Guard News - The 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.

National Guard command CWO forged resolve from family bonds
March 9, 2021 — WASHINGTON - Teresa Domeier didn't shy from playing contact football with her older brothers while growing up in rural Nebraska. She'd get in the dirt with them, tackling her siblings and taking hits... MORE

From left, then-Staff Sgt. Mellessa Dasenbrock, then-Chief Warrant Officer 4 Teresa Domeier and then-Sgt. 1st Class Bonnie Frazier, sisters who all served in the Nebraska National Guard. Domeier was nominated as the Army National Guard's first female command chief warrant officer in June 2018.

Guardsman awarded Oklahoma Star of Valor for saving neighbor
March 5, 2021 — OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma Army National Guard Soldier was awarded the Oklahoma Star of Valor March 4 for his heroic actions in saving his neighbor's life. The state's second-highest military award... MORE

Sgt. Pedro Gonzales, a member of the Oklahoma Army National Guard, received the Oklahoma Star of Valor March 4, 2021, for risking his life to save the life of a neighbor who was being attacked with a knife in September 2020. Gonzales suffered serious wounds to his face and neck but has recovered.

New York Guardsman led fight for Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
March 3, 2021 — LATHAM, N.Y. – The United States has a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier today because a New York National Guard major and freshman congressman thought it was necessary 100 years ago.Hamilton Fish III was a... MORE

New York Army National Guard Maj. Hamilton Fish III, in an undated 1919 photo from World War I. Fish served as commander of Company K, 369th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the “Harlem Hellfighters,” an all-black unit of the New York National Guard. After the war, Fish was elected to Congress in 1920 from New York and introduced the resolution to create an Unknown Soldier memorial.

Pave Hawk pilot at home in Alaska with 176th Wing
March 3, 2021 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – In Alaska bush pilot circles, a serpentine network of mountain passes compose the aviation arteries that make transiting the state’s rugged terrain in small... MORE

Alaska Air National Guard Capt. Timothy Lezama is an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter pilot with 210th Rescue Squadron. Lezama is a native of Parkland, Fla., and his parents emigrated from Trinidad and Tobago.

Father, daughter serve together in nation's capital
March 1, 2021 — WASHINGTON – "Keeping families involved is important to the success of all our Soldiers," said 1st Sgt. Phillip O'Neill with Forward Support Company, 107th Engineer Battalion, Michigan Army National... MORE

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Carl Mattonen stands with his daughter, Spc. Carlie Mattonen, both with Forward Support Company, 107th Engineer Battalion, Michigan National Guard, near the U.S. Capitol in Washington Feb. 26, 2021.

Father and daughter serve together in nation's capital
February 8, 2021 — WASHINGTON – It's one thing to follow in the footsteps of a military family. It's another to have the opportunity to serve on the same mission as your daughter. Staff Sergeant Roberto Alicea, of the... MORE

Staff Sgt. Roberto Alicea, of the 1166th Transportation Company, and his daughter, Pvt. Felicia Alicea of the 747th Military Police Company poses for a photo at the Ronald Reagan Center on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, while deployed to Washington, D.C., as part of Task Force Freedom

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