Guard News - The National Guard

Missouri Airmen mother, daughter join in fight against COVID
May 14, 2021 — ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Missouri National Guard Senior Airman Terra Waitl from the 139th Logistics Readiness Squadron's material management office was activated for food bank missions in May last year.But... MORE

Senior Airman Terra Waitl, right, who is assigned to the 139th Logistics Readiness Squadron’s material management office, Missouri Air National Guard, outside the Nutrition Center in St. Joseph, Missouri, Nov. 12, 2020. The Missouri National Guard has been assisting at food banks across the state as part of Missouri’s COVID-19 response.

Michigan Air National Guardsman pursues kickboxing gold
May 13, 2021 — BATTLE CREEK, Michigan – U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Destiny “Diesel” Taylor has qualified to compete for a spot in the World Games 2022 as a result of her recent gold win at the World Association of... MORE

Michigan Air National Gjuard Master Sgt. Destiny Taylor, 110th Wing finance specialist, spars with a teen boy during a youth training class in Kalamazoo, Michigan, April 22, 2021.

Michigan National Guard Soldier on the offense against COVID-19
May 12, 2021 — MARQUETTE, Mich. – Throughout 2020, Michigan Army National Guard Sgt. John Toomey helped defend his community in his role as a civilian nurse practitioner in the intensive care unit treating COVID-19... MORE

U.S. Army Sgt. John Toomey, assigned to the COVID-19 Vaccination Testing Team Task Force North, Michigan National Guard, conducts administrative procedures during a vaccination event in Marquette April 29, 2021.

Soldiers shave their heads to support battle buddy's sister
May 11, 2021 — CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait – An overseas deployment to an austere location where the heat, workload and OPTEMPO are high can be challenging. Knowing that a loved one back home has cancer can make a... MORE

Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), shaved their heads and posed for a picture at North Fort Hood, Texas, before deploying to the Middle East with Task Force Phoenix. They shaved their heads in support of Staff Sgt. Brandon Stafford's sister, who was going through chemotherapy and radiation treatment after having a brain tumor removed.

Guard marathoners compete while expecting
May 7, 2021 — LINCOLN, Neb. – Serving in the National Guard, raising a family, and keeping up a marathon training regimen would be a lot to manage under normal circumstances. Still, two women in the ranks have... MORE

Maj. Amanda Schmid, a helicopter pilot and full-time administrative officer with the Nebraska Army National Guard's 1-376th Aviation Battalion, runs the Lincoln half-marathon in Nebraska, May 2, 2021.

Sisters and brother-in-law follow brother, join Washington Guard
May 5, 2021 — PORT ORCHARD, Wash. – After graduating from high school, Mark James admits he was a little lost. “I did an early program and I graduated high school a year and a half early,” said Mark. “I looked... MORE

From left to right with Staff Sgt. Tramal Williams: Kelsey James, Balint Moreland, Courtney James, Caitlin James join brother Mark James as a member of the Washington Army National Guard.

Pennsylvania Guard medic administers vaccine to father
April 28, 2021 — LANCASTER, Pa. - Spc. Mariah Redwood, a combat medic assigned to Company C, 328th Brigade Support Battalion, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, never imagined she'd... MORE

Spc. Mariah Redwood, a combat medic assigned to Company C, 328th Brigade Support Battalion, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, following an interview April 15, 2021, in Lancaster, Pa. Redwood administered the COVID-19 vaccine to her father.

Deployed Washington Guard captain embraces opportunities
April 23, 2021 — CAMP MURRAY, Wash. – Deployments are often spent surrounded by fellow Guardsmen, which makes the time away from home much easier. Sometimes, they’re spent alone. “I have been a bit of a lone survivor... MORE

Capt. Theodore Tatum, a logistician with the Washington National Guard, prepares for a supply air drop in support of Special Operations Task Force-North West Africa. Tatum is stationed at Baumholder, Germany, and has been supporting the mission for 15 months.

California Guardsman honors mother with vaccination mission
April 15, 2021 — LOS ANGELES – As deaths due to COVID-19 surpass half a million in the United States, it’s difficult to find someone not personally affected by the pervasive contagion. Daughters lost fathers, brothers... MORE

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Larry Guillen, a fire support specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 40th Infantry Division, California National Guard, supports the COVID-19 vaccination effort at California State University Los Angeles April 6, 2021. Guillen's mother died of the coronavirus in January.

Siblings serve in Idaho Guard as Citizen-Soldier, Airman
April 9, 2021 — BOISE, Idaho – Maj. Christopher Lavelle and his younger sister, Master Sgt. Kerry Lavelle, are known on Gowen Field as "the Lavelles." They have served on base as full-time technicians for several... MORE

Maj. Christopher Lavelle and his younger sister, Master Sgt. Kerry Lavelle, are known on Gowen Field as “the Lavelles.” They have served on base as full-time technicians for several years and as traditional Guardsmen in the Idaho National Guard for nearly 20 years.

Fathers celebrate Month of the Military Child
April 9, 2021 — MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The term "military brat" is a badge of honor claimed for many generations by people who grew up in military families. This month, the Defense Department celebrates the more than 1.6... MORE

Father and son share the Army Unit Patch Multinational Forces-Iraq after their deployments to Iraq. Staff Sgt. John ‘Jordan’ Travis, domestic operations management support, emergency operations center, NCOIC, deployed in 2009. His father, retired Col. William ‘Terry’ Travis, deployed in 2006.

National Guard therapy dog awarded Alaska Commendation Medal
April 1, 2021 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Sweetface Shelton, a well-loved and valued therapy dog in the Alaska National Guard, has received the Alaska Commendation Medal. Affectionately known as... MORE

Sweetface "Nyx" Shelton, a therapy dog, attends an Alaska National Guard meeting after being awarded the Alaska Commendation Medal, Mar. 18, 2021, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Nyx provides provides emotional support to service members as part of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program and Warrior and Family Services.

Guardsman is 1st scholar in residence at Army history center
March 31, 2021 — ARLINGTON, Va. – "The National Guard has played a critical role in the history of our Army; it's impossible to be able to tell that story without talking about the National Guard," said Maine National... MORE

Capt. Jonathan Bratten, command historian for the Maine National Guard, gives a presentation in 2020 to a high school history class as part of the Maine Army National Guard's History Outreach Program. Bratten has been selected as the U.S. Army Center of Military History's first scholar in residence.

Las Vegas vaccine hunters find hero in Nevada Guard Soldier
March 25, 2021 — LAS VEGAS – Nevada National Guard Sgt. John Huss went above and beyond with Joint Task Force 17 by personally helping organize and distribute extra vaccine doses at the Cashman Center. “I like to help... MORE

Las Vegas National Guard Sgt. John Huss with Joint Task Force 17 works at the entry point at the Cashman COVID-19 vaccination site March 16, 2021, in Las Vegas. Huss helped his chain of command streamline the vaccine standby list.

Massachusetts National Guard combat medic vaccinates his mom
March 23, 2021 — BOSTON – Staff Sgt. David Bravo, a combat medic in the Massachusetts National Guard, was helping to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine at the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center when he realized one... MORE

Staff Sgt. David Bravo, a combat medic with the Massachusetts National Guard, vaccinates his mother at East Boston Neighborhood Health Center. Bravo and other Massachusetts National Guard members were activated to distribute Pfizer COVID vaccines in Massachusetts.

Army Occupational Health nurse improves health program
March 22, 2021 — BOISE, Idaho – Before Lt. Col. Tina Williams became an occupational health nurse, she grew up in a poor household in Washington with little to no food or heat. She often visited her grandmother to... MORE

Variety key for Army National Guard podcast
March 19, 2021 — ARLINGTON, Va. - As an infantry officer and a military policeman, Army Capt. Joshua Carr and Army Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Miller always remember the unofficial slogan of "Leader's Recon," a video and... MORE

Army Capt. Joshua Carr interviews Army Brig. Gen. Janeen Birckhead, the Maryland National Guard’s assistant adjutant general for Army, about the Maryland Guard’s COVID-19 response during an episode of “Leader’s Recon” from the Herbert R. Temple Army National Guard Readiness Center in Arlington, Virginia, March 31, 2020. Carr, a team chief of strategic communications in an Army National Guard directorate, usually serves as host of “Leader’s Recon,” a video podcast that aims to create accessible leader development content for Soldiers.

Connecticut Air Guard maintainer graduates Ranger School
March 17, 2021 — EAST GRANBY, Conn. – A Connecticut Air National Guard C-130 maintainer recently accomplished a feat only a select few in the military achieve: graduating U.S. Army Ranger School. Senior Airman... MORE

Senior Airman Jonathan Petersen, 103rd Maintenance Squadron electrical and environmental systems specialist, in front of a C-130H Hercules at Bradley Air National Guard Base in East Granby, Connecticut, March 16, 2021. Petersen attended U.S. Army Ranger School through the Air National Guard’s Enlisted Development Opportunities program, and was the only Air National Guardsman in his graduating class, which completed Feb. 5.

Idaho National Guard member finds purpose in serving tribes
March 16, 2021 — BOISE, Idaho – Born in the Dominican Republic, Pfc. Heily Groberg traveled far to be a U.S. citizen and then an Idahoan. Once here, however, she did not have to go far to help make a difference in her... MORE

Pennsylvania Guard officer sets powerlifting records
March 15, 2021 — ANNVILLE, Pa. – "Once I went to that first meet in July of 2019, that was it," said 1st Lt. Lindsey Boughter, a public affairs officer with the 109th Public Affairs Detachment, 213th Regional Support... MORE

Pennsylvania Army National Guard 1st Lt. Lindsey Boughter, a public affairs officer with the 109th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, 213th Regional Support Group, performs a deadlift during a powerlifting competition Feb. 27, 2021, in Conshohocken, Pa.

Air National Guard Leaders Host 2025 Wing Leader Fly-In

Colorado Army National Guard Conducts Aviation Training for Wildfire Season

Lt. Gen. Jon Stubbs Highlights Virginia National Guard Excellence at Military Ball

Oregon Air Guard Participates in Sentry Aloha Exercise

Air Guard Units Join Forces for Aerial Wildfire Suppression Training