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WASHINGTON, June 24, 2010 – The Air Force is set to deliver the first of 18 new F-16 Fighting Falcon jet fighters to the Pakistani air force in a sign of deepening relations between the United States and Pakistan. The Air Force is set to deliver the first of 18 new F-16 C/D Block 52 Fighting Falcon jet fighters to the Pakistan air force. The aircraft will give Pakistan’s military an unprecedented advantage against violent extremists who threaten Pakistan and the region, officials said, by enabling precision targeting in all weather conditions, day and night. U.S. Air Force photo  (Click photo...

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2010 – About 1,200 National Guard troops will support the Homeland Security Department in enhancing the security of the nation's Southwest border, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said here this week. The Guardsmen will assist in ongoing efforts to secure the border and combat cartels, Napolitano said during remarks June 22 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies about ongoing Homeland Security initiatives and new strategies to bolster border security and enforce immigration laws. The National Guard deployments have worked over the last 20 years in a coordinated fashion that frees up border patrol agents for...

WASHINGTON, June 18, 2010 – Army Sgt. 1st Class Roland Lueras left for a year-long deployment to Iraq on Father’s Day last year, missing his family’s usual gift-giving celebrations. Army Master Sgt. Donald Towers poses for a picture with his grandchildren, Jamie and Waylon, shortly before his deployment to Iraq in June 2009. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. But this weekend, it will be his 8-year-old son, Austin, who will receive the special gift: his father. Lueras is one of about 80 Army National Guard soldiers with the 203rd Military Police Battalion based in Athens, Ala., returning...

SIOUX CITY, Iowa, June 18, 2010 – The newest flight surgeon in the Iowa Air National Guard's 185th Medical Group only just recently joined the military, but his family is very familiar with military life. Air Force Maj. (Dr.) Glenn Harden, a physician from Sioux City, Iowa, is sworn into the Air National Guard at the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, May 1, 2010. Harden will work as the flight surgeon at the wing’s medical clinic. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Oscar Sanchez  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Air Force Maj. (Dr.) Glenn Harden entered...

Inquiring minds want to know. Has the White House responded to any requests made by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to help secure her state's border against illegal immigration and narco-terrorism, like with a couple more OH-58 helicopters or a few unmanned aerial vehicles, more affectionately known in some circles as Predator UAVs? Well, no. "We have had no specific response from the administration on any of our proposals..."

ARLINGTON, Va., June 10, 2010 – The soldiers of the Vermont Army National Guard’s 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team have been working hard to make a difference during their deployment to Afghanistan, the brigade’s commander told reporters recently. Vermont Army National Guard Capt. Stephen Iaquinto from Berlin, N.J., and a member of the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, shows Afghan children a picture from his camera in Bagram, Afghanistan, May 24, 2010. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “Across the board, our soldiers are extremely happy about what they’re doing,” said Army Col. Will Roy. “They know...

KENTUCKY LAKE, Ky., June 10, 2010 – With the sun beating down in 90-degree pre-summer heat, the lake here was Army Sgt. Adam Lock's home away from home as he cast his fishing line into the cool water in hopes of coaxing a bite from a bass. Army Sgt. Adam Lock, 29, of Altamont, Ill., catches a bass on Kentucky Lake, Ky., June 2, 2010. Lock is a recruiter with the Illinois National Guard and the only military member on the Forrest L. Wood Fishing Tour Team, sponsored by the National Guard. Photo by Illinois Army National Guard 2nd Lt....

Obama: Screw you, America: Sixty-seven percent (67%) of U.S. voters say military troops should be sent to the Mexican border to prevent illegal immigration. A new Rasmussen Reports nationwide telephone survey finds that just 18% are opposed and another 15% are not sure. A majority of Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters all support the concept of using the troops to stop illegal immigration. Obama is sending 1200 National Guard troops to the border, but it's not to protect the borders. He said he's sending them for the interdiction of drugs and violence, but since they're unarmed that assertion makes...

Previously undisclosed FBI documents suggest that the Kent State antiwar protests were more meticulously planned than originally thought and that one or more gunshots may have been fired at embattled Ohio National Guardsmen before their killings of four students and woundings of at least nine others on that searing day in May 1970. As the nation marks the 40th anniversary of the Kent State antiwar protests Tuesday, a review of hundreds of previously unpublished investigative reports sheds a new — and very different — light on the tragic episode. The upheaval that enveloped the northeastern Ohio campus actually began three...

NEW ORLEANS, April 7, 2010 – Between weekend drills, overseas deployments, the work in communities during peacekeeping and natural disaster missions, full-time jobs and school, National Guardsmen often find themselves too busy making a difference to find time for their hobbies. Army 1st Lt. Heather S. Englehart of the Louisiana National Guard paints a scene from her military experiences at her home in New Orleans, March 31, 2010. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. One soldier has found a way to combine the two. For 31-year-old Army 1st Lt. Heather S. Englehart of the Louisiana National Guard, her...

FORT HOOD, Texas, April 1, 2010 – After four years of preparing thousands of Army National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers for deployment at the Division West mobilization training center here, Army Capt. Brent Middleton soon will be preparing for his own deployment at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., center. Army Capt. Brent Middleton, left accepts his unit's flag from his battalion commander in a change-of-command ceremony at Camp Mabry, Texas, March 20, 2010. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Marvin J. Baker  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Middleton, a member of the Texas National Guard’s 36th Infantry Division who...

SAN DIEGO, April 1, 2010 – In a popular movie, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," a group of teenage girls keep in contact with each other by sharing a pair of jeans. Army Brig. Gen. Mary J. Kight, California adjutant general, greets attendees at the inaugural Sisterhood of the Traveling BDUs conference during the semi-formal, "purple carpet" kickoff event. The conference was held in Clovis, Calif., March 12-14, 2010. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. David Loeffler  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. That theme provided the inspiration for an idea by two California National Guard daughters, but...

There's never a good time to say goodbye to a war-bound soldier, but for Margarita Clark, who is more than eight months pregnant, the task has been especially tough. For weeks, she's been doing her weeping in private so her husband, Spc. Stephen Clark, wouldn't see. She didn't want to add to his sorrow about missing the birth of their first child, a baby girl whose father will be absent for her first year of life. "I try not to bring it up too much because it only makes him feel bad, and there's nothing he can do about...

RONKONOMA, N.Y., March 26, 2010 – When Chief Warrant Officer Herb Dargue joined the Army as a helicopter pilot, the Beatles’ "Penny Lane" topped the charts, the UH-1C Huey was the hottest “chopper” flying, and actor William Shatner was “Star Trek’s” Captain Kirk on prime time TV. Army Chief Warrant Officer Herbert Dargue, an Army rotary-wing aircraft pilot since 1967, will fly his last flight with the New York Army National Guard on March 26, 2010. Dargue, who has more than 21,000 hours of flight time in military and civilian helicopters, is an expert at flying in New York City's...

We should all know by now that the Obama administration’s plan to spend up to $200 million on civilian trials for terrorists is dangerous. It’s also wasteful. Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, is a site perfectly suited to such trials—and detentions. If not there, then Adak, in the middle of the Aleutians would do just fine. The Washington Post shows us why that $200 million is also a waste of money. The U.S. Coast Guard should play an important role in our homeland security. After all, that was the stated reason for moving the Coast Guard out of the U.S. Transportation Department...

OKLAHOMA CITY, March 10, 2010 – Some soldiers will do almost anything to stay in shape. Left to right, roller derby teammates Army Sgt. Karli Wahkahquah, Army 1st Lt. Kristin Sloan and Army 1st Lt. Jessica duMonceaux, all members of the Oklahoma Army National Guard, proudly show off their dainty, powder blue Thunderbirds -- symbolic of the parent 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team under which they serve. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Darren D. Heusel  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Three soldiers from the Oklahoma Army National Guard are lacing up their roller skates, strapping on elbow...

GREENVILLE, N.C., March 4, 2010 – Army Staff Sgt. Tracy Dice was a 12-year veteran of the law enforcement field when she decided to become an explosive ordnance disposal technician in the North Carolina National Guard. Army Staff Sgt. Tracy Dice of the North Carolina Army National Guard supports the 690th Brigade Support Battalion’s training in proper response techniques for improvised explosive devices in Farmville, N.C., Feb. 7, 2010. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Joseph E. Rey  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “I wanted to come out of the military with a strong cap for my law enforcement...

BEDFORD, Ind., Feb. 24, 2010 – More than 100 soldiers preparing for deployment to Iraq got a special treat Feb. 13 when Medal of Honor recipient Sammy L. Davis visited the Indiana National Guard’s 2219th Brigade Support Company at the Bedford National Guard Armory here. Medal of Honor Recipient Sammy L. Davis shows his Medal of Honor to 6-year-old Dean Campbell during a visit with soldiers and family members from the Indiana National Guard’s 2219th Brigade Support Company at the National Guard Armory in Bedford, Ind., Feb. 13, 2010. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Robert G. Cooper III  (Click photo for...

CHARLESTON, W.Va., Feb. 19, 2010 – Thirteen of the 17 passengers stranded in a remote region of West Virginia’s Pocahontas County have been evacuated from a Navy MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter that was forced to land in the area yesterday, National Guard officials said. Rescued passengers are being evaluated by emergency services agencies and transported to a local hospital for further evaluation and treatment. West Virginia Army National Guard medics still are at the landing site and are working with emergency crews to evacuate the remaining passengers, said Mike Cadle, the state public affairs officer. The helicopter reportedly was carrying passengers...

ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 27, 2010 – Joined by fellow National Guardsmen from Georgia, Kansas, South Dakota and Washington, Missouri’s “Houn’ Dawgs” are sniffing out improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan and rendering them harmless. Army Lt. Col. Tony Adrian, left, talks with Army Command Sgt. Maj. Steven Stuenkel in Afghanistan, Jan. 14, 2010. Soldiers of the Missouri National Guard’s 203rd Engineer Battalion are performing route-clearance missions during their deployment. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jon Dougherty  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Sustained by support from back home, members of the Missouri National Guard’s 203rd Engineer Battalion are prevailing in this...