Guard News - The National Guard

HC-130 crew chief gets on-the-job training with 176th AMXS
October 20, 2021 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – A 211th Rescue Squadron HC-130J Combat King isn’t your everyday C-130.Configured for combat search and rescue (CSAR), the King is packed with sensors designed... MORE

Alaska Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Brad Payton, an HC-130J Combat King II crew chief with 176th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, inspects a 211th RQS HC-130 engine exhaust Oct. 4, 2021, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Payton recently completed mission-essential skills training following technical school and is pursuing a civilian career in aviation maintenance.

Minnesota Guard father, daughter serve together
October 12, 2021 — FORT RILEY, Kan. – For many, joining a military unit is like becoming part of a family. That figurative idea became very literal for Spc. Emma Brown when she found out her first duty assignment would... MORE

Minnesota National Guard Spc. Emma Brown and her father, Maj. David Brown, shown at Fort Riley, Kansas, are both assigned to Division Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 34th Red Bull Infantry Division, and are participating in Warfighter Exercise 22-1.

Innovation nothing new to Fabrication Flight Arctic Guardian
October 7, 2021 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Before he ever put on a uniform, Alaska Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Shawn McDermott, an aircraft metals technician with the 176th Maintenance Squadron... MORE

Alaska Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Shawn McDermott, an aircraft metals technician with the 176th Maintenance Squadron Fabrication Flight, operates a consumer-grade 3D printer Sept. 28, 2021, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson’s Arctic Spark Innovation Lab. In the course of his regular duties, McDermott operates industrial-grade 3D printers to fabricate parts for 176th Wing’s aircraft.

Titan of Air Force history honored in Pennsylvania hometown
October 7, 2021 — BOYERTOWN, Pa. - Pennsylvania’s prominence in U.S. Army history and its role in today’s force is well known - from watershed events at Valley Forge and Gettysburg to being the home of the U.S. Army... MORE

Brig. Gen. Michael Regan, Pennsylvania deputy adjutant general-air, right, with Gen. Carl Spaatz re-enactor Chris Boswell following a road dedication ceremony in Boyertown, Pa., June 28, 2018. Spaatz, the first chief of staff of the newly formed Air Force following the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947, grew up in Boyertown and is touted as one of its greatest citizens.

Operation Allies Welcome cultivates multicultural calling
October 5, 2021 — JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N. J. - It would be easy to overlook Air Force Staff Sgt. Sharon Queenie, inconspicuous in her OCP uniform, N-95 mask and orange safety vest, blending in with nearly... MORE

Alaska Air National Guard Staff Sgts. Sharon Queenie, left, and Judy Phommathep, assigned to the 176th Air Defense Squadron, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, during a break as public safety team members at TF Liberty Village 3, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, Sept. 19, 2021.

New York National Guard Airman helps deliver Afghan baby
October 4, 2021 — JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. – The woman’s foot pressed into the top of the Airman’s collarbone where it connected at her right shoulder.In the Airman’s other hand was a cell phone hoisted... MORE

New York Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Scarlett Yates, assigned to the 106th Air Rescue Wing, sorts through donated books for Afghan children at the temporary medical isolation dormitory at Liberty Village, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, Sept. 27, 2021.  Yates helped deliver an Afghan baby at the base Sept. 7.

Face of Defense: Leading the D.C. National Guard
October 4, 2021 — WASHINGTON – Flying fascinated Air Force Maj. Gen. Sherrie McCandless when she was a child, so it was no big surprise that in 1991 she joined the military after college to pursue her dream of being a... MORE

Air Force Maj. Gen. Sherrie McCandless, commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, waves to the crowd after throwing the ceremonial first pitch during National Guard Day at Nationals Park in Washington, Aug. 13, 2021. The Washington Nationals dedicate a special game each season to honor and celebrate each branch of the military.

Sword fighting as 'strategy in blink of an eye'
September 30, 2021 — ARLINGTON, Va. – The metallic clash and clang of two swords striking each other echoed throughout the small room. Tension and anticipation filled the air as the opponents moved swiftly back and forth,... MORE

Lt. Col. Robert G. Childs, 234th Intelligence Squadron commander, poses for a competitor portrait Feb. 18, 2018, at Huntington Beach, California. Childs competes as a martial arts sword fighter throughout the world, and became a world champion in the open rapier and dagger category at Swordfish XIV, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Virginia National Guard officer assumes post in Colombia
September 27, 2021 — RICHMOND, Va. – A Virginia National Guard officer has taken up a unique post in South America after graduating from the Spanish-immersive Command and General Staff College course at the Western... MORE

Maj. Angel Pastrana is serving as a bilateral affairs officer for U.S. Southern Command at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, after graduating from the Spanish-immersive Command and General Staff College course at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation in Fort Benning, Georgia.

Tennessee National Guardsman revives pedestrian with CPR
September 27, 2021 — LAREDO, Texas – On Sept. 20, Tennessee Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Christopher Hurley rushed to resuscitate a person on the Gateway to the Americas port of entry bridge.While conducting... MORE

Staff Sgt. Christopher Hurley, a resident of Soddy Daisy, Tennessee assigned to the 913th Engineer Company of the Tennessee National Guard, at the Laredo International Bridge in Texas. Hurley revived a pedestrian Sept. 20, 2021, by performing CPR while supporting the Department of Defense's Southwest Border mission.

Soldier aids crash victims on drive home
September 13, 2021 — ST. PAUL, Minn. - She was driving south of Interstate 35E just south of St. Paul on a Friday afternoon when out of the corner of her eye, something caught her attention. She looked over and saw that a... MORE

A vehicle is wedged under an overpass off of I-35 in Minnesota after it crashed Aug. 20, 2021. Minnesota National Guard 1st Sgt. Christopher Reed, the joint operations center noncommissioned officer in charge and first sergeant of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Red Bull Infantry Division, helped the two passengers, who were OK.

Airman uses deployment training to resuscitate drowning child
September 13, 2021 — HAMPTON, Va. – Situations can change in an instant. We’ve all heard that. But for Master Sgt. Keona Newsom, a commander’s support staff noncommissioned officer in charge with the 192nd Operations... MORE

Master Sgt. Keona Newsom, 192nd Operations Group commander’s support staff noncommissioned officer in charge, at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, Aug. 24, 2021, as she recounts saving a child’s life. Newsom performed CPR on a drowning 4-year-old girl, saving her life.

91st Cyber Brigade Soldiers earn Ranger tab
September 10, 2021 — BOWLING GREEN, Va. – Two Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 91st Cyber Brigade recently proved cyber Soldiers' worth beyond the keyboard by completing the U.S. Army Ranger School and... MORE

Maj. Andre Slonopas, right, commander of the Virginia National Guard's 134th Cyber Security Company, 124th Cyber Protection Battalion, 91st Cyber Brigade, proudly shows off his Ranger tab following the completion of the U.S. Army Ranger School in July 2021 at Fort Benning, Georgia. Slonopas, who began his career as an engineer officer with the Fredericksburg-based 116th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, switched to the Fairfax-based Data Processing Unit in 2014 and became one of the staff officers instrumental in standing up the 91st Cyber Brigade.

Aunt, nephew reunite during Middle East deployment
September 10, 2021 — JORDAN - Being deployed is often full of firsts. For many, it is their first time in a new country, experiencing a different culture, and being away from family for an extended time. But the first... MORE

West Virginia Army National Guard Cpt. Brittany Watson, a medical operations officer in the 111th Engineer Brigade, and Sgt. Andres Rivera, a carpentry and masonry specialist in the 766th Engineer Company of the 111th, recently reunited during a deployment to the Middle East. They had not seen each other in over 12 years.

RED HORSE Ready! 111th squadron always set to ‘saddle up’
September 8, 2021 — HORSHAM, Pa. – With the shift in mission at the 111th Attack Wing from A-10 Thunderbolt II to the remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper, there are those in the community who are sometimes surprised that the... MORE

Members of the 201st Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers, or REDHORSE, Detachment 1, pose for a picture at Biddle Air National Guard Base in Horsham, Pennsylvania, May 15, 2021. This is the first official group photo of the 201st REDHORSE Det. 1 in the Operational Camouflage Pattern, or OCP, utility uniform on base since they returned from their recent deployment overseas.

Refugee is now a Vermont National Guard officer
September 3, 2021 — CAMP JOHNSON, Vt. – The road to becoming an officer in the Vermont National Guard began in 2016 for 2nd Lt. Abdimaik Hashi when he enlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard.As a 19K armor... MORE

U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Abdimaik Hashi, a newly commissioned transportation officer in the Vermont National Guard, is assigned to assist the Vermont National Guard state resilience coordinator at Camp Johnson, Joint Force Headquarters, Colchester, Vermont. Hashi, shown on Aug. 13, 2021, spent the first eight years of his life in a refugee camp in Kenya.

Coming to America: A Moldovan story
September 2, 2021 — RANDALLSTOWN, Md. - The path to U.S. citizenship can be lengthy for many foreign nationals. For one Maryland Army National Guard Soldier, the process took 12 years.U.S. Army Capt. Fiodor Strikovski, a... MORE

U.S. Army Capt. Fiodor Strikovski, military intelligence officer, 29th Combat Aviation Brigade, Maryland National Guard, in front of his home in Fallston, Maryland, Aug. 6, 2021. Before Strikovski moved to America and joined the MDNG, he served in the Moldovan Army.

Alaska National Guard Soldier reflects on her 9/11 experience
August 30, 2021 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – September 11 marks not only the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that day in 2001, but it also comes on the cusp of the United States pulling out of... MORE

Master Sgt. Melissa Branch, the Alaska Army National Guard state religious affairs noncommissioned officer, at the Alaska National Guard Armory on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Aug. 26, 2021. Branch was in the Marine Corps stationed at the Navy Annex building next to the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

From Afghan interpreter to service in the National Guard
August 25, 2021 — SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – When Fahim Masoud was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1988, the country was at war with the Soviet Union. Fast forward 17 years, Masoud graduated from high school and faced one of... MORE

2nd Lt. Fahim Masoud, center, briefs Maj. Gen. Rich Neely, left, the adjutant general of Illinois and commander of the Illinois National Guard, and Command Sgt. Maj. Dena Ballowe, senior enlisted leader of the Illinois National Guard, during a visit to a COVID-19 mass vaccination site in Chicago Feb. 1, 2021.

Focus on the Force Week 2021 celebrates ANG’s outstanding Airmen of the year
August 20, 2021 — ARLINGTON, Va. –The Air National Guard's Outstanding Airmen of the Year honorees were recognized during Focus on the Force Week Aug. 16-20, in the National Capital Region. This year's OAY honorees... MORE

From left: Senior Master Sgt. Mark Schneider II, of the 179th Airlift Wing, Ohio National Guard; Senior Airman Ruth-Ann Bell, of the 193rd Special Operations Wing, Pennsylvania National Guard; Master Sgt. John Stegen of the 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming National Guard; and Ms. Jennifer Weir, wife of Master Sgt. Tyler Weir, 120th Airlift Wing, Montana National Guard, participates in a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, August 16, 2021.

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