Guard News - The National Guard

Maryland Soldiers protect vital sites in Vigilant Guard 18
May 9, 2018 — SYKESVILLE, Md. - Soldiers from the Maryland Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment, responded to an emergency scenario Tuesday at Springfield Hospital in Sykesville, Maryland,... MORE

A Soldier, from D Company, 175th Infantry Regiment, Maryland National Guard, guards a downed cell tower as part of Vigilant Guard 18 on May 8, 2018 in Sykesville, Maryland. The downed cell tower represents a portion of Vigilant Guard’s various real-world scenarios designed to prepare soldiers and emergency personnel for a potential hurricane landfall.

A Soldier, from D Company, 175th Infantry Regiment, Maryland National Guard, guards a downed cell tower as part of Vigilant Guard 18 on May 8, 2018 in Sykesville, Maryland. The downed cell tower represents a portion of Vigilant Guard’s various real-world scenarios designed to prepare soldiers and emergency personnel for a potential hurricane landfall.

S.D. Guard members honored for car-crash assistance
May 8, 2018 — SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Three South Dakota Army National Guard Soldiers received the Outstanding Citizen Award by the Sioux Falls Police Department at the Law Enforcement Center in Sioux Falls, April 26... MORE

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Neal Stratman, 2nd Battalion, 196th Regional Training Institute, South Dakota Army National Guard, right, Capt. Carl Stearns, 152nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, South Dakota Army National Guard, middle right, and Sgt. 1st Class Matt Tjaden, 1742nd Transportation Company, South Dakota Army National Guard, receive the Outstanding Citizen Award from Police Chief Matt Burns, Sioux Falls Police Department, in Sioux Falls, S.D., April 26, 2018. The award was presented for their actions and initiative at the scene of a car collision in Sioux Falls, S.D., March 7, 2018.

The National Guard in South Korea: 10 things you need to know
May 7, 2018 — In the mid-1980s, Air Force Capt. Joseph Lengyel was an F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot deployed here; last week, General Lengyel returned here for troop visits – and saw a transformed country protected by a transformed military... MORE

"We are raising our readiness," Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said during visits with Guard members in South Korea, May 1-4, 2018. "It's our job."

Lengyel: Community support vital to military success
May 7, 2018 — Cutting short troop visits to return to the East Coast to honor nine Puerto Rico National Guard members killed in a plane crash, the chief of the National Guard Bureau told military supporters here Friday it will take a community to help those affected... MORE

"[T]he support, the trust, and the confidence of the American people ... may well be the most important weapon in our nation's arsenal," Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief, National Guard Bureau, told attendees at the 50th Anniversary Military Appreciation Banquet in Fairbanks, Alaska, May 4, 2018.

National Guard marathon winners announced in Nebraska
May 7, 2018 — LINCOLN, Neb. – More than 160 Army and Air National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from across the United States came together Sunday for the Lincoln National Guard Marathon.These National Guard runners,... MORE

Florida National Guard Capt. Kimberly Quinn of Gainesville, was named the overall female National Guard winner of the Lincoln National Guard Marathon with an unofficial time of 3:11:29.

Kentucky Guard MPs aid in rainy Derby day festivities
May 7, 2018 — LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As a record rainfall of nearly three inches fell, more than 157,000 spectators filled Churchill Downs for the 144th Kentucky Derby May 5 in Louisville. Making sure the day was safe... MORE

Kentucky Army National Guard member Spc. Mackenzie Kline, 617th MP Company, talks with an attendee at the 144th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs May 5, 2018.

Va. National Guard hosting Vigilant Guard response exercise
May 7, 2018 — SANDSTON, Va. — More than 2,000 National Guard personnel from six states and Washington, D.C., are taking part in the Vigilant Guard 18-3 emergency response exercise from today through Thursday at... MORE

The Virginia National Guard’s 34th Civil Support Team participates in a training exercise with the Virginia State Police, the FBI and local law enforcement Oct. 24, 2017, near Richmond, Virginia. The 34th CST provided reconnaissance, decontamination, incident command and sampling support for the exercise. The event aimed to increase interagency coordination and integration. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Terra C. Gatti)

Florida officer first Guardsman to complete SFAB training
May 7, 2018 — FORT BENNING, Ga. - The Florida National Guard lived up to its motto of “Florida First” May 4 when one of its Soldiers became the first National Guard member to graduate from a new training program... MORE

Maj. Jay Robinson, the first National Guardsman to complete the Combat Advisors Training Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, participates in a block of instruction on call for fire. Throughout the 28-day course, participating Soldiers learn about the unique Security Force Assistance Brigades’ mission.

Service honors Puerto Rico Air Guard plane crash victims
May 3, 2018 — SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The 156th Airlift Wing of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard conducted its second remembrance service Saturday in honor of the five crew and four Airmen deceased in the WC-130... MORE

Puerto Rico's adjutant general, Brig. Gen. Isobel Rivera, says, "It is important to take the time to reflect and internalize the difficult moments we are living," at the service May 2, 2018, in San Juan to honor the Airmen killed in a May 2 plane crash.

Two from 69th Infantry are New York Army Guard Best Warriors
May 2, 2018 — CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE, N.Y.—Two New York City members of the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment, are the Best Warriors in the New York Army National Guard for 2018. Spc. Ilya Titov, an... MORE

Best-warrior winners in N.Y. National Guard

Ore. Guard troops work with Canadians to enhance readiness
May 2, 2018 — JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – Soldiers from the U.S. and the 39th Canadian Brigade Group (CBG) took part in a multi-day exercise, allowing a unique opportunity to integrate support and skills... MORE

Oregon National Guard Staff Sgt. Jon Paul Hanson, a sniper with the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, enters the 'Leschi Town' training area during an early morning advancement during Exercise Cougar Rage, April 28, 2018, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. U.S. and Canadian soldiers took part in four-days of joint training to enhance operational readiness, April 26-29.

Guardsmen from New England train in handling disasters
April 30, 2018 — PEASE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.H. - Vehicles laid overturned in the road, fires burned high, downed power lines draped low across the wreckage and people, trapped under debris, cried out for rescue... MORE

Senior Airman Jesse D. Hyam and Staff Sgt. Alexander J. Barnhart, medical search and extraction team members assigned to the 157th Medical Group, N.H. Air National Guard, work to lift debris during a simulated exercise on April 11, 2018 at Joint Base Cape Cod, Mass. Hyam and Barnhart participated in a weeklong regional deployment readiness exercise as members of the N.H. CBRNE Enhanced Response Force Package team.

Lengyel: Guard mirrors National Defense Strategy priorities
April 30, 2018 — COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Readiness, people and innovation are priorities for the National Guard, Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel told Guard supporters Sunday. They are the National Guard's priorities... MORE

Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief, National Guard Bureau testifies at a hearing to review the 2019 Budget Request for the National Guard and Reserve before the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense, in Washington, D.C., Apr. 17, 2018. Lengyel spoke over the weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Freedom Award finalists named for 2018
April 24, 2018 — WASHINGTON - Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve has announced the 30 finalists for the 2018 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. The finalists represent large and small... MORE

Air Guard, Reserve wings kick off annual MAFFS training
April 24, 2018 — SACRAMENTO, Calif. - As temperatures heated up this week in northern California, aerial firefighters from four C-130 airlift wings operating the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service's... MORE

National Guard takes top honors in DoD environmental awards
April 23, 2018 — ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Guard was recognized for environment stewardship, bringing home awards in multiple categories in the 2018 Secretary of Defense Environmental Awards. The Hawaii Army... MORE

Ga. Air Guard unit spearheads Puerto Rico hurricane recovery
April 23, 2018 — SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The Georgia Air National Guard's 202d Engineering Installation Squadron deployed here Sunday to spearhead hurricane recovery efforts for 156th Airlift Wing base communications... MORE

U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Mark Buchanan, right, superintendent, Staff Sgt. Charles Chalk, center, cable and antenna technician, and Staff Sgt. Wilson Gardner, airfield systems technician, from the 202d Engineering Installation Squadron (EIS), Georgia Air National Guard (ANG), review technical drawings at Muñiz ANG Base in San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 19, 2018. The 202d EIS deployed to the Puerto Rico Air National Guard’s 156th Airlift Wing as part of the Hurricane Irma and Maria recovery efforts to spearhead a large-scale project relocating communications systems cabling and equipment to a new hardened facility.

Army multi-component worst-case exercise tests the force
April 23, 2018 — MUSCATATUCK URBAN TRAINING CENTER, Ind. – Fields of debris, demolished vehicles and bodies of mannequins and live role players laid across an entire town center; words on bed sheets, asking for... MORE

Exercise officials for Guardian Response 18 tour Muscatatuck Urban Training Center ahead of Guardian Response 18 exercise, April 11, 2018. More than 4,500 Soldiers from across the country participated in GR18, a multi-component training exercise to validate U.S. Army units’ ability to support the Defense Support of Civil Authorities in the event of a Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear catastrophe.

Air National Guard unit trains for combat in Arkansas
April 19, 2018 — FORT CHAFFEE MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER, Ark. – The crunch of gravel is swiftly drowned out by the sounds of rapid gunfire as a small, six-man team finds cover in a tree line and targets enemy forces... MORE

A Tactical Air Control Party specialist listens to his team on his radio while participating in a field training exercise, or FTX, at Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center in Arkansas, April 14, 2018.

Okla. National Guard assisting firefighters on wildfires
April 18, 2018 — MOORELAND, Okla. – Oklahoma's historic wildfire conditions led to fires spreading fast and firefighters scrambling to extinguish the blazes and mitigate the damage. As the high winds and dry... MORE

An Oklahoma National Guard Black Hawk helicopter was dispatched to help with firefighting efforts Thursday.

Louisiana Guard, Active Component Airmen Complete Air-to-Air Integration Training

Air National Guard Leaders Host 2025 Wing Leader Fly-In

Colorado Army National Guard Conducts Aviation Training for Wildfire Season

Lt. Gen. Jon Stubbs Highlights Virginia National Guard Excellence at Military Ball

Oregon Air Guard Participates in Sentry Aloha Exercise