Guard News - The National Guard

48th Infantry Brigade Soldier earns Ranger tab with honor
February 2, 2022 — MACON, Ga. – U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Jared Pate graduated from the U.S. Army’s Ranger School at Fort Benning Jan. 28. On his way to attaining the coveted Ranger tab, Pate earned the title of distinguished... MORE

U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Jared Pate, a platoon leader assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Georgia Army National Guard, poses with a plaque Jan. 28, 2022, at Fort Benning, Georgia. Pate graduated from Ranger School as the distinguished honor graduate of his class.

New Mexico Guardsman assists woman suffering seizures
January 21, 2022 — KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. – New Mexico National Guard Capt. Adrian Mateos was having lunch in Kearny, New Jersey, Oct. 14 when he noticed a woman faint and fall to the ground because of a... MORE

Capt. Adrian Mateos assisted with a medical emergency while supporting the Operation Allies Welcome mission in Kearny, New Jersey, Oct. 14, 2021. He is a medical services corps officer with the 150th Medical Group, New Mexico Air National Guard.

Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy grad going to West Point
January 20, 2022 — CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A West Virginia National Guard Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy graduate has made history by becoming the first cadet to receive an appointment to the U.S. Army’s military service... MORE

Mountaineer Challenge Academy Cadet William Farkas with Brig. Gen. William "Bill" Crane, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard, and Command Sgt. Maj. Dusty Jones, Senior Enlisted Leader, while receiving the Adjutant General's Award for Academic Excellence. Farkas has received an appointment to West Point.

Kentucky Guardsman survives tornado, helps others
January 19, 2022 — FRANKFORT, Ky. – As the tornadoes that hit western Kentucky bore down on the small farms and towns, residents ducked into their bathrooms, closets or any other place they could find to ride out the... MORE

Col. Tim Starke, director of operations for the Kentucky National Guard, with Pfc. Cody Warmath in Cayce, Ky., where Warmath was helping clean up after tornadoes tore through the area Dec. 10, 2021. Warmath's family's home suffered severe damage during the storm but he still chose to volunteer to be activated with the 2113th Transportation Company out of Paducah, Ky.

Off-duty Missouri Guard firefighter helps save a life
January 10, 2022 — ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – A routine trip to the gas station for off-duty firefighter Kimberly Rauch turned into a lifesaving rescue.Rauch has been a firefighter for the Missouri Air National Guard’s 139th... MORE

Firefighter Kimberly Rauch, with the 139th Fire Department, Missouri Air National Guard, in front of a fire truck at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base, in St. Joseph, Missouri, Dec. 13, 2021. While off-duty, Rauch helped save a man trapped in a burning house.

Challenge Academy prepares at-risk teens for new challenges
January 6, 2022 — FORT McCOY, Wis. – “I now see myself successful, instead of a failure.”That is how Cadet Chloe Halbrooks of Walworth described the impact the Wisconsin National Guard Challenge Academy has made on her... MORE

Wisconsin National Guard Challenge Academy Cadet Chloe Halbrooks of Walworth, Wisconsin, graduated from the residential phase of the program Dec. 22, 2021. She said she now sees herself as successful instead of a failure.

Canadian RAF captain watches over sky with Alaska Air Guard
January 5, 2022 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Besides her distinctively mottled Canadian Disruptive Pattern uniform and a habit of pronouncing lieutenant as “left-tenant,” there is nothing differentiating... MORE

Royal Canadian Air Force Capt. Elyse O’Brien is a 176th Air Defense Squadron air battle manager. O’Brien and other 176th ADS RCAF Airmen are an integral part of the squadron’s mission of defending North American airspace.

Iraqi-American returns to home country as US Army Soldier
January 3, 2022 — CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait — When U.S. Army Sgt. Aqeel Ahmed arrived in Iraq with Soldiers of the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade, he stayed focused on his mission despite this being his first return to the... MORE

California Army National Guard Sgt. Aqeel Ahmed arrived in Iraq with Soldiers of the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade, returning to the country of his birth for the first time in 10 years.

Army Guard husband, wife promoted to chief warrant officer 5
December 22, 2021 — ARLINGTON, Va. – Only about 3% of those in the Army are warrant officers, and rarer still are those who have reached the top warrant officer rank – chief warrant officer 5. So, it was even more... MORE

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Brian Brooks looks on as Chief Warrant Officer 5 Teresa Domeier, the command chief warrant officer of the Army National Guard, and his son, Noah, pin his rank to his uniform while his wife, Chief Warrant Officer 5 Shelly Brooks, has her rank pinned on by their daughter, Amber, during a ceremony at the Herbert R. Temple Army National Guard Readiness Center, Arlington Hall Station in Arlington, Virginia, Dec. 21, 2021. The ceremony represented a rare moment where a married couple were together promoted to chief warrant officer 5 – the top warrant officer rank.

New York Air Guardsmen tracking Santa as part of NORAD
December 22, 2021 — ROME, N.Y. – The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will celebrate its 66th year of tracking Santa Claus Christmas Eve with the help of the New York Air National Guard and Royal Canadian... MORE

Capt. Kevin Vincent of the Royal Canadian Air Force, left, and Airman 1st Class Megan Mills of the New York Air National Guard’s 224th Air Defense Squadron, recently conducted training at the Eastern Air Defense Sector in Rome, N.Y., in preparation for NORAD Tracks Santa operations on Christmas Eve.

New Jersey National Guard nurse honored for COVID work
December 16, 2021 — LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – As the entire New Jersey National Guard leadership watched, Maj. Melinda F. Moyer, D.N.P., was awarded the Army Nurse Corps Association 2021 Military Nursing Evidence-Based... MORE

U.S. Army Maj. Melinda F. Moyer, D.N.P., director of clinical programs, New Jersey National Guard Joint Surgeons Office, Joint Force Headquarters-Army, received the Army Nurse Corps Association 2021 Military Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Award in Lawrenceville, N.J., Dec. 8, 2021. Moyer was honored for her work with Yale University studying COVID infections among military personnel.

New Hampshire Guard delivers for Operation Santa Claus
December 14, 2021 — PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – New Hampshire National Guardsmen and volunteers from the State Employees Association transported truckloads of presents to the Department of Health and Human Services district... MORE

New Hampshire National Guard Master Sgt. Bonnie Demers, an aircrew flight equipment member with the 157th Operations Group, passes a present down a line of Guardsmen at the Portsmouth Department of Health and Human Services Dec. 13, 2021, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Guard partnered with the State Employees Association and Department of Health and Human Services to send holiday gifts to nearly 3,000 children.

Alaska Airman embraces Operation Allies Welcome mission
December 13, 2021 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Airman 1st Class Jessicah Sharp, an Alaska Air National Guard aerospace medical technician with the 168th Medical Group at Eielson Air Force Base, volunteered... MORE

Airman 1st Class Jessicah Sharp, an aerospace medical technician with the 168th Medical Group in the Alaska Air National Guard, poses for a photo during her first drill back in Alaska from Operation Allies Welcome at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, which she participated in from Sept. 10 to Oct. 31.

Liberian native builds his future in the Army National Guard
December 10, 2021 — LATHAM, N.Y. – Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Prince Dorbor, a native of the West African country of Liberia, was 14 the first time he saw an American in uniform.Dorbor and his family had survived two... MORE

New York Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Prince Dorbor, a quartermaster and chemical equipment repairer assigned to Joint Force Headquarters, is promoted during a ceremony at New York National Guard Headquarters, Latham, New York, April 24, 2021. Dorbor immigrated from Liberia in 2005, and enlisted in the New York Army National Guard in 2011.

Kentucky National Guardsmen participate in leader’s course
December 9, 2021 — LEXINGTON, Ky. – Senior leaders, commanders and future commanders took part in the Executive Leaders Performance Course at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Creech Therapeutic Riding Center Dec. 1-2.The Four... MORE

Maj. Jacob Lee, 198th Military Police Battalion executive officer, leads a therapy horse around during the Executive Leaders Performance Course at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Creech Therapeutic Riding Center in Lexington, Ky., Dec. 1, 2021.

Texas National Guard maintenance Airman earns military wings
December 9, 2021 — SAN ANTONIO – An Airman assigned to the Air National Guard’s 149th Fighter Wing recently learned she had been accepted into the Army’s Aviation Rotary Wing program as a warrant officer, making her... MORE

Senior Airman Amanda Alderete, 149th Fighter Wing maintenance management analyst, at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, June 25, 2021.

Massachusetts Guard Soldier saves woman from car fire
December 6, 2021 — STERLING, Mass. – Spc. Ryan Leger finished his drill with Massachusetts National Guard’s 110th Maintenance Company on Nov. 7, and his wife picked him up. As they were driving home, they noticed how... MORE

Spc. Ryan Leger, the 110th Maintenance Company, Massachusetts National Guard generator mechanic, saves women from car fire at the North Dike Wachusett Reservoir in Sterling, Mass., Nov. 7, 2021.

Deployed son carries on father’s legacy, commands same unit
November 30, 2021 — UNDISCLOSED LOCATION - Many fathers can only dream that their children will follow in their footsteps. Col. Robert J. Kincaid Jr. turned this dream into a reality for his dad.Kincaid Jr., the... MORE

Col. Robert J. Kincaid Jr., the commander of the 111th Theater Engineer Brigade, is in the same spot his father was 18 years ago – commanding the 111th while deployed to the Central Command Area of Operations. Col. (Ret.) Robert J. Kincaid Sr. was the commander of the then 111th Engineer Group during a deployment to the Middle East in 2003.

Sisters serve together at 144th Fighter Wing
November 23, 2021 — FRESNO AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Calif. – Each November, Month of the Military Family usually recognizes families for supporting a parent or child serving in the Armed Forces. For the Foster sisters at... MORE

From left, U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Lindsay Foster, 144th Maintenance Squadron unit deployment manager, Chief Master Sgt. Diana Foster, 144th Force Support Squadron superintendent, and Master Sgt. Elida Foster, 144th Medical Group dental assistant, at the Fresno Air National Guard Base, Calif., Nov. 5, 2021. The Foster sisters have served at the 144th Fighter Wing since 2008.

A Georgia Guardsman’s journey from Kyrgyzstan to citizenship
November 17, 2021 — ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. – Senior Airman Asylbek Dzhapashov, a personnel specialist with the Georgia Air National Guard's 116th Mission Support Group, was born and raised in Kyrgyzstan, a small... MORE

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Asylbek Dzhapashov, personnelist with the 116th Air Control Wing, Georgia Air National Guard, at

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