Guard News - The National Guard

Leapfest: Rhode Island's international adventure
August 11, 2008 — KINGSTON, R.I. - Capt. Roy Hatch, who is closing in on 60 years old, is a member of the United Kingdom's Territorial Army who still believes that airborne soldiers are something special.Their... MORE

Two Soldiers from Fort Campbell, Ky., landed safely in Kingston, R.I., on Aug. 9 after their main parachutes became tangled while participating in Leapfest, the National Guard's international military parachute competition. Sergeants 1st Class Christopher O'Malley and Kurt Merrell resorted to their training and deployed their reserve parachutes.

Former Army shooter enters U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
August 8, 2008 — WASHINGTON - Retired Army Lt. Col. Lones W. Wigger Jr., 70, a three-time Olympic military marksman himself, starts a new job with the beginning of the 2008 Olympics as narrator for MSNBC's Web video... MORE

New travel card distribution to begin this month
August 8, 2008 — WASHINGTON - Citibank officials will mail out new government travel charge cards Aug. 13 through Sept. 19. Initial distribution will begin with cardholders at overseas locations and migrate from the... MORE

Airmen are being issued the new Citibank government travel card, which will look like this example. Distribution will begin Aug. 13.

Higher learning: ESGR advocates sample Leapfest adventure
August 8, 2008 — KINGSTON, R.I. - No, they did not jump out of a perfectly good helicopter.But 16 civilians involved with Rhode Island's Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) program did get an idea of what... MORE

Brown University graduate research manager Tom Alarie checks out the terrain for Leapfest 2008 during a flight in an Army National Guard helicopter arranged by the Rhode Island Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve on Aug. 7. Sixteen people participated in the morning's event for civilian employers and supervisors of members of the National Guard.

Syracuse Guard unit returns with fighters for last time
August 8, 2008 — SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Two-hundred New York Air National Guard members with 14 fighter aircraft from the 174th Fighter Wing finished two missions at once here Aug. 5 after returning from a two month's... MORE

Maj. Gen. Robert A. Knauff, commander of the New York Air National Guard and Air Guard assistant to the commander, Air Force Special Operations Command, and Command Chief Master Sgt. David Heckman of the 174th Fighter Wing welcome home Lt. Col. David Brenton and Chief Master Sgt. Michael Will at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, N.Y., Aug. 5. The 174th deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom in early June. It was the last overseas deployment for the wing's F-16 Fighting Falcons. The wing is transitioning into its new MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle mission.

National Guard analysts help police disrupt drug trafficking
August 7, 2008 — GREENBELT, Md. - The National Guard Counterdrug Program has employed criminal analysts in Title 32 status since 1994 in support of local, state and federal agencies' ongoing efforts to combat drug... MORE

129th Airmen transport helicopter crash survivors to Redding hospital
August 6, 2008 — MOFFETT FEDERAL AIRFIELD, Calif. - Air National Guardsmen from the 129th Rescue Wing rescued two survivors of a civilian helicopter crash last night near Junction City, Calif.The Sikorsky S-61... MORE

Air and Army units provide bare base communications for Patriot 2008 exercise
August 6, 2008 — Providing and maintaining communications during a major exercise was the challenge taken on recently by National Guard units participating in exercise Patriot 2008.Split between three locations - Camp... MORE

Soldiers of the 48th Infantry Brigade Special Troops Battalion operate a Secure Mobile Anti-Jam Reliable Tactical-Terminal (SMART-T)-equipped Humvee July 23 as part of Patriot '08 in preparation for an upcoming overseas deployment. Split between three locations - Camp Ripley, Minn., Fort McCoy and Volk Airfield, Wis., - Patriot '08 was a 21-day, large-scale exercise featuring more than 45 units from as many states. Additionally, the participation of Canadian, United Kingdom, and Dutch forces increased combined effectiveness.

Father follows daughter into Ohio National Guard
August 6, 2008 — GREEN, Ohio - When military recruits speak of their reasons for enlisting, many cite family pride and tradition as their strongest motivation. The desire to follow in a parent's footsteps has prompted... MORE

Army Pvt. Larry Gravius (right) was inspired to join the Ohio Army National Guard as a result of the February enlistment of his 18-year-old daughter, Army Pfc. Gwendolyn Gravius (left).

Guardmembers compete in international pentathlon in Turkey
August 6, 2008 — Nevada Guardsman places 2nd in eventA Nevada Guardsman finished second in an international military pentathlon event in Istanbul, Turkey, held July 4-13.Teamed with a British and a German soldier,... MORE

International military members tackle the land obstacle course at the 2008 Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers (CIOR) Military Pentathlon Competition held in Istanbul, Turkey, July 4-13.

Airmen return from fighting the Telegraph Fire near Yosemite National Park
August 6, 2008 — MOFFETT FEDERAL AIRFIELD, Calif. - Twenty-eight Airmen of Task Force Bucket who were supporting Operation Lightning Strike returned here today after nearly two weeks of training and fighting the... MORE

America Supports You: Scholarship Keeps Military Families "In the Fold"
August 5, 2008 — WASHINGTON - A military child's education is one of many things a servicemember's injury or death in the line of duty could jeopardize. To make sure that never happens, retired Air National Guard F-16... MORE

California Guard team rescues ailing man
August 5, 2008 — BURNT RANCH, Calif. - The California National Guard's Task Force Shovel has supported their state's wildfire mission since their mid-July arrival at the school yard here in Burnt Ranch, a tiny remote... MORE

National Guard ready for Tropical Storm Edouard
August 4, 2008 — ARLINGTON, Va. (08/04/2008) - Up to 1,200 National Guard Citizen-Soldiers and -Airmen stood ready as Tropical Storm Edouard approached Texas on Monday.With about 1,000 Guardmembers serving overseas,... MORE

Air Guard clears airfield operations for a Total Force horizon
August 4, 2008 — ARLINGTON, Va. - Air National Guard officials here recently said their knowledge and resources in airfield operations is "successfully" training the Air Force's next air base managers.The Air Guard's... MORE

Air Force 2nd Lt. Chelsea Hall-Reyes trains with the Air National Guard's 270th Air Traffic Control Squadron at Kingsley Field, Ore., as part of the Air Guard's Airfield Operations Officer Training Program. The program trains active-duty Airmen to become airfield operations officers.

Iowa National Guard quenches RAGBRAI thirsts for 14 years
August 4, 2008 — HARLAN, Iowa - Three thousand, four hundred gallons of water, 20 ounces at a time.That's what it takes to quench the thirst of 15,000 bicyclists at just one water stop during a 471-mile, week-long... MORE

Pennsylvania Guard convoys to California and back
August 4, 2008 — PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. - Crossing 11 states and four time zones with 25 military vehicles for a total of 2,580 miles equals one successful convoy for the National Guard 1067th Transportation Company based... MORE

Sgt. Noel Watson and Sgt. Dennis Palmer of the 1067th Transportation Company of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, review final details of a convoy briefing with a Northrup Grumman contractor prior to a Combat Logistics Patrol at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, Calif. The unit, which is based in Phoenixville and Lehighton, Pa., drove 2,580 miles to Fort Irwin for their three-week annual training.

Massachusetts Militia Soldier was an Olympic pioneer
August 4, 2008 — ARLINGTON, Va. - Imagine the Olympic Games without (1) the specter of terrorists, (2) tests for outlawed drugs, or (3) gold medals. That was the Olympics that a Soldier who served in the Massachusetts... MORE

Thomas Pelham Curtis: Massachusetts militia Soldier and Olympic pioneer.

Syracuse ANG Airmen 'don't fear the Reaper'
August 1, 2008 — JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq - Instead of the Fighting Falcon's roar, the hum of a turboprop engine will carry the 174th Fighter Wing's weapon system of the future into the skies -- but the pilots will stay... MORE

Tech Sgt. Jason Owens talks to fighter pilots during arming of an F-16 Fighting Falcon here July 8. When the Syracuse, N.Y., Air National Guard unit returns from its current deployment to Joint Base Balad, it will become the first Air National Guard unit in the country to adopt an MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial system mission. Sergeant Owens, a weapons specialist with the 332nd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, is deployed from Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, N.Y.

Air Guard marks training center's 40th anniversary
August 1, 2008 — ARLINGTON, Va. - The Air National Guard celebrated the 40th anniversary of its Training and Education Center (TEC) at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tenn., July 30-31 with several events that... MORE

From left, Lt. Gen. Craig R. McKinley, director of the Air National Guard, Col. Michael L. Waggett, commander of the Air Guard's I.G. Brown Training and Education Center (TEC) and Chief Master Sgt. Deborah Davidson, TEC enlisted education commandant, watch a pass and review of Noncommissioned Officer Academy students July 31 during the TEC's 40th anniversary celebration at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tenn.

Arizona National Guard’s Task Force SAFE Strengthens Border Security

Idaho Guard Airmen Push Limits in Joint Field Training

Pennsylvania Guard Competes in Governor’s Twenty Marksmanship Competition

N.Y. National Guard Aircrews Train with Forest Rangers to Prep for Wildfires

Idaho Army National Guard Hosts Region VI Best Warrior Competition