Guard News - The National Guard

From U.S. to Berlin: Utah and Maryland Guard members exchange experiences with German counterparts
September 30, 2015 — BERLIN, Germany —The Military Reserve Exchange Program, established between the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense Reserve Affairs and German Ministry of Defense in 1985, promotes unique training... MORE

Maryland National Guard Capt. Kurt M. Rauschenberg and Utah National Guard Lt. Col. Steven A. Fairbourn stand with the commander of the Center of Military Information in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 7, 2015.

South Carolina National Guard helps Youth Challenge Cadets to obtain trade certificates
September 30, 2015 — AIKEN, S.C.— The South Carolina National Guard announced its partnership with Aiken Technical College and signed a grant to create a new program, called Job Challenge, that would aid South Carolina... MORE

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. R. Van McCarty, deputy adjutant general for South Carolina National Guard, joins with Aiken Technical College President Dr. Susan Windsor to sign the Department of Labor grant for the South Carolina Youth Challenge Academy's POST Job Challenge at Aiken Technical College, Sept. 16, 2015. POST Job Challenge will afford Youth Challenge graduates the opportunity to continue their education at Aiken Tech.

S.C. National Guard, U.S. Army Central host delegation from Pakistan
September 30, 2015 — McENTIRE JOINT NATIONAL GUARD BASE, S.C. - U.S. Army Central and members of the South Carolina Army National Guard hosted Pakistan Army soldiers during exercise Inspired Gambit 15, Sep. 14-24, at... MORE

Pakistan Army Col. Shahid Hussain, deputy director of military training, and Lt. Col. Harpreet Baines, U.S. Army Central branch chief for Central and South Asia, discuss future exercise opportunities Sept. 22, 2015, during Inspired Gambit 15. Inspired Gambit is a USARCENT-led exercise held to increase proficiency, expand levels of military-to-military cooperation, and promote long-term regional stability and interoperability.

South Dakota Guard and Suriname military develop leaders
September 25, 2015 — PARAMARIBO, Suriname – Members of the South Dakota National Guard, the Suriname Armed Forces and the Suriname Ministry of Defense participated in a subject matter expert exchange on non-commissioned... MORE

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Richard Watkins, Master Sgt. Marcus Frey and Air Force Master Sgt. Lori Hoop, all members of the South Dakota National Guard, observe how the Suriname Army survives in a jungle environment during a subject matter expert exchange on non-commissioned officer professional development in Paramaribo, Suriname, Sept. 16, 2015.

Resident lauds California National Guard in aftermath of the devastating Valley Fire
September 25, 2015 — LAKEPORT, Calif. - Several yards from where California Army National Guard members are directing traffic, Royce Tibbetts is pondering his own direction.A week earlier, the County Lake Public Works... MORE

Lake County resident Bridget Sargeant thanks Staff Sgt. Janneth Rendon and Spc. Steven Garivay for their assistance and patience while escorting her back to her home. Close to 100 California Guard military police assisted local authorities in escorting residents to make brief trips back to feed animals, grab medications or other important documents from the homes they had to evacuate because of wildfires. Some residents have been away from their homes for 10 days. The Guard members are part of the 870th Military Police Company.

National Guard supports local authorities with Pope Francis visit
September 24, 2015 — WASHINGTON, D.C. - The D.C. National Guard provided security and traffic control support to local authorities throughout Pope Francis's visit Thursday to Washington, D.C., his first visit to the... MORE

Sgt. Julian O’Hare, 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, New Jersey Army National Guard, directs a medical Humvee at the National Guard Armory in Woodbury, Sept. 24, 2015. The Soldiers are part of a task force comprised of Soldiers and Airmen who will be assisting New Jersey civil authorities with security during Pope Francis’s visit to Philadelphia Sept. 26-27.

Heroism on Everest: Air Guard doctor recounts lifesaving efforts in wake of massive Nepal earthquake
September 24, 2015 — MADISON, Wis. - Whether in uniform or not, National Guard members are "Always Ready, Always There." Never was the National Guard's motto truer than on the steep slopes of Mount Everest, April 25,... MORE

Maj. Asif Anwar in Nepal in April. Anwar, a flight surgeon with the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 128th Air Refueling Wing, treated more than 500 patients on Mount Everest and in Katmandu, Nepal, in the days following the earthquake.

New Jersey's 177th Fighter Wing practices heavy-lifting skills
September 23, 2015 — WILDWOOD, N.J. - More than 20 members of the 177th Fighter Wing Crash Disabled Damaged Aircraft Recovery team participated in training on Sept. 19, involving crane-lifting an F-16 Fighting Falcon at... MORE

U.S. Air Force Airmen from the New Jersey Air National Guard 177th Fighter Wing Crash Disabled Damaged Aircraft Recovery team maneuver an F-16 Fighting Falcon hooked up to a crane, Sept. 19, 2015 at Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum, N.J. The CDDAR team completed crane lift training, a tri-annual certification used in the event an immobile aircraft needs to be removed from a runway quickly and safely.

Kentucky plays host to delegation from new partner Djibouti
September 23, 2015 — FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky National Guard hosted several members of Djibouti’s military and government cabinets, Sept. 13-20, as part of the Kentucky Guard’s State Partnership with Djibouti... MORE

Chief Warrant Officer Kevin Keith discusses the capabilities of a UH-60 Black Hawk with Lt. Col. Chakib Mahamed Ali, deputy commander of the Djibouti Air Force, during a visit to the Kentucky Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility in Frankfort, Kentucky, Sept. 15, 2015. Members of the Djibouti military toured several sites across Kentucky as part of the country’s new partnership with the Kentucky Guard.

Family Care is common bond for South Carolina National Guard and Colombian military
September 23, 2015 — COLUMBIA, S.C. - Although a primary focus for visits between the South Carolina National Guard and state partners from the Republic of Colombia have included maintenance and disaster response, a... MORE

Barbara Livingston, wife of U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Robert E. Livingston, Jr., adjutant general for South Carolina, right, talks to Claudia Patricia Novoa, spouse of Colombian Air Force Maj. Gen. Ramses Rueda, chief of education for the Colombian Air Force and Durley Rocio Torrado Ortiz, spouse of Colombian Lt. Col. Alcaro Enrique Gomez Franco at an informal gathering held at the Livingston's home, Sept. 8, 2015, near Columbia, S.C. The gathering between the S.C. National Guard spouses and state partnership program spouses from Colombia focused on their roles as spouses of military leaders and the various programs in the National Guard such as the U.S. "Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program" that puts in place programs to help families before, during, and after a deployment.

General Milley: After 9/11, “America’s Army National Guard was everywhere.”
September 22, 2015 — WASHINGTON – Most Americans can tell one story about where we were during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but the Army and the Air National Guard can tell thousands about where they were, General... MORE

General Milley praises National Guard partnership building
September 22, 2015 — WASHINGTON – The National Guard fights America’s wars, guards the homeland and builds partnerships – and the Army chief of staff praised the Guard’s emphasis on partnerships as part of the key to its... MORE

General Milley: “Nothing’s sacred”
September 22, 2015 — WASHINGTON – Leaders at all levels should question how the Army does business, General Mark Milley told National Guard members Sept. 11, offering examples of potential changes affecting the Guard,... MORE

General Milley: “There is only one Army”
September 22, 2015 — WASHINGTON – Want to avoid angering the new chief of staff of the Army? Make sure you include the National Guard and Reserve when discussing end strength. “Much of America’s Army’s capacity is... MORE

Gen. Mark Milley addresses National Guard leaders in Nashville, Tennessee on Sept. 11, 2015.

Nevada Guard welcomes state partner Tonga, dignitaries from Papua New Guinea and Nauru
September 22, 2015 — CARSON CITY, Nev. - Chief military officials of the Kingdom of Tonga — Nevada’s nation partner under the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program — and senior officials from Papua New Guinea... MORE

Chief military officials of the Kingdom of Tonga — Nevada’s nation partner under the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program — and senior officials from Papua New Guinea and Nauru visited Nevada this week. From left to right: Nevada Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. Bill Burks; Warrant Officer Class One (WO1) Taulaki Falesiva; Brigadier Tupou T. Aleamotu’a; Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval; Nauru Deputy Police Commissioner Antonius Amwano; Papua New Guinea Esekia Litur Wenzel; Nevada Army Guard Command Sgt. Maj. Jared Kopacki.

Tank renovation for museum teaches history to New York Soldiers
September 22, 2015 — SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - What began as a task during his spare time turned into a history lesson for New York Army National Guard Spc. Jonathon Bishop.Bishop is a full-time machinist and mechanic at... MORE

New York Army National Guard Spc. Jonathon Bishop, Co. B, 427th Brigade Support Battalion, attaches a clevis fastener on a refurbished World War II-era M4A3 Sherman tank on permanent display at the New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs, Sept. 15, 2015. National Guard Soldiers working full time at the Maneuver Area Training Equipment Site, or MATES, at Fort Drum, spent the past 22 months refurbishing and repainting the tank in their spare time.

South Carolina National Guard hosts Splash-and-Dash event to raise awareness of suicide prevention
September 21, 2015 — COLUMBIA, S.C. - To mark September as national suicide awareness month, the South Carolina National Guard Suicide Prevention Program, part of the Service member and Family care directorate, hosted an... MORE

Participants in the inaugural "Splash-and Dash" athletic competition run to raise awareness for suicide prevention at Saluda Shoals Park, Columbia, South Carolina, Sept. 12, 2015. The South Carolina National Guard hosted the event to recognize September as national suicide awareness prevention month.

Senior leaders: Future combat operations to mirror this one; all components play a part
September 21, 2015 — CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – Whether it is Michigan Air National Guard planes dropping a record number of ordnance on enemy fighters, two Mississippi Army National Guard brigades managing most of the... MORE

Maj. Gen. Augustus Collins, the adjutant general of the Mississippi National Guard, speaks to Airmen of the Jackson, Mississippi-based 172nd Airlift Wing deployed to Kuwait on Aug. 20, 2015, at Patton Army Heliport located at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Collins and Command Sgt. Maj. John Raines spent several days in Kuwait visiting Mississippi units as part of the Joint Monthly Access for Reserve Component visit Aug. 19-22.

New York Army Guard Soldiers take to the water, train on small boat insertion techniques
September 17, 2015 — BUFFALO, N.Y. - Reconnaissance is all about stealth and sometimes stealth means getting wet. Soldiers from the New York Army National Guard’s Troop C, 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment found that... MORE

New York Army National Guard Sgt. Aaron Lawrence and Spc. Zach Bouley, two infantrymen assigned to Troop C, 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment, recon a landing site in advance of an inbound F470 Combat Rubber Raiding Craft during a training exercise in Buffalo, N.Y, Sept. 13, 2015. During the exercise, Soldiers from the troop conducted waterborne operations and practiced covertly deploying to a simulated enemy beachhead.

Massachusetts Guard Announces State Partnership With Kenya
September 17, 2015 — HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. — The Massachusetts National Guard has been selected as the U.S. partner for the Republic of Kenya as part of the State Partnership Program.Through the program, the... MORE

Maine Guard Airmen Exercise Rapid-Response Communications Skills

Louisiana Guard Hosts International Interrogation Competition to Build Readiness

Air Reserve Component Test Center Marks Milestone With F-35 Test Force at Eglin AFB

Texas Guard Members Bolster Border Patrol Efforts along Rio Grande

Washington Army Guard Soldiers Participate in Norwegian Foot March