Guard News - The National Guard

Veterans reflect on service during National Capital Region tour
November 11, 2021 — WASHINGTON – A veteran donning a baseball hat embroidered with the word "Army" stood at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall, neck craned, looking for a name. His reflection stared back at him from the... MORE

Peter Jones, a retired U.S. Army Soldier from Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and Michael Downey, a tour group volunteer, view the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., Nov. 4, 2021. Jones, who served in Vietnam from 1968-1969, was in the Army and Iowa Army National Guard and was part of a group of veterans from Illinois and Iowa who visited the nation’s capital.

Minnesota National Guard responds to latest COVID surge
November 10, 2021 — CAMP RIPLEY, Minn. – Minnesota National Guard Soldiers and Airmen were activated this month to support the state's COVID-19 response once again.As coronavirus cases in Minnesota continue to overwhelm... MORE

Minnesota National Guard Soldiers and Airmen train on Camp Ripley as nursing aides to support the state’s COVID-19 response in November 2021. Their focus includes staffing temporary care facilities.

Obstacles don't slow Pennsylvania Guard chaplain assistant
November 10, 2021 — MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Over snaking slant walls and treacherous jumps, under menacing barbed wire and slogging up a steep climb with a 50-pound sack of sagging sand, Master Sgt. Joshua March pushed through... MORE

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Joshua March, chaplain assistant of the 193rd Chaplain Corps, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Nov. 9, 2021. March, a drill status Guardsman, is a world champion in obstacle course racing outside of his service with the Air National Guard.

Vermont Guard reflects on Marine Corps' 246th birthday
November 10, 2021 — COLCHESTER, Vt. – Each year on Nov. 10, the U.S. Marine Corps celebrates the day in 1775 when the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution establishing two battalions of Marines as a landing... MORE

U.S. Army Soldiers of the Vermont National Guard who served with the 2nd Marine Division in Iraq's Al Anbar Province between 2005-2006 were authorized to display the 2nd Marine Division unit insignia on their uniforms. Nov. 10, 2021, marks the Marine Corps' 246th birthday.

National Guard, Israel reaffirm 15-year partnership
November 9, 2021 — TEL AVIV, Israel – The chief of the National Guard Bureau and the commanding general of Israel’s Home Front Command reaffirmed the National Guard Bureau’s 15-year bilateral relationship with Israel... MORE

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief, National Guard Bureau, and Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, Home Front Command commander, listen to a briefing during Hokanson's visit to Israel to reaffirm the National Guard Bureau's 15-year bilateral relationship with the HFC, Nov. 2, 2021.

Virginia Maneuver Training Center helps spread UXO awareness
November 9, 2021 — FORT PICKETT, Va. – Soldiers and civilians assigned to the Army National Guard Maneuver Training Center Fort Pickett completed a two-day “train the trainer” course taught by the U.S. Army Corps of... MORE

Soldiers and civilians assigned to Maneuver Training Center Fort Pickett complete a two-day “train the trainer” course designed to help spread awareness of the dangers posed by unexploded ordnance Sept. 28-29, 2021, at Fort Pickett, Virginia. Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers taught the course.

NY Army Guard uses NYC as an urban operations training lab
November 8, 2021 — NEW YORK - New York Army National Guard officers and senior sergeants used New York City as a laboratory to explore the challenges of military operations in big cities during a five-day class that... MORE

A New York Army National Guard UH-60 helicopter flies past lower Manhattan while carrying officers and noncommissioned officers taking part in the New York Army National Guard's Dense Urban Leaders Operations Course, to give participants a feel for the city's layout. The five-day course is geared to train and educate staff officers and senior noncommissioned officers in the planning and execution of operations in complex urban environments.

Red Tails participate in ACE exercise
November 8, 2021 — MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The 187th Fighter Wing participated in a combat exercise Nov. 1-6 throughout the southeast United States.Southern Lightning Strike, designed around Agile Combat Employment, included... MORE

The 187th Fighter Wing participated in a combat exercise Nov. 1-6 throughout the southeast United States.

Nebraska ANG cybersecurity team keeps network safe
November 8, 2021 — LINCOLN AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. – In 2021 alone, America's energy sector, power plants, food supply, water supply, health care, law enforcement and defense sector have all come under... MORE

Nebraska Air National Guard members of the 155th Air Refueling Wing Cyber Security office at Lincoln Air Force base, Nebraska, Nov. 7, 2021. Cybersecurity specialists ensure the security of computer networks and online communications from programming to hardware.

Maine Airman helps strengthen Montenegro partnership
November 8, 2021 — BANGOR, Maine – Maine Air National Guard Maj. Carolyn Richley and her family have been in Montenegro for more than a year as part of the Department of Defense State Partnership Program.Every... MORE

Maine Air National Guard Maj. Carolyn Richley, bilateral affairs officer, in Montenegro. Maine and Montenegro have been partners for 15 years under the Department of Defense State Partnership Program, building a cooperative mutually beneficial relationship.

104th FW conducts midpoint inspection readiness exercise
November 8, 2021 — BARNES AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Mass. - Barnestormers across the 104th Fighter Wing conducted a readiness exercise as part of the wing's midpoint inspection Nov. 4-6 at Barnes Air National Guard... MORE

Senior Airman Dominic Isidro and Tech. Sgt. Matthew Annis, firefighters with the 104th Civil Engineer Squadron, drag Senior Airman Thomas Ruffo, firefighter with the 104CES, out of a simulated burning building during a midpoint readiness exercise Nov. 6, 2021, at Barnes Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts. Midpoint inspections evaluate the wing’s capabilities to respond to threats in a contested, degraded and operationally limited environment.

Kentucky Air Guard enters new era with C-130J Super Hercules
November 8, 2021 — LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Two new C-130J Super Hercules aircraft buzzed over the Kentucky Air National Guard Base Saturday before taxiing to stop on the flight line under the spray of water cannons while a... MORE

One of two new C-130J Super Hercules aircraft arrives at the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 6, 2021, ushering in a new era of aviation for the 123rd Airlift Wing. The state-of-the-art transports are among eight the wing will receive over the next 11 months to replace eight aging C-130 H-model aircraft.

27th Infantry Brigade tries out Army’s new rifle
November 8, 2021 — FORT DRUM, New York – Across the New York Army National Guard’s 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Soldiers are closing the gap between the reach of the basic Soldier and the highly trained sniper... MORE

Smoke clears from the chamber of an M110 A1 Squad Designated Marksman Rifle fired by Spc. Steven Monnat, an infantryman assigned to the New York National Guard's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment, during new equipment training at Fort Drum, New York, Nov. 5, 2021. Monnat was among 30 Soldiers from the battalion's higher headquarters, the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, who learned to operate the SDMR and close the gap between the reach of a rifleman and a sniper's weapons.

Vietnam Air Force vet tours Mississippi airbase
November 8, 2021 — KEY FIELD AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Miss. - With Veterans Day approaching, the 186th Air Refueling Wing was honored to host and provide a tour to a Vietnam veteran Nov. 6.James William Roberts, 82,... MORE

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Joshua Schultz, 186th Air Refueling Wing boom operator, shows James Roberts, a former U.S. Air Force boom operator, the controls in the boom pod of a KC-135R aircraft, Nov. 6, 2021, at Key Field Air National Guard Base, Mississippi. Boom operators are highly trained experts who pump thousands of gallons of fuel to other aircraft midflight.

29th ID cadet continues family's long legacy of service
November 8, 2021 — NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Upon swearing into the Virginia Army National Guard Aug. 20, 2021, Cadet Ethan Pulket began adding to his family's legacy of more than 200 years of combined military service. For... MORE

Cadet Ethan Pulkit swears into the Virginia Army National Guard in front of family, friends and peers during a ceremony Aug. 20, 2021, at Christopher Newport University, Newport News, Virginia. Pulket will be following in his family's footsteps and be part of the fourth generation to continue the legacy of military service to the nation and the 29th Infantry Division.

29th Infantry Division moves 5,000 Afghans through Kuwait
November 5, 2021 — CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – On a particularly hazy mid-September day in Kuwait, Maj. Gen. John Rhodes, commanding general of Task Force Spartan and the National Guard’s Virginia-based 29th Infantry... MORE

Afghan evacuees board a U.S.-chartered flight for their destination after a two-week stay in Kuwait, where they received medical screenings and were processed by Task Force Spartan personnel. Approximately 5,000 evacuees processed through Kuwait.

C-130J aircraft prepped for debut at Kentucky Air Guard
November 5, 2021 — PORT HUENEME, Calif. – Maintainers are putting the finishing touches on two new C-130J Super Hercules aircraft that will join the Kentucky Air National Guard fleet in Louisville this weekend.Artwork... MORE

An Airman from the 123rd Maintenance Group observes freshly applied tail art of one of the Kentucky Air National Guard’s new C-130J Super Hercules aircraft at Channel Islands Air Guard Station in Port Hueneme, Calif., Nov. 3, 2021. The aircraft is replacing the C-130H Hercules, which has been in service to the Kentucky Air National Guard since 1992.

10th CST attends exercise based on real radioactive incident
November 5, 2021 — SEATTLE – A real-world emergency was the basis of a recent exercise that tested the Washington National Guard’s 10th Civil Support Team and its ability to detect and respond to a foreign... MORE

Washington National Guard Staff Sgt. Justin Belz and Sgt. Walter Fleming, survey team members with the 10th Civil Support Team, analyze a substance during a multi-agency hazardous material exercise in Discovery Park, Seattle, Wash., Nov. 3, 2021.

Kentucky Guard helps hospitals stretched thin by pandemic
November 4, 2021 — BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Since Aug. 31, Kentucky National Guard Soldiers and Airmen have augmented hospital staff across the commonwealth, performing non-clinical tasks during a COVID-19 pandemic... MORE

Kentucky Army National Guard Sgt. Alex Kropf, a mechanic with 307th Maintenance Company, receives an order for processing in the laboratory at the Medical Center at Bowling Green Oct. 20, 2021. The Kentucky National Guard is supporting hospitals across the commonwealth.

Arctic Guardian HH-60 pilot draws on service as Recon Marine
November 4, 2021 — JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska - As the sun was setting across the Anbar Desert in December 2006, a Humvee gun truck driver spotted a slight glint strung across the road from a vehicle on the... MORE

U.S. Air Force Captain Seth Peterson, a helicopter pilot assigned to the 210th Rescue Squadron, Joint Base Elemendorf-Richardson, Alaska, stands in front of an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter in a hanger at JBER Nov. 3, 2021. Capt. Peterson commissioned as an U.S. Air Force officer after serving as a U.S. Marine with the 4th Battalion.

Civic Leaders Fly With Alaska Air Guard During Red Flag Alaska 25-2

Washington Army Guard Trains in Water Bucket Operations

Alaska Army Guard Rescues Family Stranded on River During Storm

lowa Airmen Take Training to New Heights

West Virginia Guard Continues Flood Cleanup Efforts