Guard News - The National Guard

171st Air Refueling Wing Keeps B-2 Stealth Bomber Airborne
December 12, 2022 — CORAOPOLIS, Pa. – A Pennsylvania Air National Guard KC-135 tanker crew from the 171st Air Refueling Wing responded recently to an unexpected request for fuel from a B-2 bomber crew.The three-man crew... MORE

Under the direction of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), two F-15s assigned to the Massachusetts Air National Guard and two CF-18 assigned to the Royal Canadian Air Force fly in formation behind a KC-135 assigned to the Pennsylvania Air National Guard during air-defense Operation NOBLE DEFENDER, Oct. 27, 2022.

195th Wing is 1st Air Guard Unit to Field Unique Weapon Upgrade
December 8, 2022 — SEPULVEDA AIR NATIONAL GUARD STATION, Calif. – How would the sound and feel of firing a real weapon impact training in an already overwhelming scenario? This is the question addressed at the Street... MORE

Senior Airman Jeremy Adams of the 195th Wing Security Forces Flight, California Air National Guard, demonstrates new upgrades to the Street Smarts VR System Aug. 6, 2022, at Sepulveda Air Guard Station, Van Nuys, California. The upgrades incorporate a gas-operated, orange practice rifle that mimics the weight and recoil of the standard-issue M18 arms into the SSVRS's realistic reaction training scenarios.

Alaska Air Guard Medical Airmen Practice ACE Capabilities
December 8, 2022 — JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii – Airmen from Alaska’s Air National Guard 176th Medical Group flew to Hawaii to put Agile Combat Employment to the test by building a medical tent with a few... MORE

Airmen from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska’s Air National Guard 176th Medical Group, learn how to set up specialized tents as part of Agile Combat Employment training at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, Dec. 1, 2022. The team of six medical career field professionals trained how to set up and configure the tents to ensure maximum results when at a spoke site.

Georgia Guard Leaders Examine Past to Prepare for Future
December 6, 2022 — MARIETTA, Ga. – Georgia National Guard Soldiers visited Virginia to consider what lessons the Overland and Petersburg campaigns of the American Civil War offer to today’s warfight.Brig. Gen. Dwayne... MORE

Georgia National Guard logisticians discuss large sustainment issues for large-scale combat operations during a Nov. 4, 2022, staff ride at City Point, Va., the site of Lt. Gen. Ulysses Grant’s supply depot for the Petersburg and Richmond campaigns in 1864 and 1865.

Guard’s Global Reach, Capabilities Support National Defense Strategy
December 5, 2022 — ARLINGTON, Va. – What the National Guard brings to the global stage directly contributes to significant pieces of the 2022 National Defense Strategy, said Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief, National Guard Bureau, talks with a member of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Grafenwoehr, Germany, June 12, 2022. Germany was Hokanson’s second stop on a five-nation trip to recognize and strengthen National Guard relationships with European allies and partners.

California National Guard Trains with 3rd Infantry Division
December 2, 2022 — FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. - The Georgia-based 3rd Infantry Division and California-based National Guard 40th Infantry Division conducted warfighter exercises at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and Camp Atterbury,... MORE

40th Infantry Division Soldiers take a group photo in their division tactical command post area during Warfighter Exercise 23-2 at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, Nov. 9, 2022. A warfighter exercise is a 10-day training event used as a capstone for division and corps echelons and is typically conducted biannually.

Louisiana Guard Engineers Participate in Warfighter Exercise
December 2, 2022 — PINEVILLE, La. – The Louisiana Army National Guard’s 225th Engineer Brigade participated in a warfighter exercise at Fort Stewart, Georgia, Oct. 31–Nov. 15.Warfighter is a tactical command... MORE

Louisiana National Guardsmen assigned to the 225th Engineer Brigade review a map during Warfighter 23-2 at Fort Stewart, Georgia, Nov. 1, 2022.

National Guard SEA Thanks Texas Guardsmen on Border Mission
November 30, 2022 — HARLINGEN, Texas - Senior Enlisted Advisor Tony L. Whitehead, the senior enlisted advisor for the chief, National Guard Bureau, visited Texas National Guardsmen at the Texas-Mexico border over the... MORE

Senior Enlisted Advisor Tony L. Whitehead, the senior enlisted advisor for the chief, National Guard Bureau, speaks with Texas Army National Guardsmen assigned to Operation Lone Star in Harlingen, Texas, Nov. 23, 2022. Whitehead visited troops along the Texas-Mexico border over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Louisiana Guard Tiger Brigade Tested in Warfighter Exercise
November 29, 2022 — PINEVILLE, La. – The Louisiana Army National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team sent more than 100 Soldiers to participate in Warfighter Exercise 23-2 at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, Oct. 25-Nov... MORE

Soldiers with the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team plan and review the unit’s movements during Warfighter 23-2 at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, Nov. 8, 2022. The warfighter exercises provide virtual battlefield scenarios that test a unit’s staff and Soldiers’ ability to coordinate and communicate in functional skill areas such as command and control, movement and maneuver, intelligence, targeting processes, sustainment and protection.

First Lady Jill Biden: National Guard a 'beacon of hope' in times of need
November 28, 2022 — WASHINGTON – How best to support service members and their families dominated discussion when First Lady Jill Biden hosted National Guardsmen, spouses and children at the White House Nov. 28.“For many... MORE

First Lady Jill Biden is joined by National Guard family members, state adjutants general and National Guard senior leaders for a roundtable discussion on support for National Guard children in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington Nov. 28, 2022.

Pennsylvania Guard Conducts Homeland Response Force Exercise
November 23, 2022 — FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – Pennsylvania National Guard members of the state’s Homeland Response Force conducted a training exercise Nov. 17-20.Almost 400 Soldiers and Airmen from Army and Air National... MORE

Service members from the Pennsylvania National Guard's 3rd CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) Task Force drill through concrete during a Homeland Response Force collective training exercise Nov. 18, 2022, at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa.

KC-135 Operations Resume at Reopened Sioux City Runway
November 23, 2022 — SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Military aircraft operations returned to the Sioux City airport this week with the completion of a substantial runway improvement project.While the construction was underway, Iowa... MORE

Master Sgt. Jamie Bethune tows a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker, assigned to the Iowa Air National Guard’s 185th Air Refueling Wing, on the ramp in Sioux City, Iowa, Nov. 22, 2022. The unit’s aircraft returned to Sioux City this week after operating from Topeka, Kansas, during a runway construction project.

New York Guard Assists With Historic Snowfall Response
November 21, 2022 — BUFFALO, N.Y. – One hundred and thirty New York National Guard Soldiers and Airmen responded to a massive lake-effect snowstorm that hit the Buffalo area.At the direction of Gov. Kathy Hochul, 60... MORE

The New York National Guard's 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment, responds to snow recovery operations around Buffalo Nov 19, 2022. Since being placed on standby at New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's direction, the number of activated service members has doubled to 140.

Fatality Search and Recovery Mission Helps Bring Closure
November 21, 2022 — LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Never before had Airman 1st Class Brandon Porter seen the destruction left by a tornado after it ripped through a candle factory in Mayfield in December, starting a fire that killed... MORE

Airman 1st Class Brandon Porter, left, and Master Sgt. Kevin Woodard from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s Fatality Search and Recovery Team inspect a generator used in recovery operations during training at the 123rd Airlift Wing in Louisville, Ky., Sept. 8, 2022. The FSRT, part of the 123rd Force Support Squadron, assisted local coroners during historic flooding in Eastern Kentucky this summer.

Pease Crew Flies Record KC-46 Endurance Mission
November 21, 2022 — PEASE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.H. – In a feat of air mobility endurance, a KC-46A Pegasus from the 157th Air Refueling Wing flew a nonstop mission halfway around the globe and back Nov. 16-17.The... MORE

Capt. Jordan Gauvin, a pilot with the 157th Air Refueling Wing, Pease Air National Guard Base, New Hampshire Air National Guard, guides a KC-46A Pegasus over the Pacific Ocean during a 36-hour endurance mission, Nov. 16, 2022. The long-duration sortie took place Nov. 16-17 and was crewed by active duty and Air National Guard Airmen from Pease, who flew the jet nonstop from New Hampshire, across North America and the Pacific Ocean, around Guam, and home.

Hokanson: ESGR ‘empowers everything we do’
November 21, 2022 — ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Throughout the past 50 years, the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve program has provided a conduit between reserve component service members and their employers.The National... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief, National Guard Bureau, speaks to Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve state chair members and volunteers during the ESGR National Leader Meeting at the Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia, Nov. 18, 2022. ESGR, a Department of Defense program, was established in 1972 to promote cooperation and understanding between reserve component service members and their civilian employers and to assist in the resolution of conflicts arising from an employee's military commitment.

FireGuard Program Enhances National Guard Wildfire-fighting
November 18, 2022 — ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Guard’s FireGuard program has helped Guard members in California and Colorado detect and respond to wildfires – saving lives and property since the pilot program began in... MORE

A U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter flown by Soldiers from the 1st Assault Helicopter Battalion, 140th Aviation Regiment, California Army National Guard, drops a bucket of water during aerial wildland firefighting training with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, March 19, 2022, in Silverado, California. Cal Guard and CAL FIRE have a decades-long partnership for battling California’s larger wildfires.

Pennsylvania Partnerships Highlighted for Defense Attachés
November 18, 2022 — FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – About 20 foreign military officers who serve as defense attachés for their countries toured Fort Indiantown Gap Nov. 16.The group received an overview of the Pennsylvania... MORE

Defense attachés Brig. Gen. Michael Shapland of New Zealand, Capt. Malick Ndiaye of Senegal, and Rear Adm. Axel Ristau of Germany fire at targets on a range simulator at Fort Indiantown Gap’s Training Support Center Nov. 16, 2022, during the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Fall 2022 Operations Orientation Program tour of Pennsylvania National Guard facilities.

New Mexico Guard's 3631st Signal Company Ends Deployment
November 17, 2022 — RIO RANCHO, N.M. - Approximately 30 Soldiers from the 3631st Signal Company have reunited with their families, ending a deployment to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to support... MORE

Staff Sgt. Robert Chavez, a signal support systems specialist with the 3631st Signal Company, reunites with his children at the Rio Rancho Readiness Center Nov. 15, 2022, following a 10-month deployment to the Central Command Area of Responsibility to support Operation Spartan Shield. The unit provided communications support to forces across the region.

Florida Guard’s 159th Weather Flight Wins Weather Challenge
November 16, 2022 — JACKSONVILLE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Fla. – Airmen assigned to the 159th Weather Flight bested 66 teams to win Thor’s Forecast Challenge, a demanding two-week competition that tested weather flights’... MORE

Airmen from the Florida Air National Guard's 159th Weather Flight take part in a training exercise at Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, Oct. 4, 2014. Airmen assigned to the 159th Weather Flight won Thor’s Forecast Challenge weather forecasting competition in 2021 and 2022.

Guard Soldiers Train with Civilian Experts in Cyber Discovery Exercise

Alaska Guard Works to Contain Fires

Air Guard Engineers Build Roads, Skills in Assateague Island Project

Maine Army Guard Engineers Build Communities, Readiness

Iowa Army Guard Soldiers Train at Tigerland