Guard News - The National Guard

Rookie Cal Guard member embraces COVID-19 role
April 2, 2020 — SACRAMENTO, Calif. – U.S. Army Pfc. Muhammad Fayzan Izhar is so new to the California Army National Guard, some Soldiers in his unit don't know who he is. He's fresh off U.S. Army initial training... MORE

His military career is only weeks-old, but California Army National Guard Pfc. Muhammad Fayzan Izhar is embracing his work helping at a Sacramento food bank in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pakistan native completed his initial entry training in February.

Hawaii National Guard ready for COVID-19 response
April 2, 2020 — HONOLULU – The rise in positive COVID-19 cases in Hawaii has prompted the partial activation of the Hawaii National Guard to stand ready to lend its support to the community.Airmen with Medical... MORE

Airman 1st Class Jolene Chun loads the equipment to screen Hawaii National Guard Soldiers and Airmen preparing to assist in the COVID-19 pandemic March 30, 2020, Honolulu.

Wisconsin National Guard takes on 2 new COVID-19 missions
April 2, 2020 — MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin National Guard is helping staff self-isolation facilities in Milwaukee and Madison and polling locations across the state for the April 7 election due to a shortage of... MORE

Pfc. Katrina McMartin assembles a side table at Clare Hall on the Saint Francis de Sales Seminary grounds in St. Francis, Wis. Wisconsin National Guard troops helped set up rooms in the building, which serves as an isolation facility for Milwaukee County’s homeless during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maryland Guard distributes more than 1 million medical items
April 2, 2020 — BALTIMORE – Maryland National Guard Airmen working at a Strategic National Stockpile have processed and distributed more than 1 million masks, gloves and other protective equipment to health care... MORE

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Bradly Tuthill, left, and U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Richard Malloy, ground transportation specialists with the 175th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Maryland Air National Guard, prepare and load boxes of medical supplies and equipment March 19, 2020, at the Maryland Strategic National Stockpile. The Maryland Guard has shipped more than 1 million items to health care workers and hospitals across the state.

Michigan National Guard helps set up FEMA medical station
April 1, 2020 — DETROIT – About 20 members of the Michigan National Guard are helping the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) establish a federal medical station (FMS) at TCF Center.Michigan National Guard... MORE

Members of the Michigan National Guard assist the Federal Emergency Management Agency with logistics support to establish a federal medical station at Detroit’s TCF Center, March 31, 2020. The site can be used for patients if hospitals become overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.

38th Infantry Soldiers coming home
April 1, 2020 — INDIANAPOLIS – Select Indiana National Guardsman with the 38th Infantry Division began arriving home to Indianapolis March 31 after a nine-month deployment to Kuwait in support of Operation Spartan... MORE

An Indiana National Guard Soldier with the 38th Infantry Division embraces her loved one in Indianapolis, March 31, 2020, after being deployed for nine months in the Middle East and spending two weeks in quarantine at Fort Hood, Texas. Despite having a non-traditional homecoming to adhere to social distancing standards Soldiers were still able to greet their families.

TN Guard shifts from tornado cleanup to COVID-19 response
April 1, 2020 — NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It has been a tumultuous spring for middle Tennessee. While the world is dealing with a pandemic, cleanup from a devastating tornado is still underway in four counties. In the... MORE

(Left to right) Sgt. Jacob Winton, Cpl. Justin Chambers, Spc. Austin Barnett, Spc. Jason Bahr, at a COVID-19 remote testing site in Putnam County, Tennessee, March 27. At the request of Bill Lee, 250 Soldiers and Airmen from the Tennessee National Guard have volunteered to provide support in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cal Guard members use civilian driving skills to help community
April 1, 2020 — SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Army National Guard members assisting the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services have stretched their humanitarian support roles since being activated for almost two... MORE

U.S. Army Spc. Dylan Ney, a firefighter with the California Army National Guard’s 233rd Engineer Detachment, 340th Brigade Support Battalion, 115th Regional Support Group, is one of about a half-dozen Soldiers stepping up to help the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services by utilizing his civilian truck driving skills.

Army leaders visit COVID-19 screening site in Maryland
April 1, 2020 — LANDOVER, Md. – U.S. Army leaders visited a COVID-19 screening site outside the nation's capital March 31 to learn how the National Guard can help civilian agencies fight the spread of the... MORE

Lt. Gen. Daniel Hokanson, director of the Army National Guard, washes his hands while touring a COVID-19 screening site at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., March 31, 2020, with Army Secretary Ryan D. McCarthy, Maryland Adjutant General Maj. Timothy Gowen and Rep. Anthony G. Brown.

War Wagon’s all-female team supports COVID-19 response
April 1, 2020 — MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – An all-female team with the Florida National Guard’s 356th Quartermaster (War Wagon) Company is managing logistics for a COVID-19 testing site at a local stadium.“We empower each... MORE

Left to right, Spc. Francesca Chen-Shue, Pfc. Monica Nieves, Chief Warrant Officer Latania McCook, Pfc. Tyanna Harrison and Spc. Taquisha Hubbard, members of the all-female 356th Quartermaster (War Wagon) Company at a COVID-19 testing site in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Weathering COVID-19: mental resilience
April 1, 2020 — PORTLAND, Ore. – In times of national crisis, it’s easy to become emotionally overwhelmed and forget to take your own mental health into consideration. The rapid onset of COVID-19 has brought a... MORE

Danielle Frank, a military spouse, uses video conferencing technology to stay in contact with family during the COVID-19 quarantine, Gresham, Oregon, March 27, 2020. Staying connected while practicing social distancing is crucial to the mental well-being of Airmen and their families.

California Guard provides critical support to food banks
April 1, 2020 — SANTA MARIA, Calif. – In March, when COVID-19 cases began rapidly increasing in California, food banks across the state experienced a surge in demand while volunteers and staff were unavailable to... MORE

Pvt. Ishmael Rodriguez from the California National Guard's Headquarters Support Company, 340th Brigade Support Battalion, packages produce for delivery to lower-income families and the elderly at the Food Bank for Monterey County in Salinas, California, March 25, 2020.

NY National Guard staffing call center to fight COVID-19
March 31, 2020 — LATHAM, N.Y. – Nearly 100 New York National Guard Airmen and Soldiers are staffing three telephone call centers as part of New York state's response to the COVID-19 outbreak.The Guard members are... MORE

Members of the New York Army National Guard discuss procedures at the Coronavirus Hotline call center in Hawthorne, N.Y., March 16, 2020. The New York State Department of Health established a toll-free Coronavirus Hotline (1-888-364-3065).

Iowa, Pa., Del. National Guard in thick of COVID-19 battle
March 31, 2020 — ARLINGTON, Va. – Dozens of members of the Pennsylvania, Delaware and Iowa National Guard are helping respond to the COVID-19 threat, delivering medical supplies and helping locate and set up sites... MORE

Soldiers from the 103rd Engineer Battalion, Pennsylvania National Guard, help the Federal Emergency Management Agency unload equipment at the a school in Glen Mills, Pa., to establish a federal medical station for non-COVID 19 patients should regional hospitals become full.

West Virginia Guard helps state fight spread of coronavirus
March 31, 2020 — CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Almost 350 members of the West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) are helping residents and local and state officials battle the COVID-19 pandemic in multiple ways throughout the... MORE

Members of the West Virginia National Guard help volunteers package and deliver meals for more than 3,600 school-age students throughout Greenbrier County during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, March 25, 2020, in Lewisburg, West Virginia.

Michigan National Guard staffs food banks in 4 communities
March 31, 2020 — LANSING, Mich. – About 40 members of the Michigan National Guard are helping food banks in Ann Arbor, Comstock Park, Flint and Pontiac get food to hundreds of needy families during the COVID-19... MORE

Michigan National Guard members support the distribution of food for families in need during the state’s response to COVID-19 at the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, Flint, Mich., March 30, 2020. About 40 Michigan Guard members are helping at four Michigan food banks for several weeks.

Doctor helps keep Guard members safe to serve
March 31, 2020 — COLUMBUS, Ohio – All across the nation, National Guard Airmen and Soldiers are supporting their communities and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially exposing themselves while serving their... MORE

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Gary Katz, a flight surgeon assigned to the 178th Wing serving on Joint Task Force-37, briefs commanders March 23, 2020, at the Defense Supply Center in Columbus, Ohio. Katz is one of more than 400 members of the Ohio National Guard supporting food distribution at 12 locations across Ohio serving more than 11 million Ohioans in all 88 counties.

178th Wing analysts serve Ohioans in response to COVID19
March 31, 2020 — COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a time of uncertainty, nearly 400 members of the Ohio National Guard have been called to state active duty to serve in their communities and aid people throughout Ohio during the... MORE

Senior Airman Elise, an analyst assigned to the 178th Wing, analyzes a map of counties throughout Ohio March 30, 2020, at the Defense Supply Center Columbus. Elise is serving on the Joint Task Force 37 collecting data on coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and available hospital resources across the state, as well as providing weather and route information for the JTF-37 task forces supporting local food banks.

MD Guard sets up medical station in COVID-19 response
March 31, 2020 — BALTIMORE – Army Staff Sgt. Julius Austin, an electronic systems repairer with the Maryland Army National Guard’s 1297th Support Battalion, paced across the darkened loading dock. The bright utility... MORE

Army Pfc. NDeye Diongue, assigned to the Maryland Army National Guard’s 1297th Support Battalion, assembles a cot and bedding as she and other Soldiers set up a federal medical station in the Baltimore Convention CenterMarch 28, 2020. The station was set up to alleviate possible overcrowding at area hospitals as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

146th Airlift Wing helps set up Los Angeles medical station
March 30, 2020 — LOS ANGELES – Airmen with the 146th Airlift Wing helped set up medical equipment and hospital beds for a federal medical station at the Los Angeles Convention Center to aid in COVID-19 response March... MORE

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jarrett Boyd, a structures supervisor with the California Air National Guard's 146th Airlift Wing, sets up power cords in support of a federal medical station for COVID-19 response at the Los Angeles Convention Center, March 29, 2020. The wing set up additional medical stations in the California cities of Indio and Santa Clara.

Maryland, Pennsylvania Guard Soldiers Emerge as Region II’s Best Warriors

National Guard Spouse Highlights Strength of Family Support During Maine Visit

Virginia National Guard Team Trains for Disaster Response

D.C. Air Guard Makes Improvements at Capital Guardian Youth ChalleNGe Academy

Maine Guard Airmen Exercise Rapid-Response Communications Skills