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Guard Airmen, Soldiers Train To Care for Fallen Comrades
October 2, 2024
Fredrick Kennebrew, left, a mortuary affairs evaluator assigned to the Joint Test and Evaluation Program, observes fatality search and recovery team Airmen and mortuary affairs Soldiers as they practice temporary interment of simulated contaminated human remains during an exercise at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia, Sept. 11, 2024. The exercise was part of a quick reaction test to refine the techniques, tactics and procedures for managing and caring for the remains of fallen service members.
Army Guard’s 41st IBCT Prepares for NATO-led Mission
September 24, 2024
U.S. Army Capt. Joe Kaufman, 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, Oregon Army National Guard, communicates radio commands during training at Fort Cavazos, Texas, Sept. 14, 2024. The Soldiers are preparing to support NATO-led Kosovo Forces, also known as KFOR, in a peacekeeping mission.
West Virginia, North Carolina Guard Test NextGen Army Weapons
June 27, 2024
U.S. Army Sgt. Greg Richmond, with C Company, 1st Squadron, 150th Cavalry Regiment, West Virginia Army National Guard, engages targets with the XM7 rifle and XM157 scope during night fire testing of the rifle and scope at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, as part of the Next Generation Squad Weapon system, June 13, 2024. The system includes the XM7 rifle, the XM250 automatic rifle, and the XM157 fire control system, which are designed to replace the current M4 carbine, M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, and the M240 machine gun.
South Carolina Guard Modernizes with NextGen Squad Weapons
June 24, 2024
U.S. Soldiers assigned to the 4th Battalion, 118th Infantry Regiment, 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, South Carolina Army National Guard, conduct an integrated training weapons strategy qualification table for the newly fielded Next Generation Squad Weapon Rifle XM7 and Next Generation Squad Weapon Automatic Rifle XM250, during a week-long training event at Fort Stewart, Georgia, June 20, 2024. The South Carolina Army National Guard is the third Army National Guard command to receive the new weapons, following the North Carolina National Guard and the West Virginia National Guard.
Task Force St. Lo Soldiers Train in Czech Republic
June 21, 2024
Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers along with members of the 72nd Mechanized Battalion, 7th Mechanized Brigade, Czech Republic Army, participated in a culminating training exercise May 14, 2024, in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. The units are mobilized for Immediate Response 24 as Task Force St. Lo under the command of the Virginia National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
West Virginia Air National Guard Wing Conducts ’Super Drill’
June 13, 2024
Airmen assigned to 167th Airlift Wing fire the M4 carbine during weapon qualification training at the 167th Airlift Wing firing range, Martinsburg, West Virginia, June 7, 2024.
Guard Conducts Explosive Ordnance Disposal Joint Training
June 4, 2024
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Patrick Harrington, left, explosive ordnance disposal technician with the Massachusetts Air National Guard's 104th Fighter Wing, and Senior Airman Benito Pacheco, EOD technician with the Nebraska ANG's 155th Air Refueling Wing, review X-rays of an improvised explosive device May 13, 2024, as part of the Audacious Warrior exercise at Volk Field Air National Guard Base in Wisconsin. The nine-day exercise included over 70 participants assigned to the Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force Reserve and U.S. Marine Corps, as well as military EOD specialists from the Czech Republic.
Guard Soldiers, Czech Partners Celebrate Victory in Europe Day
May 28, 2024
Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia National Guard Soldiers participated in a Victory in Europe celebration May 8, 2024, in Hranice, Czech Republic. The units mobilized to the Czech Republic under the command of the Virginia National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
10th Homeland Response Force Conducts Collective Training
May 21, 2024
Airmen attached to the only all-Air Force Search and Extraction team learn about rope rescue during the 10th Homeland Response Force Sustainment Year Collective Training Exercise at Camp Rilea, Oregon, April 24, 2024.
Maryland, Virginia Guardsmen Are Regional Best Warriors
May 13, 2024
Spc. Carter Cooper of the Virginia National Guard and Staff Sgt. Alexander Wilkinson-Johnson of the Maryland National Guard were named the National Guard Bureau’s Region Il Best Warriors for 2024 in the Soldier of the Year and Noncommissioned Officer categories at Aberdeen Proving Ground-Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland, May 10, 2024.
West Virginia’s 167th Wing Conducts Readiness Exercise
May 10, 2024
A U.S. Army M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System from Alpha Battery, 5-113th Field Artillery Battalion, North Carolina National Guard, is loaded into a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft with the 167th Airlift Wing as part of a live-fire exercise during exercise Sentry Unicorn 2024 at Holland Drop Zone, Vass, North Carolina, Apr. 20, 2024. Held in tandem with the West Virginia National Guard Sentry Storm exercise, Sentry Unicorn 2024 served as a Readiness Exercise Validation to gauge the wing’s self-assessment capabilities.
West Virginia Guard Expands International Partnerships
April 16, 2024
Maj. Gen. Bill Crane, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard, laughs with Gen. Orestes Vargas, Peruvian Army chief of staff, in Lima, Peru, in late March 2024. The West Virginia Guard partners with Peru, Qatar and Gabon via the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program.
West Virginia Guard Fighting Wildfires From the Air
March 22, 2024
West Virginia National Guard personnel used two Black Hawk helicopters and buckets to help battle wildfires in Hardy County, West Virginia, March 22, 2024.
Joint Guard Team Prepares for State Partnership Mission
March 20, 2024
Spcs. Timothy Momaney and Cameron Lagace, mechanics with the 238th Medevac Company, begin the blade folding process on top of a HH-60M Black Hawk at Pease Air National Guard Base, New Hampshire, March 13, 2024. The team spent three days folding the aircraft blades, palletizing gear, completing a joint inspection and loading the equipment onto a C-17 for transport to Exercise Granite Falco in Cabo Verde.
West Virginia Public Affairs Detachment Joins Allied Spirit 24
March 11, 2024
U.S. Army Pfc. Ayden Norcross provides photography support during Allied Spirit 24, March 9, 2024, in Hohenfels, Germany. Allied Spirit 24 is a U.S. Army exercise for its NATO allies and partners at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center near Hohenfels, Germany.
West Virginia National Guard, Gabon Announce State Partnership
March 7, 2024
The West Virginia National Guard has been selected as the U.S. partner to the nation of Gabon in central Africa for the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program, Gov. Jim Justice announced March 6. Gabon is the 19th African nation to join with a U.S. state via the SPP.
West Virginia’s 130th Airlift Wing Certified for C-130J-30
January 17, 2024
The 130th Airlift Wing has met the requirements to be declared a C-130J-30 unit with Initial Operational Capability as of Jan. 1, 2024, the West Virginia National Guard announced. The 130th has been in the process of transitioning airframes from the C-130 H3 Hercules model to the advanced C-130J-30 Super Hercules model since 2021.
Ridge Runner Builds Readiness for Army Guard Special Forces
July 7, 2023
A Soldier with the 19th Special Forces Group, headquartered in the Utah Army National Guard, leads his team, which includes Latvian special operations elements, in an assault on a simulated emplaced missile launcher site while taking part in exercise Ridge Runner near Jolo, West Virginia, June 15, 2023. The two-week exercise brought together Soldiers with the 19th SFG and special operations troops from Latvia, Poland and other allied and partner nations and focused on interoperability in unconventional warfare tasks.
West Virginia Guard Hosts Irregular Warfare Exercise
June 22, 2023
Members of Charlie Company, 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne); Bravo Company, 92d Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne); Bravo Company, 6th Psychological Operations Battalion (Airborne); 193rd Special Operations Medical Group; 4th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company; 4th Civil Affairs Group; and the 4th Marine Corps Advisor Company Alpha, participated with allies and partners from multiple nations in the Ridge Runner Irregular Warfare Exercise throughout West Virginia for two weeks in May and June 2023.
West Virginia Guard, 12th Air Force, Peru Sign Pact
June 20, 2023
U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. David Cochran, West Virginia National Guard assistant adjutant general and commander of the West Virginia Air National Guard; David Delmonaco, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) representative, and Lt. Gen. Carlos Chavez, the Peruvian Air Force chief of staff, sign a trilateral agreement of future engagements at the 167th Airlift Wing, Shepherd Field, Martinsburg, West Virginia, June 9, 2023. The signing ceremony signified the commitment to continue military cooperation and operate cohesively in response to future threats and crisis.