Guard News - The National Guard

Mattis: Guard integral to DoD effort to build lethality
August 27, 2018 — WASHINGTON - Enhancing lethality and restoring readiness is at the heart of the National Security Strategy and the National Guard is an integral part of that strategy, Defense Secretary James N... MORE

Secretary of Defense James Mattis addresses National Guard leaders at the National Guard Association of the United States 140th General Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, Aug. 25, 2018.

Colo. and Minn. National Guard troops assist in fire battles
August 24, 2018 — CENTENNIAL, Colo. – The Colorado National Guard completed aviation firefighting in support of the incident commander overseeing the Cache Creek Fire in Garfield County, Colorado. As of Tuesday, crews... MORE

UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, equipped with aerial water buckets, from the Chief Warrant Officer 5 David R. Carter Army Aviation Support Facility based at Buckley Air Force Base, Aurora, Colorado, drop water on the Cache Creek Fire, in Garfield County, Colorado, to support fire suppression efforts Aug. 17, 2018.

Hawaii braces as Hurricane Lane threatens
August 24, 2018 — WASHINGTON --The Hawaii National Guard and active-duty military personnel are standing by in case they are needed as Hurricane Lane approaches the island state, National Guard Bureau officials said.As... MORE

Hurricane Lane is forecast to continue inching northward into the area today, then gradually make a turn toward the west late tonight through Saturday, while passing near or just south of Oahu and Kauai.

DoD makes tire changes after Ky. Guardsman discovers defects
August 21, 2018 — FRANKFORT, Ky. – Warning: death, serious injury or damage to Army equipment will occur if actions specified are not implemented. That was the Safety of Use Message (SOUM) sent out this spring across... MORE

Military training mission serves thousands in Maui County
August 21, 2018 — MAUI COUNTY, Hawaii—Tropic Care Maui County 2018, a U.S. military Innovative Readiness Training mission to provide no-cost medical, dental, counseling and vision care to the public on Maui, Molokai,... MORE

U.S. Air Force Col. William Bray, the commander of the 181st Medical Group, 181st Intelligence Wing of the Indiana Air National Guard, speaks to a community member during a physical screening at the Mitchell Pauole Community Center in Molokai, Hi., Aug. 13, 2018.

New York National Guard Soldier helps save boy's life
August 20, 2018 — CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE, N.Y. - National Guard members spend countless hours every year training for the next big mission. For Spc. Nicole McKenzie that mission wasn't overseas – it was just below an... MORE

New York Army National Guard Spc. Nicole McKenzie, shown here in a personal photo, a member of Company sA, 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion, used her combat life saver skills to help save the life of a 12-year old boy who jumped from an overpass in Yonkers, N.Y. on August 3, 2018.

Alaska Air Guard rescues five people in two weekend incidents
August 20, 2018 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska —Alaska Air National Guard members had a very busy few days that resulted in a total of five rescues. On Saturday, Airmen with the Alaska Air National Guard's... MORE

A 210th Rescue Squadron HH-60G Pave Hawk conducts hoist training June 5, 2018, at Eklutna Glacier. Alaska Air National Guard members used similar aircraft to rescue five people in two incidents over the weekend.

Guard members bring combat skills to fighting Western fires
August 16, 2018 — WASHINGTON — Fighting wildfires is "like being in a combat zone, just we're not getting shot at," said Army Sgt. Julian Ross, one of the California National Guard members to battle the wildfires in... MORE

Members of the 163d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron,163d Attack Wing, California Air National Guard, conduct a preflight check on the wing's MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft before a fire support mission, Aug. 1, 2018, at March Air Reserve Base, California. The wing is supporting state agencies that are battling numerous wildfires in Northern California, including the Carr Fire and Mendocino Complex Fire.

200 New York National Guard members respond to flood threat
August 15, 2018 — BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -Two hundred New York National Guard Soldiers and Airmen were on state active duty on Wednesday after as much as 6.83 inches of rain fell on some parts of the Finger Lakes region on... MORE

U.S. Soldiers with the 28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, rescue a person stranded by flooding near Benton, Pennsylvania, Aug. 13, 2018.

Thousands of Guard members battling western wildfires
August 14, 2018 — WASHINGTON — Calling up the Soldiers and Airmen of the National Guard has become an unfortunate ritual of summer. Wildfires through the western United States - especially in California - started... MORE

Airmen from the Washington Air National Guard fight the Sheep Creek fire Aug. 6, 2018, near Northport, Wash. Washington Army and Air National Guardsmen made up 102 of the 350 personnel assigned to fight the Sheep Creek fire.

Air National Guard pararescuers train at Northern Strike 18
August 14, 2018 — ALPENA, Mich. - Service members from all four branches taking part in Northern Strike 18 participated in a joint mass-casualty exercise, Aug. 10. This exercise enabled multiple units to work together... MORE

Pararescue specialists from the 103rd Pararescue Squadron, Westhampton Beach, New York, execute a rescue training mission for Northern Strike 18, Aug. 10, 2018.

Airmen respond to medical emergency before training mission
August 13, 2018 — KIHEI, Hawaii—When Airmen from the Indiana Air National Guard's 181st Medical Group and the New Jersey Air National Guard's 177th Force Support Squadron encountered a medical emergency on their way to... MORE

U.S. Air Force Capt. Kelli Marietta, the officer in charge for the Molokai team for Tropic Care Maui County 2018, poses for a portrait photo at the Mitchell Pauole Center, Molokai, Hwaii, Aug. 18, 2018. Tropic Care Maui County 2018 provides medical service members and support personnel “hands-on” readiness training to prepare for future deployments while providing direct and lasting benefits to the people of Maui, Molokai, and Lanai, August 11-19. She assisted at a serious car wreck until EMS personnel arrived.

Md. Guard Special Ops win in international airborne contest
August 10, 2018 — WEST KINGSTON, R.I. — Soldiers with the Maryland Army National Guard's Special Operations Detachment recently participated in Leapfest, an international static line parachute training event and... MORE

Army Master Sgt. William Stout, Md. National Guard Special Operations Detachment, takes first place, out of 300 paratroopers, in the individual jump event with a time of two seconds during Leapfest in West Kingston, R.I., Aug 5, 2018.

Patriot Warrior brings cyber operators together in Wisconsin
August 10, 2018 — FORT McCOY, Wisconsin - Exercise Patriot Warrior fostered the close relationship among Army and Air Force communication elements, as members of both services integrated to test out their capabilities,... MORE

Airmen and Soldiers gather during Exercise Patriot Warrior for cyber defense training on Aug. 8, 2018, at Fort McCoy, Wisc. Patriot Warrior is Air Force Reserve Command’s premier exercise, providing an opportunity for Reserve Citizen-Airmen to train with joint partners in the combat support training exercise.

Blending in, Air Force to begin wear of OCP uniform
August 9, 2018 — SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Air Force units around the world will be allowed to wear the Operational Camouflage Pattern beginning in October. The OCP is the same camouflage uniform the Army uses. Last year,... MORE

Starting October 1, 2018, the Operational Camouflage Pattern uniform will be the new uniform of the U.S. Air Force. The OCP Replaces the Airman Battle Uniform, which has been the standard uniform since 2011, when it replaced both the woodland camouflage Battle Dress Uniform and Desert Camouflage Uniform.

National Guard chief honors World War I battle anniversary
August 8, 2018 — OISE-AISNE AMERICAN CEMETERY, France – Thousands of headstones silently testify to the American sacrifice at the Second Battle of the Marne 100 years ago – a sacrifice the chief of the National Guard... MORE

Gravestones of some of the 6,012 American buried at the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery in Seringes et Nesles, France.Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, visited to honor the dead here.

Washington Guard members attack Sheep Creek Fire
August 7, 2018 — NORTHPORT, Wash. - Waiting at the dozer line, Staff Sgt. Eric Delaune said he could feel the heat 100 yards away. Then, there was a huge roar coming right at him – except it wasn't a plane, it was... MORE

Washington Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Eric Delaune, 141st Maintenance Squadron, takes a break from fighting the Sheep Creek fire Aug. 6, 2018, near Northport, Wash. Delaune is on a hand crew that clears out burnable materials from the path of the fire to deny it fuel to spread.

Remotely piloted craft are mainstays of wildland firefights
August 7, 2018 — MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, Calif. — Five years after a proof-of-concept mission, the MQ-9 Reaper drone has developed into a key asset in California's fight against wildfires, including the Carr and... MORE

An aircrew from the 163d Attack Wing, California Air National Guard, fly an MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft to the Mendocino Complex Fire in Northern California, Aug. 4, 2018, during a mission to support state agencies. The aircrew conducted fire perimeter scans and spot checks on the blaze, which encompasses the Ranch and River fires and continues to grow.

Sergeant major of the Army visits Puerto Rico National Guard
August 7, 2018 — SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The adjutant general of Puerto Rico, Brig. Gen. Isabelo Rivera, received Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey during a July 31 visit. Dailey, who is the 15th SMA, arrived in... MORE

Daniel A. Dailey, sergeant major of the Army, visits Puerto Rico on July 31, 2018, where he was received by Brig. Gen. Isabelo Rivera, the island's adjutant general.

New DoD policy bars GPS-enabled devices in deployed settings
August 6, 2018 — WASHINGTON — Deployed service members are going to have to ditch their "geolocation devices" in response to a new memo from Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan. This includes physical... MORE

E-3A Component personnel use an iPhone application to track the arrival of a TNT aircraft Nov. 18, 2014, at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, Germany. Under a new DoD directive, devices with geolocation capabilities won't be allowed in deployment situations.

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