Guard News - The National Guard

South Carolina Guard member finds meaning of Thanksgiving amid wildfire crews
November 29, 2016 — PICKENS, S.C. - Over a decade ago, I chose America as my new and only country. Pure luck—I prefer to call it fate—brought me to Greenville, South Carolina, in 2001. That first encounter with upstate... MORE

Soldiers with the 59th Aviation Troop Command continued their support of the South Carolina wildfires over Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24, 2016, with CH-47 Chinook and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters used to pour water on the fires with a Bambi Bucket.

Illinois Air Guard band member uses musical skills to honor dying vets
November 25, 2016 — PEORIA, Ill. - In Afghanistan during a 2012 deployment, Tech. Sgt. Carrie Gatz saw her civilian and military careers overlap at Bagram Airfield's hospital.The Air National Guard Band of the Midwest... MORE

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Carrie Gatz, an instrumentalist with the 566th Air Force Band, Illinois Air National Guard, plays guitar for a hospice patient at her civilian job Sept. 11, 2013. Gatz has served in the Air National Guard since 2004.

Youth Challenge participants offered 'day of service' to mark anniversary
November 22, 2016 — LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. - For 24 years, Youth ChalleNGe cadets have made their mark across the nation with their Service to Community component during the residential phase of the program. This year,... MORE

Oregon Youth Challenge cadets at the snack table after donating blood during the American Red Cross blood drive, Oct. 1, 2016, in Bend, Ore.
Photo taken by the Student Body President Daisy Ochoa.

California Guard MPs entertain and inform young visitors
November 21, 2016 — SHERMAN OAKS, Calif. — They were training for a riot. Hundreds of California Army National Guard military police, with dozens of tactical vehicles, were mobilizing for a mock civil disturbance during... MORE

Students and faculty from Emek Hebrew Academy Teichman Family Torah Center in Sherman Oaks, California, speak to a Soldier from the 270th Military Police Company, 49th Military Police Brigade, California Army National Guard, prior to start of Vigilant Guard 17 at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) California Task Force 1, Los Angeles.

Operation Santa Claus begins in tiny Alaska villages
November 18, 2016 — TOGIAK, Alaska - In a rare daytime appearance, Santa and about 50 of his elves - including Alaska Gov. Bill Walker and First Lady Donna Walker - came early this year to visit Christmas cheer upon the... MORE

Togiak schoolgirls receive backpacks in the school gymnasium Nov. 15, 2016. Several donors were there as part of Operation Santa Claus, an Alaska National Guard-led program that delivers toys, school supplies and other gifts to children in Alaska's remote villages.

Counseling, family bond help Airman cope with post-traumatic stress
November 15, 2016 — WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. - A 30-year career, multiple deployments and two months of intense training could not prepare recently retired Senior Master Sgt. Bob Weber for what he would experience... MORE

Retired 131st Bomb Wing Senior Master Sgt. Bob Weber credits his wife, Thomasine Weber, for providing social resiliency support to help him recover from injuries and following the loss of a fellow Missouri Guard member to an improvised explosive device during a deployment to Afghanistan.

West Virginia Airman beats cancer; completes 22nd marathon
November 7, 2016 — MARTINSBURG, W. Va. – Senior Master Sgt. Todd Kirkwood, avionics superintendent for the 167th Airlift Wing, was diagnosed with cancer the day after Thanksgiving last year. The diagnosis came as a... MORE

Senior Master Sgt. Todd Kirkwood, 167th avionics superintendent, gives a thumbs up at mile 25 of the Chicago Marathon, Oct. 9, 2016. Kirkwood ran the marathon only eight months after undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments for cancer.

Alaska maintenance Airman quietly excels at finding and fixing fuel leaks
November 4, 2016 — EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska — Saving hundreds of thousands of dollars is something that not many people claim, and not talking about it is something even more unique, but not for Staff Sgt. Julia... MORE

Staff Sgt. Julia Meyer, a fuels systems mechanic with the 168th Maintenance Squadron, holds her respirator while dressed in waterproof overalls inside the units fuel cell at Eielson AFB, Alaska, October 18, 2016. Meyer is a fulltime technician with the Interior-Alaska unit and was recognized for her outstanding technical abilities during a recent deployment to Southwest Asia.

Illinois National Guard Soldier retires after 41 years
October 31, 2016 — SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Sgt. Maj. Diane S. Rogers, of Girard, Illinois, did not envision of serving for 41 years in the Illinois Army National Guard when she enlisted as a senior in high school. "I had no... MORE

Sgt. Maj. Diane S. Rogers, of Girard, Illinois, with the Joint Force Headquarters thanks her family, friends and colleagues Oct. 28, 2016, for their support through her 41 years of military service to the Illinois Army National Guard, which culminated as the Illinois National Guard Sexual Assault Response Coordinator.

Colorado National Guard Soldiers, World War II veterans mark return of 10th Mountain Division to Colorado
October 28, 2016 — CENTENNIAL, Colo. – The 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment (Mountain), Colorado Army National Guard, will become part of the historic 10th Mountain Division during a ceremony at Camp Hale,... MORE

Pioneers of the 10th Mountain Division, the 87th Mountain Infantry Battalion, training in the United States in 1941. The unit was compromised of skiers, climbers and other outdoorsmen who trained vigorously. (Photo courtesy of World War II Today)

Ohio Citizen-Soldier helps fight wildfires in national forests across western U.S.
October 14, 2016 — COLUMBUS, Ohio — Summer heat, lightning and wind can be the enemy when it comes to protecting forest land during fire season. Ohio Army National Guard 1st Lt. Nick Mossbarger knows firsthand how... MORE

Ohio Army National Guard 1st Lt. Nick Mossbarger of the 216th Engineer Battalion uses an excavator to help construct a section of horse trail as part of his civilian job as a recreation technician for the Wayne National Forest in Southeast Ohio. This summer, Mossbarger was sent west to assist crews fighting wildfires in South Dakota, Colorado and Wyoming.

Colorado Guard relives its history at Glorieta Pass, N.M., a Civil War battle site
October 12, 2016 — GLORIETA PASS. N.M. - The sounds of Colorado National Guard musket fire thundered across lonely Glorieta Pass. They quickly died. This time, there was no return fire.CONG staff traveled to Glorieta,... MORE

U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Elisa Locke, a teacher serving in the Colorado Army National Guard, describes to COARNG Soldiers Sept. 17, 2016, at Glorieta Pass, N.M., how First Colorado Commander Maj. John Chivington led the attack on Confederate supplies at the Battle of Glorieta Pass.

New York Army National Guard medic earns Expert Field Medical Badge
October 7, 2016 — FORT DRUM, N.Y. - On the heels of a major training exercise, New York Army National Guard Specialist Brady Douglass rose to the top of his field to earn the coveted Expert Field Medical Badge, or... MORE

Pfc. Luke Deboer, a candidate for the Expert Field Medical Badge (EFMB), prepares a simulated casualty for movement during EFMB qualification testing, which was held at Fort Drum, N.Y. from Aug. 20 to Sept. 2. Out of a field of 239 medics, 29 bested a 12-mile ruck march, a written test, simulated combat training lanes and other challenges to earn the EFMB.

Singing Sergeant continues century-old national anthem tradition
October 7, 2016 — CHICAGO, Ill. - Thirty-eight musical measures and 94 seconds are all Master Sgt. Eric Sullivan needs to inspire a stadium of sports fans to its feet with roaring cheers and applause. The United States... MORE

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Eric Sullivan, a baritone vocalist with the United States Air Force Band’s “Singing Sergeants”, sings “The Star-Spangled Banner” before an NFL football game at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill., Oct. 2, 2016. Sullivan performed the national anthem for an audience of more than 60,800 people as part of the unit’s community relations mission.

Beloved 'Guard Copter 368' flies its final mission
August 26, 2016 — GREENVILLE, S.C. - Aviators tend to fall in love with their ships. "Guard Copter 368" is one of those aircraft that has earned its crew's love through deployments, reliability and legacy. After 10... MORE

A South Carolina Army National Guard (SCARNG) CH-47F Chinook helicopter flies on the Hudson River, in proximity of Manhattan and Empire State Building, Aug. 18, 2016, over New York City. The helicopter escorted its predecessor, CH-47D "Guard Copter 368" during its last mission.

Maryland National Guard helps host military kids at memorable camp
August 26, 2016 — NORTH EAST, Md. - From morning exercises and proper camouflage application, to preparing Meals Ready to Eat and learning Army cadences, 100 military children attending Operation Purple Camp at Elk... MORE

Military child Madison Sours, 10, responds to a question from the Adjutant General of Maryland Maj. Gen. Linda Singh as part of "Military Experience Day" during Operation Purple Camp at Elk Neck State Park in North East, Md. Aug. 16, 2016. Singh arrived via Maryland National Guard Lakota helicopter to greet the 100 military children in attendance at the camp.

National Guard allows Soldier freedom to be Renaissance man
August 25, 2016 — MUSCATATUCK, Ind. - Master Sgt. Bradley Staggs, an Indiana National Guard Soldier with the 38th Infantry Division, is a trained broadcast noncommissioned officer, and that is where his military and... MORE

BUTLERVILLE, Ind. – Indiana National Guard Master Sgt. Bradley Staggs (sitting), of the 38th Infantry Division, shows U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers with the 206th Broadcast Operations Detachment and 205th Press Camp Headquarters how to run radio broadcast equipment during Exercise News Day at MUTC on Aug. 23, 2016.

Texas Guard member donates kidney to stranger
August 16, 2016 — SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Every day holds the possibility for a miracle, but Arthur Corenblith, 56, husband and father of two, was quickly losing hope and questioned how many days he had left to... MORE

Texas Army National Guard Spc. Brittany Reppond, with the 197th Special Troops Support Company, based out of Camp Bullis, San Antonio, Texas, right, donates kidney to Arthur Corenblith, left, February 18, 2016, at the Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital in San Antonio. While working for a sales company at a local gas station, the Soldier saw a sign 'my brother needs a kidney' on a car and decided to donate. (Courtesy Photo)

Timing and training came together to save a life
August 16, 2016 — Charleston, W.Va. – How many times have you sat through additional training on a drill weekend and thought, ‘When am I ever going to use this training?’ Or passed by the Automated External... MORE

Col. Johnny Ryan, 130th Airlift Wing Commander, recognizes Chief Master Sgt. Steven Foster (left), Tech Sgt. Mark Haywood, and Master Sgt. Jeremy Callen all from the 130th Civil Engineering Squadron, for saving the life of Master Sgt. Bruce Chatterton (not pictured) who collapsed shortly after his physical fitness test on Aug. 6, 2016.

New Jersey mother and daughter serve together in Guard
August 12, 2016 — LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – Staff Sgt. Janet Medina punched her daughter in the chest. It's not as bad as it sounds. The military has a time-honored tradition to punch on a person's rank when promoted. In... MORE

Staff Sgt. Janet Medina, left, pins staff sergeant rank on her daughter, Justina Medina, during a promotion ceremony at the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Lawrenceville, N.J., August 11, 2016.

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