Guard News - The National Guard

Washington Guardsmen Put Information Operations to the Test
July 11, 2023 — JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - Guardsmen with the Washington National Guard’s 56th Theater Information Operations Group tested their skills during the 2023 Field Support Training Olympics July... MORE

U. S. Soldiers with 56th Theater Information Operation Group, Washington Army National Guard, receive a safety brief at Joint Base Lewis-Mccord July 8, 2023.

Missouri Guard Bomb Wing Leads Medical Training Exercise
July 11, 2023 — WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. - Airmen with the 131st Medical Group completed Operation Healthy Delta, an Innovative Readiness Training exercise for service members from across the Defense and Health... MORE

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Theresa Nguyen, assigned to the 131st Medical Group, Jefferson Barracks Air National Guard Base, Missouri, tests a patient’s vision during Operation Healthy Delta Innovative Readiness Training Program at Anna, Illinois, June 11, 2023. The Department of Defense-sponsored program builds relationships with local communities by providing free medical, dental and vision services while leveraging the strength of joint forces.

Army Guard Soldiers Compete in Alaska to be Best Warrior
July 10, 2023 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska - Fourteen Army National Guard Soldiers from across the nation are competing in the 2023 Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition hosted by the Alaska Army... MORE

Soldiers in the Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition are tested on their adaptiveness and lethality during the water combat fitness test July 7, 2023 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Anchorage, Alaska.

Alaska Guard Rescues 10 People Across Alaska
July 10, 2023 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Rescue crews from the Alaska Air and Army National Guard navigated across 1,850 miles, saving 10 people in four civil search and rescue missions and one... MORE

An Alaska National Guard HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter from Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, conducts a training mission May 31, 2023, near Colony Glacier.

Ridge Runner Builds Readiness for Army Guard Special Forces
July 7, 2023 — BECKLEY, W.Va. – The wind danced through the trees as pewter-colored clouds hinted at heavy rain. Soldiers went about their duties at a rocket launcher site on a hillside clearing in an otherwise... MORE

A Soldier with the 19th Special Forces Group, headquartered in the Utah Army National Guard, leads his team, which includes Latvian special operations elements, in an assault on a simulated emplaced missile launcher site while taking part in exercise Ridge Runner near Jolo, West Virginia, June 15, 2023. The two-week exercise brought together Soldiers with the 19th SFG and special operations troops from Latvia, Poland and other allied and partner nations and focused on interoperability in unconventional warfare tasks.

Army Warrant Officers Continue Legacy of Technical Expertise
July 7, 2023 — ARLINGTON, Va. – The Army Warrant Officer Corps turns 105 this year. On July 9, 1918, the Army created the Army Mine Planter Service as part of the Coast Artillery Corps, forming the warrant officer... MORE

Warrant Officer Catherine Trujillo, a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilot with C Company, 1st Battalion, 140th Aviation Regiment, Washington Army National Guard, sits in the pilot’s seat of a Black Hawk at the Army Aviation Sustainment Facility at Joint Base McChord-Lewis Washington. Warrant officers like Trujillo serve as tactical and technical experts in a variety of fields throughout the Army and Army National Guard. The warrant officer corps turns 105 on July 9, 2023.

Washington Guard Infantry Unit Completes Annual Training
July 6, 2023 — CAMP MURRAY, Wash. - After a year in Poland, supporting the State Partnership Program in the Kingdom of Thailand and responding to multiple state missions, the Guard members from 3rd Battalion, 161st... MORE

Washington National Guard Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment, take part in a command post exercise at the Yakima Training Center June 13, 2023.

Kentucky Guard Aviation Brigade Demonstrates Readiness
July 3, 2023 — FRANKFORT, Ky. - The combat readiness and capabilities of the 63rd Theater Aviation Brigade, supported by the 751st Troop Command, were tested during the Warfighter 23-05 exercise at Fort Indiantown... MORE

Spc. Connor Ridings, Kentucky National Guard, builds links on an Air Defense Systems Integrator to provide command and control data and track the activity of friendly and enemy forces within the airspace of the unit’s area of operations. The combat readiness and capabilities of the 63rd Theater Aviation Brigade, supported by the 751st Troop Command, were tested during the Warfighter 23-05 exercise at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, May 27-June 13, 2023.

168th Wing, Allies Mark Air Refueling Anniversary During Exercise
July 3, 2023 — EIELSON AFB, Alaska - The 168th Wing from Eielson Air Force Base trained with U.S. Air Force, Republic of Korea Air Force and Japan Self-Defense Force service members to enhance readiness in simulated... MORE

The 168th Wing refuels an F-16 from the Republic of Korea Air Force during Red Flag Alaska 23-2, June 21, 2023. Members of the 168th Wing and the ROKAF exchanged tactics and procedures while increasing interoperability on the aerial refueling mission.

In South Korea, Hokanson Assesses Potential National Guard Support
June 30, 2023 — SEOUL, South Korea – Assessing how the National Guard might support U.S. and Republic of Korea forces at a time of deepening defense and security ties between the two nations was top of mind for Army... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief, National Guard Bureau, right, visits the Republic of South Korea to assess potential National Guard contributions at a time of deepening U.S. and ROK defense and security ties May 16, 2023. This image was acquired using a cellular device.

Tennessee Military Intelligence Company Completes Validation
June 30, 2023 — NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee’s Military Intelligence Company proved it could effectively gather mission-critical information from the battlefield during a validation event at Fort Campbell,... MORE

Tennessee’s Military Intelligence Company, Troop D, Regimental Engineering Squadron, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, shown June 14, 2023, completed a validation event at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Tennessee National Guard Rescues Injured Hiker
June 29, 2023 — KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A Tennessee Army National Guard medical flight crew performed an emergency air evacuation for a hiker in medical distress at Cumberland Gap National Historic Park June 28. Shortly... MORE

Sgt. 1st Class Giovanni DeZuani, a fight paramedic with the Tennessee Army National Guard, is hoisted into a hovering Black Hawk helicopter with an injured hiker immobilized on a stretcher during a rescue at the Cumberland Gap National Historic Park June 28, 2023.

Alaska National Guard Rapidly Deploys for Exercise ORCA 23
June 28, 2023 — NOME, Alaska – About 530 miles northwest of Anchorage, two survey team members from the Alaska National Guard’s 103rd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team monitor handheld detectors scanning... MORE

Members of the Mississippi National Guard's 47th Weapons of Mass Destruction - Civil Support Team process through a decontamination line June 14, 2023, in Wasilla, Alaska, as part of ORCA 2023. The exercise increased interoperability among a range of agencies, including the Alaska National Guard’s 103rd Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Team, 12 National Guard units, eight local and state agencies, three federal organizations, and community partners.

Guam Guard Medics Assist with Hospital Surge After Typhoon Mawar
June 28, 2023 — TAMUNING, Guam – One month after Typhoon Mawar lashed the U.S. territory of Guam with 140 mph sustained winds, recovery efforts are still underway to restore critical services. Among those supporting... MORE

Combat medics from the Guam National Guard and members of the Guam Memorial Hospital emergency room staff work together in the wake of Typhoon Mawar June 21, 2023.

Tennessee Air Guard Remotely Pilots MQ-9 From California
June 28, 2023 — SMYRNA Tenn. - The Tennessee Air National Guard’s 118th Wing remotely flew an MQ-9 from California to Tennessee June 7 without ground crews and support facilities usually deployed for line-of-sight... MORE

On June 7, 2023, an MQ-9 Reaper landed in Tennessee for the first time. Using a new system for the MQ-9 called “Satellite Launch and Recovery” and with a 118th Wing Tennessee Air National Guard pilot and sensor operator sitting at Berry Field Air National Guard Base, the plane flew from California to Smyrna Airport.

Puerto Rico National Guard Joins Advisor Edge Exercise
June 26, 2023 — CEIBA, Puerto Rico - The Puerto Rico National Guard and other military service branches partnered with local and government agencies to conduct the Advisor Edge 2023 exercise June 1-8, maximizing... MORE

U.S. Airmen assigned to the 156th Security Operations Squadron prepare to carry a simulated distressed person to receive medical care during the Advisor Edge exercise at Roosevelt Roads, Ceiba, Puerto Rico, June 8, 2023.

Guard Recruiters Optimistic Amid Private Sector Competition
June 26, 2023 — ARLINGTON, Va. – The Defense Department faces one of the most challenging recruiting environments in history, Col. Anthony Pasquale, chief of the Air National Guard recruiting and retention division,... MORE

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael A. Loh, director of the Air National Guard, administers the oath of enlistment to Isaiah Rosario, a Hawaii ANG recruit, Nov. 5, 2022, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. Rosario is the first member of his immediate family to serve in the military and will begin his career as a cryptologic language analyst.

New York Air Guard Helped Search for Lost Minisub
June 23, 2023 — F.S. GABRESKI AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.Y. - Thirty-eight Airmen assigned to the New York National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing were part of the effort to locate the commercial submersible Titan that... MORE

The view from the window of an HC-130J Combat King II search and rescue aircraft 500 feet over the Atlantic Ocean June 21, 2023, while the New York Air National Guard crew searched for a submersible lost while diving to the wreck of the Titanic. The Coast Guard said June 22 that the sub imploded, killing all five people on board.

California National Guard Defends West Coast Cyber Realm
June 23, 2023 — SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The quiet room is a far cry from what most would imagine a military warfare exercise looks like. The only sounds are low voices, the hum of computers and keyboards clacking... MORE

Service members with the California Military Department participated in Cyber Dawn, an annual regional, multiagency exercise at Okinawa Armory, Sacramento, June 3-17, 2023.

South Carolina Air Guard Supports Operation Healthy Delta
June 22, 2023 — SIKESTON, Mo. – Airmen from the South Carolina Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing participated in Operation Healthy Delta, providing free medical, dental and vision care to several thousand... MORE

U.S. Air National Guard Master Sgt. Terra Davila, 169th Fighter Wing, McEntire Joint National Guard Base, South Carolina, and first sergeant at a Sikeston, Missouri, medical site, checks on U.S. Army Reserve Spc. Nikolas Taylor, combat medic for the 305th Minimal Care Detachment, Joplin, Missouri, during Operation Healthy Delta Innovative Readiness Training, June 17, 2023. IRT missions provide service members with training and readiness skills while helping support local community needs.

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