Guard News - The National Guard

Guardsmen from New England train in handling disasters
April 30, 2018 — PEASE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.H. - Vehicles laid overturned in the road, fires burned high, downed power lines draped low across the wreckage and people, trapped under debris, cried out for rescue... MORE

Senior Airman Jesse D. Hyam and Staff Sgt. Alexander J. Barnhart, medical search and extraction team members assigned to the 157th Medical Group, N.H. Air National Guard, work to lift debris during a simulated exercise on April 11, 2018 at Joint Base Cape Cod, Mass. Hyam and Barnhart participated in a weeklong regional deployment readiness exercise as members of the N.H. CBRNE Enhanced Response Force Package team.

Texas Guardsmen improve disaster response skills in Slovakia
April 30, 2018 — TRAINING AREA LEST, Slovakia – Seventeen Texas Army National Guard engineers from the 136th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade's 836th Engineer Company provided search and rescue support and participated... MORE

Texas Army National Guard engineers from the 836h Engineer Company, 136th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, work alongside soldiers from the Indiana National Guard, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in support of Operation Toxic Lance, a search and rescue exercise involving a chemical warfare scenario, March 12-23, 2018, at Training Area Lest in central Slovakia. The soldiers were brought together as part of the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program that focuses on building interoperability and strengthening international relationships through military-to-military exchanges.

Cal Guard Soldiers get multinational experience in Sarajevo
April 30, 2018 — CAMP BUTMIR, Bosnia and Herzogovena - Col. Nick Ducich, commander of the California Army National Guard's 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, paid a visit to Camp Butmir in Sarajevo, Bosnia and... MORE

Multi-National Battle Group - East Cmdr. Col. Nick Ducich, members of his staff and Soldiers from NATO Headquarter -Sarajevo pose for a picture at Camp Butmir in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, April 24, 2018. Each Kosovo Force (KFOR) rotation provides Soldiers for NATO Headquarters- Sarajevo to oversee Camp Butmir, support the Bosnia and Herzegovina training mission, and provide essential services on the camp for the European Union Force Althea (EUFOR Althea) peacekeeping element.

Lengyel: Guard mirrors National Defense Strategy priorities
April 30, 2018 — COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Readiness, people and innovation are priorities for the National Guard, Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel told Guard supporters Sunday. They are the National Guard's priorities... MORE

Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief, National Guard Bureau testifies at a hearing to review the 2019 Budget Request for the National Guard and Reserve before the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense, in Washington, D.C., Apr. 17, 2018. Lengyel spoke over the weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Indiana Guard strengthens state partnership with Niger
April 27, 2018 — OUALLAM, Niger - The Indiana National Guard and Nigerien armed forces trained together during the multinational exercise Flintlock 18 during 12 days in April.The commander of Special Operations... MORE

Nigerien Armed Forces conduct a key leader engagement training with 20th Special Forces Group during Flintlock 18 in Niger, Africa, on April 16, 2018. Flintlock 2018, hosted by Niger, with key outstations at Burkina Faso and Senegal, is designed to strengthen the ability of key partner nations in the region to counter violent extremist organizations, protect their borders, and provide security for their people.

Louisiana Guard member practices jungle warfare in Belize
April 27, 2018 — NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana National Guard 1st Lt. Kenrick Cormier became the first National Guard member to graduate from the Belize Defence Force's Jungle Warfare Instructor Course, Dec. 2017. Cormier... MORE

Louisiana National Guard Kenrick Cormier, second from left, back row, stands with his fellow graduates from the Belize Defence Force’s Jungle Warfare Instructor Course in Belize. Cormier was the first Guardsman to participate in the course.

Army Ranger School to graduate 1st female Army Guard Soldier
April 26, 2018 — West Virginia Army National Guard 1st Lt. Emily Lilly is scheduled to graduate from the U.S. Army’s Ranger School April 27, 2018, marking the first time a female Army National Guard Soldier has accomplished this feat... MORE

West Virginia Army National Guard 1st Lt. Emily Lilly, a platoon leader with Charlie Troop, 1st Squadron, 150th Cavalry Regiment, conducts a VIRS (verbally initiated release system) exam for establishing a parachute drop zone at Camp Dawson, W.Va. Sept. 20, 2017, during Pathfinder training. Lilly is the first female Soldier in the Army National Guard to graduate from the U.S. Army Ranger School, the Army’s premier infantry leadership school.

National Guard's 'Military Child of the Year' is named
April 26, 2018 — ARLINGTON, Va. -- Actively seeking opportunities to help others is something that Aaron Hall, a 16-year-old Minarets High School junior from O'Neals, California, constantly strives to do. "Life is... MORE

Aaron Hall, the 2018 Operation Homefront National Guard military child of the year, stands during the National Anthem at a gala event held in Arlington, Va., April 19, 2018. Joining Aaron was Lt. Gen Daniel R. Hokanson, the 11th Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau.

Kansas National Guard fulfills ill teenager's wishes
April 25, 2018 — TOPEKA, Kansas - Seth Cummings, a junior from Topeka West High School, recently had the chance few of his age get to do: to pull the tail on a Paladin M10946 155mm Artillery System on March 24... MORE

Seth Cummings flies above Topeka, Kansas, aboard a Black Hawk helicopter from the 1st Battalion 108th Aviation Regiment as part of a Make-A-Wish foundation dream come true on March 30, 2018.

Freedom Award finalists named for 2018
April 24, 2018 — WASHINGTON - Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve has announced the 30 finalists for the 2018 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. The finalists represent large and small... MORE

Air Guard, Reserve wings kick off annual MAFFS training
April 24, 2018 — SACRAMENTO, Calif. - As temperatures heated up this week in northern California, aerial firefighters from four C-130 airlift wings operating the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service's... MORE

National Guard takes top honors in DoD environmental awards
April 23, 2018 — ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Guard was recognized for environment stewardship, bringing home awards in multiple categories in the 2018 Secretary of Defense Environmental Awards. The Hawaii Army... MORE

Ga. Air Guard unit spearheads Puerto Rico hurricane recovery
April 23, 2018 — SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The Georgia Air National Guard's 202d Engineering Installation Squadron deployed here Sunday to spearhead hurricane recovery efforts for 156th Airlift Wing base communications... MORE

U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Mark Buchanan, right, superintendent, Staff Sgt. Charles Chalk, center, cable and antenna technician, and Staff Sgt. Wilson Gardner, airfield systems technician, from the 202d Engineering Installation Squadron (EIS), Georgia Air National Guard (ANG), review technical drawings at Muñiz ANG Base in San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 19, 2018. The 202d EIS deployed to the Puerto Rico Air National Guard’s 156th Airlift Wing as part of the Hurricane Irma and Maria recovery efforts to spearhead a large-scale project relocating communications systems cabling and equipment to a new hardened facility.

S.C. Guard exchanges maintenance tips with Colombian army
April 23, 2018 — COLUMBIA, S.C. - Five Colombian army soldiers traveled to South Carolina to meet with South Carolina Army National Guard maintenance experts to discuss best practices during a subject matter expert... MORE

U.S. Army Sgt. Diego Franco translates from English to Spanish for Judson Hockman of General Dynamics Land Systems on M1135 Stryker maintenance during a State Partnership Program subject matter expert exchange April 18, 2018. Five soldiers from the Colombian army spent a week with Soldiers from the South Carolina Army National Guard during the exchange on maintenance best practices.

Army multi-component worst-case exercise tests the force
April 23, 2018 — MUSCATATUCK URBAN TRAINING CENTER, Ind. – Fields of debris, demolished vehicles and bodies of mannequins and live role players laid across an entire town center; words on bed sheets, asking for... MORE

Exercise officials for Guardian Response 18 tour Muscatatuck Urban Training Center ahead of Guardian Response 18 exercise, April 11, 2018. More than 4,500 Soldiers from across the country participated in GR18, a multi-component training exercise to validate U.S. Army units’ ability to support the Defense Support of Civil Authorities in the event of a Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear catastrophe.

West Virginia National Guard and Qatar selected as partners
April 19, 2018 — CHARLESTON, W. Va. - The West Virginia National Guard has been notified of its selection to partner with Qatar as a part of the National Guard Bureau's State Partnership Program, expanding its... MORE

The West Virginia National Guard and Qatar are the latest partners in the State Partnership Program.

Air National Guard unit trains for combat in Arkansas
April 19, 2018 — FORT CHAFFEE MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER, Ark. – The crunch of gravel is swiftly drowned out by the sounds of rapid gunfire as a small, six-man team finds cover in a tree line and targets enemy forces... MORE

A Tactical Air Control Party specialist listens to his team on his radio while participating in a field training exercise, or FTX, at Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center in Arkansas, April 14, 2018.

N.Y. Guard Soldiers survived U-boats, crowded ships in 1918
April 18, 2018 — SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - As April 1918 became May, the 27,000 Soldiers of the New York National Guard's 27th Division left Camp Wadsworth, South Carolina, and boarded trains and ships heading for... MORE

Soldiers of the 105th Field Artillery on board the troopship Mercury in Newport News, Virginia, in May 1918 as the 27th Division, the New York National Guard's division, leaves the United States for France in World War I. This photograph appeared in Maj. Gen. John F O'Ryan's book, "The Story of the 27th Division."

W. Va. Guard’s Patriot Guardens program taking root
April 18, 2018 — CHARLESTON, W. Va. - A new project taking root in the Kanawha Valley is aiming to help small farmers and veterans in West Virginia grow and then market carrots to restaurants and other local... MORE

Participants are receiving supplies from West Virginia State University Extension Service for those of the West Virginia National Guard's Patriot Guardens educational program. Each participant receives seeds, a 3x8 raised bed and 2 bales of Pro Mix Soil to get started. The participants then purchase additional soil and compost to add to the raised bed as their contribution.

Okla. National Guard assisting firefighters on wildfires
April 18, 2018 — MOORELAND, Okla. – Oklahoma's historic wildfire conditions led to fires spreading fast and firefighters scrambling to extinguish the blazes and mitigate the damage. As the high winds and dry... MORE

An Oklahoma National Guard Black Hawk helicopter was dispatched to help with firefighting efforts Thursday.

Guard, Partner Nation Leaders Collaborate at Annual State Partnership Program Conference

North Carolina, North Dakota, Maine Honored for State Partnership Work

Oregon Guard Sharpens Combat Skills Before Deployment

Alaska Army Guard, Marine Corps Enhance Aviation Tactics

Guard Chief Visits Pennsylvania Guard, Aviation Training Site