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Sgt. 1st Class Cliff Knight plans to take part of Alabama to Baghdad when he leaves for a yearlong tour of duty early next year. He's going to take watermelon seeds and see if they will sprout in the Iraqi soil. "I've already got my seeds picked out and look forward to getting them to grow," said Knight, a member of the 441st Ordnance Battalion with the Alabama Army National Guard. He lives in Decatur. Knight, 42, grows prize-winning watermelons, with some coming in at more than 130 pounds. An explosive ordnance disposal technician by trade, Knight will "mostly be...

Soldiers with the 101st Engineer Battalion cut the cake in celebration of the U.S. National Guard's 373rd birthday, in Al Faw Palace, Camp Victory, Baghdad, Dec. 13. The 101st is a direct descendant of one of the three original National Guard units formed in 1636, the East Regiment. Photo by Master Sgt. Michael Daigle, 114th Public Affairs Detachment. BAGHDAD — A ceremony here today in Camp Victory's Al Faw palace celebrated the birthday of the U.S. military's oldest component, the National Guard. Members of the Army National Guard’s 101st Engineer Battalion joined more than 1000 other service members in the...

KHOST PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Dec. 3, 2009 – Indiana National Guard soldiers from the 38th Infantry Division’s Task Force Cyclone ensure Forward Operating Base Salerno is maintained properly. Army Spc. David Lillian, right, supervises an Afghan worker during weed removal at Forward Operating Base Salerno in Afghanistan’s Khost province, Nov. 30, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Spc. William E. Henry  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Located in eastern Afghanistan, Salerno is near the Pakistan border and is home to four different elements of the Indiana National Guard. The 1-19th Indiana Agribusiness Development Team; B Company, 2nd Battalion, 151st Infantry Regiment;...

CAMP BLANDING JOINT TRAINING CENTER, Fla., Nov. 25, 2009 – In the midst of a nondescript Middle Eastern-style village, 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team soldiers interact with the local inhabitants the same as they have done day in and day out on routine patrols. A soldier from Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, secures an insurgent after finding a bomb in a vehicle during an exercise at Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, Fla., Nov. 17, 2009. U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Paul O'Leary  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Today, however, something feels different. You can describe all...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25, 2009 – Amanda Bailey has a lot to thankful for this Thanksgiving, with her husband, Army Spc. Christopher Bailey home from Iraq for rest and relaxation leave. And as head of his National Guard unit’s family readiness group, she’s helped to galvanize a communitywide show of appreciation for families of its deployed troops. Army Spc. Christopher Bailey, his wife, Amanda, and children are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving together during Bailey’s rest and relaxation leave from his deployment in Iraq. Ardmore, Ala., November 2009. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Bailey, a military policeman with...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2009 – Though the National Guard has a role in reconstruction missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, it’s a temporary one, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told an audience at the Joint Senior Leadership Conference at the National Harbor yesterday. Left to right: Army Col. Eric Grimm, commander of the California Army National Guard's 40th Infantry Division agribusiness development team; Pedro Torres, a U.S. Agriculture Department representative; Army Sgt. Jeff Johanson, team leader for the agribusiness team; and Ted Wittenberger, U.S. Agency for International Development senior civilian representative, speak with Gulrahaman, chief of police, in Asmar, Afghanistan, Nov....

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2009 – While admitting initial reservations, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told a National Guard conference today he sees benefits of a new plan that allows reserve-component servicemembers to conduct pre-deployment training before the clock starts ticking on their 12-month mobilization cycles. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates speaks to nearly 2,400 participants in the first National Guard Joint Senior Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., Nov. 19, 2009. DoD photo by Cherie Cullen  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Gates told the National Guard Bureau Senior Leadership Conference he wasn’t initially a fan of the so-called “contiguous mobilization”...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq, Nov. 18, 2009 – National Guard soldiers bring a variety of life and work experiences with them on deployment, and even the smallest unit can include a surprising array of skills and experience. Chief Warrant Officer Nathan McKean runs through a preflight safety check prior to departing for a mission at Combat Operating Base Adder, Iraq, Oct. 10, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Neil Gussman  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. In October, Task Force Keystone’s Alaska-based C Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, needed a crew for a routine flight to two of...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq, Oct. 19, 2009 – For door gunners and crew chiefs in Company A, 1st Battalion, 106th Aviation Regiment, the longest days are the ones when they don’t fly. Army Staff Sgt. Michael Maass prepares a Black Hawk helicopter for an early morning flight as part of his duty as a member of the “push crew.” U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Neil Gussman   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. This Illinois Army National Guard unit uses a “push crew” to make sure every mission takes off on time and each aircraft gets back to mission-ready...

The President of Iran has accused Pakistan of involvement in the suicide bomb attack which killed at least 42 people including six senior commanders of the elite Revolutionary Guard. A local rebel Iranian Sunni group called Jundallah or Army of God says it ordered the attack. However, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says both western and Pakistani secret services are implicated.

Guard Offices To CloseBy Hicham Raache Times Record Tuesday, October 6, 2009 8:37 AM CDT Arkansas Army National Guard recruiting offices across the area and throughout the state will close today as a precautionary measure for National Day of Resistance against Military Recruiters. Although the Times Record did not learn of any planned local protests in correspondence with the resistance effort, which is promoted on a Facebook page as lasting from midnight to noon today, Guard recruiting offices will be closed to ensure the safety of recruiters and guard members at the offices. Other Stories Of Interest “They are shutting...

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 5, 2009 – The Hawaii National Guard’s medical mission in American Samoa wrapped up over the weekend, but 14 Guardsmen with the state’s civil support team will remain there to conduct joint hazardous-material and damage assessment operations, Guard officials reported today. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Lisa Bartolome of the Hawaii Air National Guard's 154th Medical Group shows an American Samoan boy how to make a paper airplane at the Congressional Christian Church of American Samoa in the Fafatiua village, Oct. 2, 2009. The Hawaii Air National Guard provided basic medical care to residents after a tsunami struck...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2009 – The medical support situation in American Samoa has stabilized amid ongoing U.S. relief efforts after a massive tsunami devastated the area this week, a Defense Department official said today. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kimo McKee, Hawaii Air National Guard loadmaster, directs the loading of humanitarian aid supplies into a C-17 Globemaster III bound for American Samoa to assist in relief efforts in the wake of tsunamis triggered by Sept. 29, 2009, undersea earthquake. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Mike Meares  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Medical triage, casualty care, shelter and bedding...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2009 – In response to Federal Emergency Management Agency requests, National Guard assets from Hawaii continue to provide air-cargo operations and other support to tsunami victims on American Samoa, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters here today. Airmen from the 204th Airlift Wing of the Hawaii Air National Guard load a vehicle onto a C-17 Globemaster III Sept. 30, 2009 at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, in preparation for departure for a humanitarian mission in American Samoa. The island nation was devastated by an earthquake and Tsunami, Sept. 29, 2009. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt....

WASHINGTON -- In a strongly worded message to Congress outlining presidential priorities for a military spending bill, the Obama administration said Friday it disapproved of including money for pensions for 26 elderly members of the World War II-era Alaska Territorial Guard. The White House move drew swift rebuke from the state's two senators, Republican Lisa Murkowski and Democrat Mark Begich, who had together sponsored the pension fix. The legislation honors 26 elderly Alaskans who are the few remaining survivors of a military unit that served the country with valor, Murkowski said, calling the administration's direction "deeply disappointing, bordering on insensitive."...

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 31, 2009 – The California National Guard is part of a 17-agency endeavor to protect the state’s forests from destructive marijuana growers. California National Guardsmen involved in Operation Save Our Sierra turned up more than 30 miles of illegally placed irrigation pipe, 17,000 pounds of garbage and 4,050 pounds of fertilizer, including some that are toxic and illegal in the United States, as well as drugs and weapons, Fresno County, Calif., July 2009. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. David J. Loeffler  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “The environmental impacts of the [marijuana] gardens include...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2009 – The past five years have been “the most exciting, dynamic and rewarding” of Brad Sams’ professional career, not because of his success as an attorney, but because of the military opportunities his employer has enabled him to pursue, the Air National Guard major said. “They create a culture that celebrates my involvement and service to this nation, its ideals, its dreams for a better world,” Sams said of his employer, the Marks, O’Neil, O’Brien and Courtney law firm in Wilmington, Del. The firm is recognized as one of the nation’s most supportive employers of National...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq, Aug. 26, 2009 – While some people join the Army to find adventure for the first time, a deployed soldier here said she joined to add to the adventures she’s already had. Army Sgt. Sierra Harbison, a food service specialist with Echo Company, 1st Battalion, 150th Aviation Regiment, Assault Helicopter Battalion, joined the National Guard to find adventure. She volunteered for her current deployment in Iraq. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Sgt. Sierra Harbison, a food service specialist here with Company E, 1st Battalion, 150th Aviation Regiment, Assault Helicopter Battalion, said...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Aug. 21, 2009 – An Army National Guard colonel who led a brigade in Iraq and a Vietnam veteran who retired from the Guard as a brigadier general recently helped New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine launch an oral history project to preserve the Garden State’s military legacy. New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, right, talks with Army Col. Steven Ferrari on Aug, 17, 2009, about his experiences in Iraq commanding the New Jersey Army National Guard’s 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Robert Neill  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Col. Steven Ferrari...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2009 – When a TriWest Healthcare Alliance nurse who serves in the Kansas Air National Guard got notice of an upcoming deployment in 2006, TriWest President David McIntyre ensured the company would see to her family’s needs. “There was no hesitation when I said that I was going to deploy,” said Janet Hanson, a colonel with 24 total years of active and Air Guard military service. “Mr. McIntyre personally said that if my family or I need anything during the deployment to contact him personally, which was great.” McIntyre’s gesture is just one of the reasons TriWest...

ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 20, 2009 – Soldiers from the Georgia Army National Guard’s 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team are playing a supporting role in today’s elections in Afghanistan, the unit commander told reporters yesterday. Pfc. Justin Bell of the Georgia Army National Guard’s 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team clears his M4 carbine after entering Camp Phoenix in Kabul, July 28, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Terry Wade  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “[It] is a very big day,” said Army Brig. Gen. Larry E. Dudney Jr., commander of Task Force Phoenix 9 in Kabul. “We’re excited to be...

LINCOLN, Neb., Aug. 11, 2009 – The Nebraska National Guard and the Afghan army and national police kicked off a new bilateral relationship last week when two Afghan surgeons general traveled here for talks about ways Nebraska can help Afghanistan develop its medical infrastructure. Maj. Gen. Ahmad Zia Yaftali, Afghan National Army surgeon general, and Brig. Gen. Qandahar Shinwari, Afghan National Police surgeon general, tour the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Lincoln as part of new bilateral relationship with the Nebraska National Guard, Aug. 3, 2009. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Aug. 2-5 visit...

CHICAGO, Aug. 6, 2009 – The Army Reserve and National Guard signed partnership agreements with dozens of Chicago and Illinois state employers yesterday to enhance job opportunities for soldiers and veterans. Army Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz applauds Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn after Quinn's remarks at the Army Reserve Employer Partnership Initiative signing ceremony in Chicago Aug. 5, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Brian Kersey  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “It is our duty to take care of veterans, who have answered the call to duty and bravely defended our country,” said Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. “I salute Helmets...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq, July 24, 2009 – National police in Iraq’s Wasit province now are capable of sustaining their own training needs after coalition forces leave here, military officials said, thanks to the efforts of a Massachusetts National Guard police company. Capt. Hayder Adnan Ali, Iraqi police liaison to coalition forces, instructs trainees on proper shooting techniques from the prone position while Sgt. Hayder Sahib Silan, Iraqi police mobile training team instructor in Wasit province, Iraq, demonstrates at the police provincial headquarters, July 20, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Joe Thompson  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

SAN DIEGO, July 23, 2009 – Two California teenagers are honoring National Guard parents who have had travel to overseas locations or natural disasters at home in a project they have named “Sisterhood of the Traveling BDUs.” BDUs is military shorthand for the battle-dress uniform. The goal of the project -- inspired by the 2005 movie “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” in which four girlfriends develop a plan to stay connected -- is to bring military daughters from across California together to share their experiences as military family members. Moranda Hern, 17, daughter of Air Force Lt. Col. Rick...

KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 21, 2009 – The Missouri National Guard’s agribusiness team in Afghanistan will get a touch of home when Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals and Fox Sports Network honor them during the Royals’ Aug. 8 game with the Oakland A’s at Kauffman Stadium here. Members of the Missouri National Guard agribusiness development team show off the Kansas City Royals baseball gear sent by the Royals and Fox Sports Network in preparation for an Aug. 8 game at which the Royals and Fox Sports Network will honor them. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available....

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FUTURE, Iraq, July 20, 2009 – An instructor shouts commands in Arabic. Recruits snap into fighting stances. The instructor tests the recruits, shaking them and kicking their legs. One recruit makes a mistake, and the instructor drops him for push-ups. This training may seem like Army boot camp, but these men aren't preparing to be soldiers. They are training to become Iraqi correctional officers. At the Iraqi National Training Academy on Victory Base Complex near Baghdad, Iraqi instructors are training four platoons of recruits to become the foundation of the Iraqi correctional system. The academy is the...

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, July 20, 2009 – As combat missions increase in Afghanistan, a Maine National Guard battalion here is getting increasingly busy delivering supplies to forward operating bases under dangerous conditions. Army Sgt. 1st Class Byron T. Mills, a 286th Combat Support Sustainment Battalion transportation platoon sergeant from Temple, Texas, prays with soldiers at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, before leaving on a two-day combat logistics patrol to forward operating bases Lagman and Wolverine, June 25, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elisebet Freeburg  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Riding in mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles, also known as MRAPs or “gun...

ARLINGTON, Va., July 14, 2009 – Chaplains have myriad reasons for serving their country, but recognition usually isn’t one of them. Army Chaplain (Capt.) Rebekah Montgomery will be recognized as the Military Chaplains Association’s Chaplain of the Year July 17, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. S. Patrick McCollum  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “Chaplains are often in the position where we love to serve so much, it’s always a surprise to be rewarded for it,” said Army Chaplain (Capt.) Rebekah Montgomery, who will receive the Chaplain of the Year award from the Military Chaplains Association on July...

JALALABAD AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, July 6, 2009 – The Tennessee National Guard’s agribusiness development team is up and running as the first of its kind in Afghanistan’s Paktia and Paktika provinces. Army Col. Jim D. Moore, commander of the Tennessee Agribusiness Development Team, visits with village elders in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktia province to evaluate a proposed project site, June 1, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Todd Steffen  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Team officials said their primary mission is to set the stage for the success of the teams that come after them. The Tennessee team includes security force...

6/30/2009 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- A former commanding general of the Washington, D.C., National Guard who was killed June 22 in a subway accident along with his wife was remembered in a June 29 ceremony celebrating his life and accomplishments. Retired Maj. Gen. David Wherley and his wife, Ann, a mortgage banker, both 62, were returning from Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where they were learning how to counsel servicemembers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Their Metro train car collided with another train, killing nine people. It was a sudden event that shocked Guard members and civilians alike, and drawing...

The security guard shot Wednesday at the Holocaust Museum has died of his injuries, the museum confirms.

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2009 – In an emotional return to Walter Reed Army Medical Center here today, Army National Guardsman Maj. L. Tammy Duckworth was sworn in as assistant secretary of veterans affairs for public and intergovernmental affairs. She pledged to continue her commitment to military veterans. L. Tammy Duckworth, right, assistant secretary of veterans affairs for public and intergovernmental affairs, is sworn into federal office by Judge John J. Farley, left, U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, May 20, 2009, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, Army National Guard Maj. Bryan Bowlsbey, D.C. Duckworth’s husband,...

Local officials in Taji work with the Iraqi National Police to inspect relief food intended for needy families, May 16. Soldiers with the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team coordinated with the Iraqi National Police to release 12 pallets of United Nations relief food discovered in a warehouse to Iraqi widows. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Maggie White. CAMP TAJI — Iraqi National Police, working with Pennsylvania National Guardsmen, distributed more than five truckloads of food and household supplies to needy women here, May 16.Women lined up with their children to receive food donated by the United Nations...

WASHINGTON — The Defense and Homeland Security departments are finalizing plans to station National Guard troops along the border with Mexico, most likely as backup support to local law enforcement personnel in border states. The four border-state governors who requested National Guard assistance — including Texas' Rick Perry — have provided their input, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a breakfast meeting with reporters Tuesday. The final decision on whether to implement the emerging plan is in the hands of White House officials, she said. Napolitano said the White House decision-making process “is not by any stretch final” but that...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, May 18, 2009 – Iraqi National Police, working with Pennsylvania National Guardsmen, distributed more than five truckloads of food and household supplies to needy women in the Taji area, north of Baghdad, May 16. Iraqi National Police officers unload pallets of food in Taji, Iraq, May 16, 2009. Multinational Division Baghdad civil affairs soldiers with the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team coordinated with the Iraqi National Police to release 12 pallets of United Nations relief food discovered in a warehouse to Iraqi widows. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Maggie White  (Click photo for screen-resolution...

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md., May 15, 2009 – As acrobatic aircraft buzzed overhead as part of the run-up to the annual air show here this weekend, Air Force Lt. Col. Derek Routt paid more notice to the parked, baby-blue and white business jets on the ground -- aircraft used by the nation’s elected and military leaders. Air Force Lt. Col. Derek Routt, “Thunderbird No. 7,” looks across the flight line on Andrews Air Force Base, Md., May 14, 2009, before an upcoming air show. Routt is a Nevada Air National Guard member in his first season as operations...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., May 12, 2009 – Eight pararescuemen aboard “King 2,” an HC-130 Hercules from the New York Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing, breathed a collective sigh of relief as the space shuttle Atlantis, traveling more than 3,000 miles an hour, reached orbit yesterday for NASA’s final visit to refurbish and restore the Hubble Space Telescope. Air Force Col. Michael Canders, commander of the New York Air National Guard's 106th Rescue Wing, explains how NASA astronauts would bail out of the space shuttle Atlantis, in the background, if a parachute descent to safety was required. The shuttle...

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2009 – Equipment critical to both domestic and warfighting missions and aircraft essential to guarding the nation’s air sovereignty remain areas of concern for the National Guard. Army Maj. Gen. Raymond W. Carpenter, acting deputy director of the Army National Guard, and Air Force Lt. Gen. Harry M. Wyatt III, director of the Air National Guard, prepare to testify before the House Armed Services Committee’s air and land forces subcommittee, May 5, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. That was the message Air Force Lt. Gen. Harry...

GROTON, Conn., May 6, 2009 – Sirens wail as a fire truck speeds to a school in response to a reported incident. Dozens of students are sent to area hospitals. The radiation alarm on one of the firemen begins to scream. Army Sgt. 1st Class Ryan Van Damme, a decontamination noncommissioned officer for the 14th Civil Support Team of the Connecticut National Guard, checks Army Sgt. John Barton, a survey team member, for contaminants after Barton returned from surveying the inside of a school during an exercise simulation in Groton, Conn., May 5, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Pfc....

WASHINGTON — It’s no longer a question of whether additional National Guard troops will be sent to the nation’s southwest border to help combat drug trafficking, arms smuggling and southbound shipments of drug cash. It’s only a question of when — and who pays for it, Uncle Sam or the taxpayers of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The Obama administration and the governors of the border states are wrangling over prospective duties for the 1,500 additional citizen soldiers requested by the four states to augment local law enforcement along the 1,947-mile frontier with Mexico. Those talks have serious financial...

4/30/2009 - SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. (AFNS) -- More than a dozen F-15E Strike Eagles, two DC-10s and a C-17 Globemaster III met the rising sun over the Atlantic Ocean en route to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, April 29. Approximately 350 deploying Airmen from the 336th Fighter Squadron and 4th Maintenance Group will spend the next four months providing close-air support for Operation Enduring Freedom, which began in October 2001 in response to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The deployment comes at a time when things are literally heating up within the central Asian nation. As spring's...

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WASHINGTON, April 14, 2009 – National Guard members from five states and their families participated in yesterday’s 2009 Easter Egg Roll held on the South Lawn of the White House. Children at the 2009 Easter Egg Roll held on the South Lawn of the White House were given a souvenir Easter egg. This year's egg is the greenest egg in history, according to the White House Web site. It is made from hardwood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which means that the wood comes from environmentally sustainable managed forests. Courtesy photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available....

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti, April 13, 2009 – For U.S. Africa Command’s new deputy director of operations and logistics, the words “I can’t do it” won’t cut it. Not from his soldiers, not from the people he serves with, and certainly not from himself. And this Army National Guardsman, Brig. Gen. Roosevelt “Rose” Barfield, knows what it means to be able to “do it.” Barfield was encouraged by a friend to enlist in the Army National Guard fresh out of high school at the age of 17. He served for five years as a soldier in the Kansas Guard while...

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2009 – For NATO’s two newest members, a National Guard program contributed to their April 1 accession into the alliance. Albania and Croatia have been members of the National Guard’s State Partnership Program for more than a decade. Along with other initiatives such as NATO’s Partnership for Peace program, the National Guard’s State Partnership Program helped the countries prepare for NATO membership, National Guard Bureau officials said. Established in 1949 as a defense pact against the former Soviet Union and now 28 members strong, NATO celebrated its 60th anniversary April 4. A dozen countries founded NATO...

BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq, March 25, 2009 – For one Washington Army National Guard soldier, the leadership of a noncommissioned officer can be measured in the miles and missions his more than 1,100 citizen-soldiers drive from here in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Army Command Sgt. Maj. David Windham of the Washington National Guard’s 81st Brigade is deployed at Balad Air Base, Iraq. Windham overseas a convoy security brigade of 1,100 Guard soldiers who have logged more than 500,000 miles protecting convoys from roadside bombs and ambushes. National Guard photo by Air Force Master Sgt. Mike R. Smith   (Click...

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2009 – The Department of Homeland Security is “still considering” the use of National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border, along with several other initiatives, the DHS secretary said in a White House press briefing today. “This issue requires immediate action,” Janet Napolitano said. “We are guided by two very clear objectives. First, we are going to do everything we can to prevent the violence in Mexico from spilling over across the border. “And second, we will do all in our power to help President [Felipe] Calderón crack down on these drug cartels in Mexico.” Napolitano...

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2009 – A program that links Army reservists with civilian employers is going strong -- despite record unemployment and gloomy hiring predictions -- as more employers sign on every month so they can hire qualified reservists. The American Trucking Association and INOVA Health Systems of Northern Virginia broke new ground in April 2008 as the first formal members of the Army Reserve Employer Partnership Initiative. Within six months, 65 employers had joined, and the program hit a milestone in February with its 200th employer partner. Now Army Reserve officials are laying plans for the University of...

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 19, 2009 – Army Staff Sgt. Henry Baez Jr. is humble about the recognition he’s received for leading a squad of soldiers through some of the Army’s most dangerous work in Afghanistan. Army Staff Sgt. Henry Baez Jr. is deployed to Camp Phoenix on the edge of Kabul, Afghanistan, with the Illinois Army National Guard’s 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Mike R. Smith  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. As a squad leader deployed with the Illinois Army National Guard’s 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Baez leads a dismount...