Guard News - The National Guard

Chaplains reach out to Cal Guard members fighting COVID-19
April 30, 2020 — MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, Calif. – Members of the chaplain corps from the 163d Attack Wing and the 195th Wing are visiting seven facilities across the Inland Empire to support members of the California... MORE

U.S. Air Force Maj. Edward Ganigan, center, a chaplain from the 163d Attack Wing, California Air National Guard, prays for soldiers of the California Army National Guard’s 315th Vertical Construction Company and staff members of the FIND Desert Regional Food Bank in Indio, California, April 29, 2020.

Iowa State grads dominate National Guard COVID-19 task force
April 30, 2020 — JOHNSTON, Iowa – In mid-March, the Iowa National Guard was ramping up its response to COVID-19 when it established Task Force Central at Camp Dodge to direct efforts in some of the most populated... MORE

Capt. Theodore Knust, personnel officer at the 734th Regional Support Group, participates in a briefing at the Task Force Central command post in Johnston April 29, 2020. Knust received his commission with the Cyclone Battalion at the Iowa State University Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program more than 10 years ago. Now he’s working alongside seven other former Cyclones during the Iowa National Guard’s response to COVID-19.

KC-135 boom operator supports Washington food banks
April 29, 2020 — ISSAQUAH, Wash. – Staff Sgt. David Stefaniak is one of over 200 Washington Air National Guard members who have stepped up to volunteer to help shore up food banks across the state during 2019... MORE

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. David Stefaniak, a boom operator with the Washington Air National Guard's 116th Air Refueling Squadron, sorts food at the Issaquah Food Bank April 15, 2020. Stefaniak is supporting multiple food banks in the Puget Sound area as part of the state's COVID-19 response.

Dogs ease stress for COVID-19 response troops in New York
April 29, 2020 — NEW YORK – New York National Guard Soldiers, Airmen and active duty and civilian medical providers on duty fighting COVID-19 in New York are getting the benefit of a wagging tail and licks to lift... MORE

Spc. Amber Freeman from Kingston, N.Y., assigned to the New York Army National Guard, poses for a picture and pets Sophie, a Labrador retriever service dog provided by Puppies Behind Bars in New York City, April 23, 2020. Puppies Behind Bars is a nonprofit organization that trains prison inmates to raise service dogs for wounded war veterans and first responders, as well as explosive-detection canines for law enforcement.

NY National Guard Soldier beats COVID-19 and joins the fight
April 28, 2020 — NEW YORK – New York Army National Guard Warrant Officer Christopher Gallant has seen both sides of the fight against COVID-19. After surviving the disease, Gallant is back on duty at the Javits New... MORE

Army Warrant Officer Christopher Gallant, assigned to Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation, New York Army National Guard, tested positive for COVID-19 in March, recovered, and is working as the safety officer at the Javits New York Medical Station in New York April 21, 2020.

Cal Guard's 40th ID honors WWII veteran on 105th birthday
April 28, 2020 — LAKEWOOD, Calif. – World War II veteran Sam Sachs watches from the front porch of his home as a Humvee, a sheriff’s patrol car, and fire trucks roll through the usually quiet street. He smiles and... MORE

Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Sam Sachs watches a parade from his front porch during a celebration in honor of his 105th birthday in Lakewood, California, April 26, 2020. Sachs was an officer with the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, and landed his glider on the beaches of Normandy during D-Day.

NY's 42nd Infantry Division liberated Dachau 75 years ago
April 27, 2020 — LATHAM, N.Y. – April 29, 1945, was a cold, sunny Sunday afternoon as Soldiers of the U.S. Army’s 42nd Infantry Division came face to face with the worst of Nazi Germany at the notorious Dachau... MORE

An American Soldier is surrounded by survivors at the newly liberated Dachau concentration camp, April 29, 1945, in Dachau, Germany. American Soldiers of the U.S. 7th Army, including members of the 42nd Infantry and 45th Infantry and 20th Armored Divisions, participated in the camp’s liberation.

Michigan Guard finding new ways to recruit in COVID-19 era
April 27, 2020 — LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Army and Air National Guard recruiting professionals are faced with a new and unique challenge – recruiting during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are using innovation to come up... MORE

Sgt. First Class Jason Brautigam, left, and Staff Sgt. Michael Perry, recruiting and retention noncommissioned officers, Michigan Army National Guard, conduct a question-and-answer session via the internet due to social distancing restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dowagiac, Michigan, April 24, 2020.

Colorado Guard Soldiers save a life while serving homeless
April 27, 2020 — DENVER – The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way of life for people worldwide and tested the skills of members of the Colorado National Guard beyond their military assignments and training. For... MORE

U.S. Army Pvt. Harold Taylor and Spc. Jo England, communications operators, 1st Battalion 157th Infantry Regiment, Colorado Army National Guard serve food to the guests at the Denver Rescue Mission, April 20, 2020. The Soldiers helped a man who was choking on food.

NY Guard runs 'virtual' 5k for sexual assault awareness
April 25, 2020 — LATHAM, N.Y. – A sure sign of spring for the New York National Guard is the annual Sexual Assault Awareness 5-kilometer run.Held along with other events that make April Sexual Assault Awareness and... MORE

New York Army National Guard Capt. Stephanie Fernandez, Warrant Officer Zachary Smith and Sgt. Jose Meza participate in the "virtual" 5K Sexual Assault Awareness Run held by the New York National Guard Joint Force Headquarters sexual assault response coordinator April 15 to April 20, 2020. Since social distancing prohibited the normal group event, people were encouraged to run on their own or with a small group and send a photo.

188th Wing Nurse serves on front line to battle COVID-19
April 24, 2020 — FORT SMITH, Ark. – As the number of COVID-19 cases accelerates in the United States, nurses are on the front lines of the health care response, fighting not only for the lives of their patients but... MORE

Capt. Breeanna Howerton is an Arkansas Air National Guard clinical nurse with the 188th Wing, but also a registered nurse at the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks.

Once in the Guard, always ready to serve
April 22, 2020 — ST. PAUL, Minn. – While the fight against COVID-19 requires each individual to do their part, it also takes unwavering leadership. This is something that sets the state of Minnesota apart from the... MORE

U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 133rd Operation Support Squadron’s aircrew flight equipment shop, Minnesota National Guard, make masks for base personnel in St. Paul Apr. 8, 2020.

Mother, son serve at hospital as National Guard medics
April 22, 2020 — ALBANY, Ga. – Members of the National Guard have the unique opportunity to help the communities where they live during times of crisis. They may clear the roads they take to work every day after a... MORE

Gen. Randall Simmons, commander, Georgia Army National Guard, recognized Spc. Leslie Davila, a medic with the 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, for her contributions to the fight against COVID-19 during a tour of the Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Georgia, March 28, 2020. Davila and her son, also with the Guard, were both assigned as medics at the hospital.

Youth Challenge Academy cadets, staff mobilize for community
April 22, 2020 — BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – Staff and cadets at the Michigan Youth Challenge Academy (MYCA) have mobilized to produce fabric face masks to fight the spread of COVID-19 and fulfill one of the program’s core... MORE

Michigan Youth Challenge Academy Cadets Jonathan Ciszczon and Jonathan Shapiro measure and cut fabric to make cloth masks to be donated to facilities in the Battle Creek community April 8, 2020.

Guard member supports COVID-19 response at her university
April 22, 2020 — NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – A campus typically busy with students and staff in late April sits mostly dormant as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced Central Connecticut State University, like many others, to... MORE

Connecticut Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Arielle Robles, 103rd Maintenance Group administration specialist, helps set up recovery center beds at Kaiser Hall at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Connecticut, April 21, 2020. Robles is an exercise science student at the university and is helping convert her usual classroom building into surge capacity space for local hospitals in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guard members find Southeast Ohioans #InThisTogether
April 21, 2020 — LOGAN, Ohio – For nearly a month, some 500 members of the Ohio National Guard have been deployed to food banks across the state, seeing the impact of food insecurity up close. For Pfc. Jayden Rutter,... MORE

Devin Berry, left, and Ohio National Guard Pfc. Jayden Rutter, both lifelong Southeast Ohio residents, outside the Southeast Ohio Foodbank in Logan April 10, 2020. Berry, a laborer at the food bank for five years, has been working with Rutter and other Soldiers of the 237th Support Battalion to package and distribute food during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guard linguists support COVID-19 response in Washington state
April 16, 2020 — JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – The past three drill weekends, linguists with the 341st Military Intelligence Battalion have supported the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic while training... MORE

Staff Sgt. Aleksandr Kim, a cryptolinguist with Delta Company, 341st Military Intelligence Battalion, and Staff Sgt. Aleksandr Popov, a human intelligence collector with Alpha Company, 341st Military Intelligence Battalion, via video conference, talk with Russian instructors from the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Language And Culture Center at the Information Operations Readiness Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, March 7, 2020. The language training was part of the COVID-19 response in Washington state.

Maintenance team makes face masks for Texas Air Guard members
April 16, 2020 — JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas – When guidance came out that personnel on base should wear face coverings when within 6 feet of each other, one Air National Guard member with a personal 3D... MORE

Staff Sgt. Paul Renker, 149th Maintenance Squadron hydraulics technician, wears a mask he made on his personal 3D printer for people in his unit in the Texas Air National Guard.

NY Guard chaplain celebrates Easter mass at Javits Center
April 14, 2020 — NEW YORK – Social distancing made traditional Easter services a no-go April 12, but New York National Guard and Active-Duty service members working at the COVID-19 alternate care facility at Javits... MORE

New York Air National Guard Chaplain (Lt. Col. ) Jacob Marvel celebrates Easter Mass for service members at the alternate care facility within the Javits Convention Center in New York City while following social distancing guidelines April 12, 2020.

PRANG Airman makes PPE for security forces, first responders
April 14, 2020 — CAROLINA, Puerto Rico – A Puerto Rico Air National Guard Airman is taking an innovative approach to the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic.After reading about... MORE

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Alejandro Oyola with the 156th Security Forces Squadron checks identification at the entrance to Muñiz Air National Guard Base, Puerto Rico Air National Guard, while wearing personal protective equipment, April 9, 2020. The 156th SFS Defenders now have plastic face shields, created by 1st Lt. Jose Arroyo, a cyberspace operations officer with the 156th Communications Flight.

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