Guard News - The National Guard

La. Guard revamps course to better prepare future leaders
November 16, 2018 — PINEVILLE, La. - The Louisiana Army National Guard's Multi-component Cadre Basic Leader Course (BLC) at Camp Cook in Ball has implemented a new course curriculum. The BLC revamp is part of the Army's... MORE

Soldiers discuss experiences and take notes during class at the Louisiana National Guard's 199th Regiment (Regional Training Institute) Basic Leadership Course at Camp Cook in Ball, Louisiana. The LANG's BLC started a new curriculum during the August rotation that will be in effect at all schoolhouses Army wide by January 2020.

Latvia decorates two Michigan Airmen for partnership work
November 15, 2018 — ĀDAŽI, Latvia – In a Nov. 15 ceremony at Ādaži Military Base, Latvia, two Airmen from the Michigan Air National Guard were decorated by the Latvian military for contributions to the development of... MORE

Master Sgt. Charles Barth, Grayling Air Gunnary Range, Mich., is decorated with the Commander of the Land Forces Medal for Merit, 3rd Class, at Ādaži Military Base, Latvia, Nov. 15, 2018. The awards were presented by Col. Ilmars Lejiņš, Land Forces Brigade Commander, National Armed Forces of Latvia. Ward and Barth received the honor for their contributions to the development of Latvia’s Joint Tactical Air Controller program.

Kentucky unit hosts Bataan Memorial Day to honor survivors
November 15, 2018 — HARRODSBURG, Ky. – In October of 1941, 66 Kentucky National Guard Soldiers from Mercer County sailed from San Francisco to the Philippine Islands to defend the Pacific from the Japanese. These brave... MORE

World War II reenactors stand at attention during the playing of Taps in Harrodsburg, Ky., Nov. 10, 2018. Soldiers with the Kentucky National Guard helped host a community-wide event honoring the Harrodsburg Tankers who endured the Bataan Death march in 1942.

Pennsylvania Guardsman zeroes in on President’s 100 award
November 14, 2018 — PITTSBURGH - Imagine lying in a large open field, supporting a long-range rifle. You gaze down the barrel through iron sights attempting to hit a target 600 yards away while using just your hands to... MORE

Master Sgt. Eric Moskal assigned to the 171st Air Refueling Wing near Pittsburgh poses for a photo to cover a news article recognizing his achievement of earning a spot in the President’s 100, Oct. 21, 2018.

Juggling fires and families: Calif. aviators make it work
November 14, 2018 — MATHER, Calif. – U.S. Army Sgt. Greg Fernandez stepped Monday into the hall of the Sacramento Army Aviation Support Facility to check on fires burning 400 miles away. Fernandez, a UH-60M Black Hawk... MORE

U.S. Army Sgt. Greg Fernandez, a UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter crew chief, works outside of the helicopter after landing, Nov. 11, 2018, at Sacramento Mather Airport in Mather, California. The helicopter is one of the first M-model UH-60s assigned to the California Army National Guard. The aircraft and crew traveled from Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, in Southern California to support state agencies battling the deadly Camp Fire in Northern California.

Guard oxygen Airmen help 176th Wing aircrew breathe easy
November 13, 2018 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska - When Alaska Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Connie Camama deployed to Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, it was the security forces Airman's job to keep aircrew... MORE

Alaska Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Connie Camama is an aircrew flight equipment Airman with 176th Operations Support Squadron Aircrew Flight Equipment Oxygen Section. The Oxygen Section is responsible for maintaining anything involved with aircrew oxygen as well as night-vision devices.

Ohio Air Wing recruiter finds success in innovation
November 9, 2018 — MANSFIELD, Ohio – Tech. Sgt. Nicholas M. Alexander, recruiter from the 179th Airlift Wing, is using innovation to bring awareness of the Ohio Air National Guard to the local area. Although Alexander... MORE

Tech Sgt. Nicholas M. Alexander, recruiter at the 179th Airlift Wing, talks to students from the Ashland West Holmes Career Center Nov. 1, 2018 at the 179th Airlift Wing, Mansfield, Ohio. Alexander has been a recruiter with the 179th AW for two years and is using innovation to bring awareness of the Guard to the local area.

Vermont again a finalist for Army Communities of Excellence
November 8, 2018 — COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Vermont Army National Guard was selected as an Army Communities of Excellence finalist from the 54 states and territories that submitted ACOE applications to the National Guard... MORE

U.S. Army Spc. Andres Diaz, Detachment 1, Alpha Company, 572nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), Vermont National Guard, throws a training grenade at Fort Drum, N.Y., June 13, 2017. The Vermont Guard is a finalist in the Army Communities of Excellence.

Alaskan village welcomes Santa on his early rounds
November 8, 2018 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – The Alaska National Guard and the Salvation Army united Nov. 1 to take Operation Santa Claus to the village of Emmonak. An HC-130J Combat King II aircraft... MORE

Alaska Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Vanessa Peterson hands out snacks to children in Emmonak during Operation Santa Claus on Nov. 1, 2018. Operation Santa Claus is an Alaska National Guard annual community outreach program that provides Christmas gifts, books, backpacks filled with school supplies, fresh fruit, and sundaes to youngsters in rural communities.

Prairie Assurance quake drill preps Guard, first responders
November 8, 2018 — SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Imagine that a subtle shaking awakens you from a sound sleep. You step out of bed to investigate and as you move through your house, the rumble intensifies to a shake, then a... MORE

A C-130 Hercules from the Illinois National Guard’s 182nd Airlift Wing based in Peoria, lands at the Marion Airport in Marion, Illinois, during Prairie Assurance, a full-scale, statewide multi-agency exercise Nov. 2, 2018. Soldiers and Airmen from the Illinois National Guard exercised at multiple locations in the state with state agencies, county emergency management agencies and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency to test interoperability during a large-scale catastrophic event.

133rd Army National Guard Band provides more than just music
November 7, 2018 — CAMP MURRAY, Wash. - “Where words fail, music speaks,” said Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, who was particularly noted for his fairy tales. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Scott Pierson, commander of... MORE

The 133rd Army National Guard Band shown during their 2017 holiday concert in Auburn, Wash., plays year-round.

History: National Guard assisted WWI allies in ending war
November 7, 2018 — ARLINGTON, Va. - At 11 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Nov. 11, 1918 ("the eleventh hour of the eleventh month"), an Armistice took place between the Allied and Central powers across all battle zones. It... MORE

After this gun section of Battery D, 105th Field Artillery Regiment, New York National Guard, had fired its last shot at Etraye, the men raised Old Glory amid triumphant shouts on Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1918.

Guam National Guard, Navy join forces for relief efforts
November 7, 2018 — NAVAL BASE GUAM, Guam - Naval Beach Unit (NBU) 7 and the 1224th Engineering Support Company, Guam Army National Guard worked together to load heavy equipment vehicles onto the amphibious dock landing... MORE

Heavy equipment vehicles from the 1224th Engineering Support Company, Guam Army National Guard, are loaded onto the well-deck of the Whidbey-Island class amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) via Navy Landing Craft, Utility (LCU) 1634, attached to Naval Beach Unit (NBU) 7 on Naval Base Guam.

167th Airlift Wing officers participate in exchange program
November 5, 2018 — MARTINSBURG, W. Va. - Once opponents, the United States and Germany have grown a close alliance since the end of World War II. For more than three decades, their respective military members have... MORE

Lt. Col. Teddy Wundenberg, third from left,a maintenance officer for Helicopter Wing 64 of the German Air Force, poses for a photo with the 167th Airlift Wing's Inspector General staff during the 167th AW's deployment training exercise in Alpena, Mich., last June. Lt. Col. James Freid-Studlo, the 167th AW inspector general, second from left, hosted Wundenberg for about two weeks as part of the Military Reserve Exchange Program.

State cyberspace protection units gear up for Election Day
November 5, 2018 — JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash.—An elite cyberspace operations unit within the Washington Air National Guard is working in support of the state's Office of the Secretary of State through Election Day,... MORE

Staff Sgt. Wiggin Bernadotte, a cyber warfare operator in the Washington Air National Guard's 262nd Cyberspace Operations Squadron, works with Capt. Benjamin Kolar, a cyberspace operations officer in the 262nd, on an electrical substation simulator on Nov. 3, 2018. The 262nd is supporting Washington State Secretary of State Kim Wyman to help secure and protect voting systems for the 2018 election.

Maj. Gen. John Gronski visits Battle Group Poland
November 2, 2018 — BEMOWO PISKIE, Poland — U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John Gronski, the U.S. Army Europe, deputy commanding general for the Army National Guard, visited Soldiers from the Tennessee Army National Guard's 2nd... MORE

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John Gronski, U.S. Army Europe’s deputy commanding general, meets with Soldiers assigned to Battle Group Poland during a visit to Bemowo Piskie Training Area, Poland, Oct. 30, 2018.

Neb., Texas Guard form unique color guard for Czech parade
November 2, 2018 — PRAGUE, Czech Republic - Sgt. 1st Class Robb Miller admits that when he was first handed the mission from his sergeant major, he was left with a somewhat queasy feeling. To say that the mission... MORE

100th Missile Defense Brigade marks 15 years of service
November 2, 2018 — COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado - The Soldiers of the 100th Missile Defense Brigade are the ground-based midcourse missile defense experts and have provided the nation's protection from intercontinental... MORE

100th Missile Defense Brigade Soldiers operate in the Misssile Defense Element at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado.

Alaska Air Guard members rescue downed pilot
November 2, 2018 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Airmen with the Alaska Air National Guard’s 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons rescued a pilot of a Piper PA-12 Thursday on a sandbar of the Susitna River... MORE

Col. Harlie Bodine, commander of the 611th Air and Space Operations Center, U.S. Air Force, spent the day with the 176th Wing, Alaska Air National Guard’s rescue squadrons during an immersion flight, Nov. 24,2015, in and around the JBER area. The day’s demonstrations included an air refueling mission in which an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter was refueled by an HC-130 King aircraft, as well as a hoist extraction demo from a Pave Hawk. A Pave Hawk crew rescued an injured snowmobiler on Saturday.

Exchange program offers overseas experience to N.Y. Soldiers
November 2, 2018 — LATHAM, N.Y. – New York Army National Guard 2nd Lt. Christian Larrabee normally leads an infantry platoon in Bravo Company of the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry. His unit training frequently takes him... MORE

Louisiana Guard, Active Component Airmen Complete Air-to-Air Integration Training

Air National Guard Leaders Host 2025 Wing Leader Fly-In

Colorado Army National Guard Conducts Aviation Training for Wildfire Season

Lt. Gen. Jon Stubbs Highlights Virginia National Guard Excellence at Military Ball

Oregon Air Guard Participates in Sentry Aloha Exercise