Guard News - The National Guard

Military Leaders Urge Congress to Pass Timely 2025 Defense Budget
June 20, 2024 — WASHINGTON - The 2025 Defense Department budget request prioritizes maintaining operational readiness, taking care of people and continuing to build a joint force that is lethal, resilient,... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief, National Guard Bureau, testifies before the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Defense, during the National Guard and Reserve hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., June 18, 2024.

Idaho National Guard Opens Child Care Center
June 10, 2024 — BOISE, Idaho - Members of the Idaho National Guard held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday to celebrate the grand opening of the first child care center at Gowen Field.The Child and Youth Center is... MORE

The Idaho National Guard holds a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of its first child care center at Gowen Field June 8, 2024. Gowen Day Camp is part of a program offering Idaho National Guardsmen with children ages 6 months to 12 years free child care assistance during drill weekends.

After 80th D-Day Commemoration, Hokanson Looks to Future
June 8, 2024 — OMAHA BEACH, NORMANDY, France — After honoring the 80th anniversary of the Allies’ D-Day invasion and subsequent liberation of Europe, the National Guard’s top general looked forward Friday, focused... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson meets World War II veteran Joseph “Ben” Miller during the ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of Operation Overlord and D-Day at the Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, June 6, 2024.

In Thailand, Hokanson Sees Enduring Partners in Name and Practice
May 21, 2024 — BANGKOK –The National Guard’s top officer visited with Washington Guardsmen and Royal Thai Armed Forces troops training together May 7-9. The Washington National Guard has worked closely with Thailand... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief, National Guard Bureau, joins Army Maj. Gen. Bret Daugherty, Washington's adjutant general, to visit Washington National Guardsmen and Royal Thai Air Force members training together during exercise Enduring Partners 2024, Bangkok, Thailand, May 9, 2024.

National Guard Expands Pilot Child Care Program
May 14, 2024 — WASHINGTON – Army Guardsmen in 20 states now can access drill weekend child care after the National Guard’s most senior leader signed an agreement with public partners expanding a pilot program at a... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief, National Guard Bureau, joins Cara Calvin-McFerren, mayor pro tem, West Liberty, Iowa and Jessica Chang, chief executive officer, Upwards, to sign a pilot child care intergovernmental support agreement at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, May 13, 2024. The initiative helps Army National Guard Soldiers with community-based child care on drill weekends.

Guard Bureau Chief Promotes Partnerships at Defense Services Asia Exhibition
May 12, 2024 — KUALA LUMPUR – Alliances and partnerships underscored the National Guard Bureau chief’s participation in one of Asia’s largest defense and homeland security events on May 6.Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson,... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief, National Guard Bureau, participates in the 2024 Defence Services Asia conference and exhibit, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 6, 2024. While at DSA, Hokanson joined a panel discussion to talk about the National Guard State Partnership Program.

Guard Leaders Stress NCOs Role in State Partnership Program
May 3, 2024 — LAS VEGAS – Developing NCOs has long been a strategy in the U.S. military to build capability and maintain readiness by providing the education and training required to operate in complex... MORE

Chief Master Sgt. Mikael Sundin, senior enlisted advisor to the director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, talks about security cooperation and NCO development during the State Partnership Program Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, April 17, 2024.

Hokanson: Nation’s Investment in National Guard Comes at Pivotal Moment
May 2, 2024 — WASHINGTON – The National Guard is a dynamic operational force integral to the National Defense Strategy, the Guard’s most senior officer told lawmakers April 30, emphasizing that sustained mission... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief, National Guard Bureau, talks with Soldiers of the Alabama National Guard's 115th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, Fort McClellan, Alabama, April 20, 2024.

Guard Chief Visits Pennsylvania Guard, Aviation Training Site
April 23, 2024 — FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. - Army Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, met with Pennsylvania National Guard leaders and members of the Eastern Army National Guard Aviation... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, met with Pennsylvania National Guard leaders and members of the Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site during a visit to Fort Indiantown Gap April 22, 2024.

National Guard Leaders Visit Troops Deployed in Middle East
March 27, 2024 — KUWAIT - The National Guard’s most senior officer and enlisted leader visited Guardsmen deployed across the Middle East in support of Operations Inherent Resolve and Spartan Shield March... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, right, chief, National Guard Bureau, and SEA Tony Whitehead, senior enlisted advisor to the CNGB, visit National Guardsmen deployed in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility March 15, 2024.

Guard Bureau Chief Sees Innovation, Tech Converge in Texas
March 12, 2024 — AUSTIN – Innovation and emerging technology underscored the National Guard’s senior-most officer’s visit to Texas on March 9-10.Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief, National Guard Bureau, met with Texas... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief, National Guard Bureau, joins the South by Southwest Conference, Austin, Texas, March 9-10, 2024. Hokanson engaged with entrepreneurs, small business owners and innovators about new concepts that could benefit the Guard and the Joint Force.

National Guard Chief Presents Silver Star to Vietnam Veteran
March 8, 2024 — WAYNE, Pa. – Nearly 57 years after rescuing more than 80 U.S. and South Vietnamese soldiers during the Vietnam War, retired Army Capt. Larry Liss received the Silver Star medal.Liss originally... MORE

Gen. Daniel Hokanson, left, chief of the National Guard Bureau, presents retired Army Capt. Larry Liss with a Silver Star citation during a ceremony March 5, 2024, at Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pa. Liss received the medal, an upgrade from a Distinguished Flying Cross, for rescuing more than 80 U.S. and South Vietnamese soldiers during the Vietnam War.

Hokanson Announces new State Partnership Program Nations
March 7, 2024 — WASHINGTON – A program that pairs the National Guard in the states and territories with foreign allies and partners is set to grow by several nations this year, the National Guard’s top officer... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, meets with members of the Swedish Armed Forces in Boden, Sweden, Oct. 17, 2023. Hokanson visited Sweden as part of a larger Northern European itinerary for talks with defense officials to deepen bilateral ties between the National Guard and Sweden.

New Army National Guard General Officer Reflects on Career
March 5, 2024 — ARLINGTON, Va. - At the command “attention to orders,” Robin Hoeflein steadfastly assumed the position of attention — shoulders squared, head and eyes facing directly ahead, fingers curled against... MORE

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Robin Hoeflein, vice director of the Operations Directorate at the National Guard Bureau, looks on as her husband, Ray, affixes her rank to her uniform during a ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia, where she was promoted to her current rank Feb. 29, 2024.

Hokanson at BEYA STEM Conference: Become everything you are in the National Guard
February 17, 2024 — BALTIMORE – Science, technology, engineering and mathematics will be the foundations for solving today’s and tomorrow’s problems, the National Guard’s top officer told an audience of students, cadets,... MORE

From left, Senior Enlisted Advisor Tony Whitehead, SEA to the chief, National Guard Bureau; Sgt. Maj. Alan Thomas, operations sergeant major, Indiana National Guard; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Regina Carrell, a senior strategic intelligence analyst at the National Guard Bureau, and Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief, National Guard Bureau, at the Black Engineer of the Year Award Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Stars and Stripes dinner and reception, Baltimore, Maryland, Feb. 16, 2024. The National Guard Bureau was the featured military organization of the 2024 Stars and Stripes event.

National Guard Bureau Leaders Say Taking Care of Guardsmen Key to Meeting Mission at Home, Abroad
February 9, 2024 — WASHINGTON - Army Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said that as the global security landscape has become increasingly complex, the National Guard continues to fill its role... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief, National Guard Bureau, meets with Arkansas Guardsmen assigned to Task Force Bowie, 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, on rotation overseeing training with the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine, Grafenwoehr, Germany, Oct. 21, 2023.

Guard Chief Hokanson Talks Security Cooperation in Ireland
January 22, 2024 — DUBLIN – The National Guard’s top general met with Irish Defence Forces and government leaders last week to discuss the potential for security cooperation engagements between the Republic of Ireland... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief, National Guard Bureau, center, meets with Lt. Gen. Sean Clancy, the Irish Defense Forces chief of staff, Dublin, Ireland, Jan. 16, 2024.

Hokanson Visits Guardsmen Safeguarding Las Vegas New Year’s Eve Celebration
January 2, 2024 — LAS VEGAS – Amid throngs of people ringing in the New Year, the National Guard’s senior officer met with Nevada National Guardsmen on duty to safeguard “America’s Party” — one of the largest New... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief, National Guard Bureau, meets with Nevada National Guardsmen supporting local and federal agencies to ensure the safety and security of the New Year’s Eve celebration in Las Vegas Dec. 31, 2023. The cooperative New Year’s mission is led by Clark County Emergency Management and supported by the Nevada National Guard with local and federal law enforcement agencies.

Nevada National Guard Safeguards ‘America's Party’
January 2, 2024 — LAS VEGAS – The Nevada National Guard completed its 24th year supporting first responders during Las Vegas’ annual New Year’s Eve celebration, ”America's Party,” which attracted over 300,000... MORE

Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, and Maj. Gen. Ondra Berry, the adjutant general of the Nevada National Guard, visit local law enforcement and the 92nd Civil Support Team in Las Vegas Dec. 30, 2023. (Tonal adjustments were used to enhance subjects)

Anniversary of ‘Sandy River Rescue Mission’ Befits National Guard Birthday
December 13, 2023 — WASHINGTON - On the National Guard’s 387th birthday, another milestone anniversary represents the impact the Guard has in more than 2,600 communities across the country.Twenty years ago, on the... MORE

Members of the Oregon Army National Guard’s 1042nd Medical Company, Lt. Col Dan Hokanson, pilot in charge, crew chiefs Staff Sgt. Mark Braeme and Sgt. Rob Armstrong, and Capt. Bryan Houston, pilot, pose in front of a Black Hawk helicopter Dec. 15, 2003. The crew, including Staff Sgt. Travis Powell, flight medic, were credited with saving the lives of two kayakers on Oregon’s Sandy River following an over-water air rescue during a winter storm and rising flood waters.

Florida Army Guard Makes Major Training Exercise Possible

Pennsylvania Guard’s 213th RSG Trains on Heavy Vehicles

Indiana National Guard Conducts Intensive Mortar Training

Oregon National Guard Trains for Peacekeeping Deployments

Medical Training Brings New Opportunities to Blackfeet Tribe