Guard News - The National Guard

Firefighter of 27 years focuses on safety; mentors Airmen
May 3, 2019 — WESTFIELD, Mass. – Thomas Zuffelato, 104th Civil Engineering Squadron fire lieutenant, began his firefighting career in 1992 when he switched from the active duty Air Force to the Nebraska Air... MORE

Fire Lt. Thomas Zuffelato, 104th Civil Engineering Squadron firefighter, poses for a photo May 2, 2019, at Barnes Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts. Zuffelato is also a firefighter in the Connecticut Air National Guard at the 103rd Airlift Wing.

Louisiana Guard members aim for excellence
May 1, 2019 — NEW ORLEANS – Staff Sgt. Benjamin Cotten and Sgt. Allen Smith, both Shreveport residents with the Louisiana National Guard’s 2nd Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team,... MORE

National Guard members from around the country participated in the 48th annual Winston P. Wilson Sniper Championship at Fort Chaffee in Barling, Arkansas, March 29-April 3, 2019. Louisiana National Guard Sgt. Allen Smith and Staff Sgt. Benjamin Cotten, both Shreveport residents with 2nd Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, took first place in the competition, hosted by the National Guard Marksmanship Training Center.

Citizen-Warrior: Ohio Guard Soldier follows competitive life
May 1, 2019 — COLUMBUS, Ohio – After her first year of college, Valerie Stearns came to the conclusion she wanted to do more with her life. “I realized that I had greater potential,” she said. “That is when I... MORE

Army 1st Lt. Valerie Stearns, the executive officer with the Ohio Army National Guard’s 1191st Engineer Company, stands with Army Maj. Gen. John C. Harris Jr., then-Ohio National Guard assistant adjutant general for Army, after Stearns won the lightweight division championship at the 2018 Ohio Army National Guard Combatives Tournament held at the Maj. Gen. Robert Beightler Armory in Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 19, 2018. Stearns has found that combatives is another way she can engage her competitive spirit.

Trio of Washington Guard members earn doctorate degrees
May 1, 2019 — CAMP MURRAY, Wash. – A trio of bandmates in the Washington Army National Guard’s 133rd Army Band can add “doctor” to their repertoire. “The band has historically been one of the most educated career... MORE

From left to right: Sgt. 1st Class Steve Friel, seated Staff Sgt. Joey Castilleja and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Scott Pierson. Each member recently earned their doctorate degree.

Brothers carry on family service in the Guard
April 30, 2019 — SCHENECTADY, New York – For brothers Jack and Joshua Seeberger this truly is a family affair. Their father, Scott Seeberger retired as a master sergeant from the 109th Airlift Wing in 2012 serving... MORE

Brothers Jack and Joshua Seeberger enlisted together in 2018 and are now serving as loadmasters in the 109th Airlift Wing.

P-51 Mustang returns to Kentucky Air Guard after 63 years
April 29, 2019 — LOUISVILLE – A P-51 Mustang arrived back on the flight line of the Kentucky Air National Guard Base on April 12, more than six decades after departing. The Mustang, serial number of 44-74202, was once... MORE

Kentucky Air Guardsmen pose with a P-51 Mustang aircraft, serial number of 44-74202, on the flight line of the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, circa 1953-1956. The same aircraft, now restored, came home to fly in the 2019 Thunder Over Louisville air show on April 13.

Oklahoma Guard kids spend the night aboard a WWII submarine
April 24, 2019 — MUSKOGEE, Okla. – With a faint scent of rusted steel throughout the echoing halls, Oklahoma National Guard (OKNG) children and volunteers had a unique opportunity Friday to spend the night in the... MORE

Oklahoma National Guard (OKNG) children experience a unique opportunity to spend the night aboard the historic USS Batfish (SS 310) submarine, April 19, 2019, in celebration of the Month of the Military Child.

N.J. Airman adopts and brings home a dog from Kuwait
April 23, 2019 — LUMBERTON, N.J. – The month leading up to Staff Sgt. Dannielle Garcia’s deployment was a somber one. First, her dog Pepper was diagnosed with a brain tumor, then she made the tough decision to... MORE

U.S. Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Dannielle Garcia and her dog Mina sit for a portrait in Lumberton, N.J., March 4, 2019. Garcia volunteered to care for Mina after she was found as a stray on a base in Kuwait in 2018, and had her shipped home in January of 2019. Garcia is an Emergency Management Specialist with the 108th Civil Engineer Squadron.

104th Fighter Wing firefighters answer the calls for help
April 23, 2019 — WESTFIELD, Mass. – The responsibility of being a dispatcher at the 104th Fighter Wing fire department is an important one, as the dispatcher working in the alarm room is involved with emergency... MORE

Caleb Holden, 104th Fighter Wing firefighter, prepares to answer 911 calls in the Fire Department alarm room April 18, 2019, at Barnes Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts. The firefighter on shift in the alarm room is reponsible for answering emergency calls and ensuring the proper aid is sent to assist.

N.C. Soldier reflects on her 2004 deployment to Iraq
April 19, 2019 — RALEIGH, N.C. – Fifteen years. Could it have been that long? I was traveling to a long-overdue reunion. It took one of our own dying to bring up the idea of getting together. My first deployment... MORE

Staff Sgt. Mary Junell stands on her assigned truck while she was serving in Iraq in 2004 with the North Carolina National Guard’s 1450th Transportation Company. The unit spent several months on the roads in Iraq before they were able to get armor on their vehicles; a common occurrence in the early years of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Oldest units in the military muster together after 382 years
April 18, 2019 — SALEM Mass. - Every April, in a coastal city north of Boston, the Salem Muster is commemorated. For the ceremony this year, the mild overcast day was welcomed, as in the past, the unpredictable New... MORE

Members of the oldest military units in the nation, the 101st Engineers, the 101st Field Artillery, the 181st Infantry and the 182nd Infantry gathered for the 382nd Salem Muster on Salem Common, April. 13, 2019, just as the same units did in 1637.

109th Airlift Wing hosts youth leadership conference
April 17, 2019 — STRATTON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.Y.— More than 100 teenagers from five Schenectady County high schools learned how to avoid destructive behavior during a day-long youth leadership conference... MORE

Students from Schenectady County Schools spent the day at Stratton ANGB learning about destructive decisions on April 16, 2019.

Army Guard missile brigade executes unique mission
April 12, 2019 — ARLINGTON, Va. – The mission of the Colorado Army National Guard’s 100th Missile Defense Brigade is unique, but, for some brigade Soldiers, also fairly straightforward. “To me, it’s very simple,” said... MORE

A ground-based interceptor missile launched by the Colorado Army National Guard's 100th Missile Defense Brigade heads skyward to intercept an incoming target missile during a training mission at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., in 2008. Based at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., the brigade is the only unit of its type in the National Guard and has a detachment at Vandenberg and subordinate units at Fort Greely, Alaska.

Kentucky Guard member lets strength, courage define her
April 11, 2019 — FRANKFORT, Ky. – In late March of 2018, Natalie Wamsley was finishing up warrant officer candidate school (WOCS), maxing her last Army Physical Fitness Test and taking another successful step in her... MORE

Newly appointed Warrant Officer Natalie Wamsley salutes her husband, Chief Warrant Officer Ronald Wamsley, during a commissioning ceremony in Frankfort, Ky., March 19, 2019. Wamsley completed warrant officer candidate school March 1 while battling cancer.

Ohio Airmen brothers have each others' backs
April 10, 2019 — SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – It's National Siblings Day and an appropriate time to take a look at the story of the Crum brothers in Ohio.Senior Master Sgt. Justin Crum, the 178th Wing plans branch... MORE

Second lieutenant Josh Crum, the 178th Communications flight quality assurance officer in charge, and Senior Master Sgt. Justin Crum, the 178th Wing plans branch superintendent serve together at Springfield-Beckley Air National Guard Base in Springfield, Ohio. The Crum brothers support one another and compete with each other to become the best in their career field.

Airmen encouraged to reach out to new performance team
April 5, 2019 — HULMAN FIELD AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Ind. –When it comes to resilience, it is very important to the 181st Intelligence Wing that all Airmen are mission ready. That is why the Human Performance... MORE

The 181st Intelligence Wing created its Human Performance Team(HPT) to assist Airmen with any issues that might crop up. “We have many resources available to Airmen,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. In Suk Hong Peebles, the 181st IW chaplain. “We wanted to bring those resources together to become a team.”

Citizen-Warrior: Illinois Soldier embraces deployment challenges
April 3, 2019 — CAMP TAJI, Iraq — Army Sgt. Gabrielle Calderon wasn’t supposed to deploy, but when a last-minute opportunity to support the mission in Iraq was offered, the Illinois Army Guard Soldier didn’t... MORE

U.S. Army Sgt. Gabrielle Calderon, 108th Sustainment Brigade, is an Army leader at Camp Taji, Iraq, Mar. 2, 2019. Calderon is deployed to Iraq to train, advise and assist the Iraqi Army maintenance mission at Taji.

Survivors and Ohio Guard members remember deadly tornado
April 2, 2019 — XENIA, Ohio – In a matter of minutes on the afternoon of April 3, 1974, the relative quiet on a spring day in the small southwestern Ohio town of Xenia was shattered. A powerful F-5 tornado tore a... MORE

Ohio National Guard Airmen on state active duty assist in the cleanup efforts in Xenia, Ohio, after an April 3, 1974, tornado. The F-5 storm that destroyed or damaged thousands of homes, businesses and schools was responsible for 33 deaths, and hundreds more injured.

'Sleeping with the fishes' gives Guard kids a chance to bond
April 1, 2019 — KURE BEACH, N.C. – Children of National Guard services members have a unique experience. They are not entirely Army or Air Force brats as children of active duty service members call themselves, but... MORE

Children of North Carolina National Guard Soldiers and Airmen spent the night at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher March 23, 2019, as part of the Sleeping With The Fishes sponsored by Kids on Guard.Kids on Guard is a nonprofit organization that supports the North Carolina National Guard Family Programs.

Bolt the therapy dog breaks the ice at Alaska's 176th Wing
March 29, 2019 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – When Bolt, a honey-colored golden retriever, saunters into a 176th Wing office suite, the Airmen greet him like a star quarterback or a celebrity. Because... MORE

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