead of any dangerous hurricane or potential natural disaster, the governor of Florida has the authority to activate the state's National Guard. Since the numbers and specific... MORE

Maj. Gen. James O. Eifert, Florida's adjutant general, meets with Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz, left, at Camp Blanding Joint Training Center's post headquarters to discuss the Florida National Guard's natural disaster response capabilities.

Alaska Guard members rescue bear-attack victim near Galena
June 11, 2019 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Airmen with the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, the Alaska Air National Guard's 210th, 211th, and 212th Rescue Squadrons, as well as Soldiers of the Alaska... MORE

An HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter operated by Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 210th Rescue Squadron takes off for aerial live-fire gunnery training at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, March 19, 2019. A similar aircraft helped rescue a person mauled by a bear on June 10, 2019.

S.C. National Guard tests Soldiers during night fire drill
June 10, 2019 — EASTOVER, S.C. – The South Carolina National Guard’s 218th Regional Training Institute conducted a fire emergency evacuation drill on Saturday at 1:30 a.m. to test the response of Soldiers staying in... MORE

U.S. Soldiers attending training at the 218th Regional Training Institute, South Carolina Army National Guard, are tested on evacuation, safety and accountability measures during a night-time fire drill held at the McCrady Training Center in Eastover, South Carolina, June 8, 2019.

D-Day anniversary provides a reminder partnerships matter
June 9, 2019 — OMAHA BEACH, NORMANDY, France – From his VIP vantage point high above Omaha Beach, looking out across the sand and the English Channel with eyes wide open, Leonard Jindra sees sand, water and a lone... MORE

Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief, National Guard Bureau, book-ended his visit to D-Day 75th anniversary ceremonies with stops in countries where National Guard troops are supporting exercises. "You can draw a straight line from D-Day to the partnerships I saw in action," he said. "Our readiness and our lethality ... are our living tribute to those men who sacrificed so much 75 years ago." In this image, Lengyel is seen visiting Pennsylvania National Guard troops in North Macedonia, June 9, 2019.

N.Y. National Guard leaders honor World War II vets on D-Day
June 7, 2019 — ALBANY, N.Y. – New York National Guard leaders honored World War II veterans of the allied landings of Normandy on the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion with presentations of state medals at five... MORE

New York Army National Guard Col. Isabel Smith, Chief of Staff of the 53rd Troop Command, greets a World War II veteran at the New York State Veterans Home on Montrose, N.Y. on June 6, 2019 during an event organized by New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to recognize veterans. Smith was one of five National Guard senior leaders who visited the five state veterans home to present New York State Medals to service members who served on D-Day or in the European Campaign.

Kentucky Air Guard to airdrop troops for 75th D-Day event
June 6, 2019 — LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Airlift Wing deployed more than 30 Airmen and two C-130 Hercules aircraft to Europe on June 1, where they will participate in the 75th... MORE

Members of the 123rd Airlift Wing board a C-130 Hercules aircraft at the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, Ky., June 1, 2019, en route to France, where they will participate in the 75th-anniversary reenactment of D-Day. Two Kentucky C-130s will airdrop U.S. Army paratroopers over Normandy on June 9 as part of the commemoration. The aircraft has been striped with historically accurate Allied Forces livery in honor of the event.

Missouri Air National Guard members support flood relief
June 6, 2019 — JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri – Since Memorial Day, members of the Missouri National Guard have been supporting local communities in Missouri respond to historic flooding in the region. In Hardin, about... MORE

Citizen-Airmen from the Missouri Air National Guard’s 131st Bomb Wing, headquartered at Whiteman Air Force Base, and 139th Airlift Wing, headquartered at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base, near St. Joseph, fill sandbags at Norborne High School, Missouri, June 1, 2019. Approximately 100 Airmen were part of a flood response effort ordered by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.

Ohio National Guard veterans remember D-Day
June 5, 2019 — COLUMBUS, Ohio – On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of beaches at Normandy, France, for the D-Day invasion. Two Ohio National Guard units, the 112th Combat... MORE

First Lt. Clinton S. Learn and Capt. Grandison K. Bienvenu are included in this portion of a photograph taken of the 112th Combat Engineer Battalion officers in France in August 1944. Learn is seated, second from the right and Bienvenu is standing second from the left. The Ohio National Guard Soldiers were among more than 160,000 Allied troops who landed along a 50-mile stretch of beach in Normandy on D-Day.

Kansas Army National Guard engineers support 116th CBCT
June 4, 2019 — FORT IRWIN, Calif. – Two companies from the Kansas Army National Guard’s 891st Engineer Battalion are completing a rotation at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California, to prepare to... MORE

Idaho Army National Guard Lt. Col. Lee Rubel, commander, 116th Brigade Engineer Battalion, discusses his task force’s National Training Center mission with Brig. Gen. Anthony V. Mohatt June 1, 2019, at Fort Irwin, California. Mohatt, commander, Kansas Army National Guard, was at the National Training Center to visit Soldiers from the 891st Engineer Battalion’s 242nd Engineer Company and 772nd Engineer Mobility Augmentation Company. The two companies are supporting the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team’s National Training Center rotation.

New York National Guard responds to Lake Ontario flooding
June 4, 2019 — ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Members of the New York Army and Air National Guard, the New York Naval Militia and the New York Guard have filled 230,730 sandbags and emplaced 78,966 of them since being placed on... MORE

Service members assigned to the New York Army National Guard and New York Naval Militia, along with employees from the Department of Transportation, fill sandbags at Sodus Point, N.Y., May 20, 2019. The sandbags are being used to mitigate the effects of flooding along Lake Ontario as a result of rising water levels, that followed up with the activation of the troops by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Alaska Army National Guard aviation preps for new operations
June 3, 2019 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska National Guard Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment conducted their final annual training as a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter air assault... MORE

U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Franklin Bithos, battalion standardization pilot, and Capt. Anthony Rivas, commander, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, Alaska Army National Guard, fly a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from Anchorage to Juneau, Alaska, April 26, 2019. Soldiers with the Alaska National Guard from 1-207th conduct cross-country training flights during their final annual training as an air assault unit ahead of their pending transition to becoming a part of a larger general aviation support battalion, expected to finalize this year.

Ill. National Guard helps civilian agencies fight flooding
June 3, 2019 — SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – With urgent flooding along the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, Gov. JB Pritzker activated about 200 Illinois National Guard Soldiers for state active duty to assist with the flood... MORE

A team of Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 123 Field Artillery Regiment, work on levees near Winchester, Illinois, on June 1, 2019. Hundreds of Illinois Guard Soldiers are on state active duty assisting with flood control.

Guard ‘ready’ as 2019 hurricane season kicks off
May 31, 2019 — ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Guard has been busy responding to recent tornadoes and flooding in the Midwest, as well as other areas, but stands ready for this year’s “hurricane season” that begins... MORE

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Gary Chavis of the North Carolina National Guard monitors the loading of cots and blankets onto a Light Medium Tactical Vehicle (LMTV), which were transported to various American Red Cross shelters in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence in Fayetteville, Sept. 16, 2018.

W. Va. National Guard, partners rehearse for football games
May 30, 2019 — MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – While it may be a few more months before the West Virginia University (WVU) Mountaineers take the field in Morgantown for the start of the 2019 college football season, behind the... MORE

A member of the West Virginia National Guard's 35th Civil Support Team (Weapons of Mass Destruction) prepares equipment alongside support agency personnel May 29, 2019, during Operation Rough Ride, a West Virginia University full-scale exercise involving more than 150 participants from 25 departments/units representing 18 organizations from campus, local, state and federal agencies.

Idaho Soldiers join other units in Fort Irwin exercise
May 29, 2019 — FORT IRWIN, Calif. – Soldiers from the Idaho Army National Guard's 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team have mobilized to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, to participate in a... MORE

Idaho Army National Guard 1st Lt. Jermey Raush and 1st Lt. Tyler June, engineer officers with the 116th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team, make a plan to get their platoon of Bradley Fighting Vehicles' Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System Equipment installed May 25, 2019, at the National training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. The 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team is training at the NTC May 24 to June 20 to prepare for its wartime missions.

Iowa Air Guard’s 132nd Security Forces Squadron Conducts Annual Training in Hawaii

Wisconsin Air Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing Partners With UW Health for Medical Airmen Training

Connecticut Army Guard Partners With Coast Guard to Dislodge Beached Buoy

Minnesota Guard Among First to Field Army’s Newest M250 Automatic Rifle

Soldier’s Medal Awarded to Georgia Guardsman Who Pulled Driver From Burning SUV