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WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2008 – The National Association of Postmasters gave Guardsmen and reservists its full backing last week when the organization’s president signed an Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Statement of Support. Dale Goff Jr., president of the National Association of Postmasters of the United States, displays the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Statement of Support he signed Aug. 27, 2008. An additional 400 postmasters signed Statements of Support at the ESGR booth during the NAPUS national conference that took place Aug. 23-28, 2008, in St. Louis. Photo courtesy of Employer Support of the...

GALESBURG, Ill., Aug. 29, 2008 – A tour in Vietnam, flood duty in 1993 and 2001, a tour in Iraq from 2005 to 2006, and flood duty in 2008. That is only part of the highlight reel for a 58-year-old Oquawka, Ill., man who is about to hang up his combat boots after a military career that has spanned nearly 40 years. Army Staff Sgt. Norris Crooks prepares to fire a final ceremonial howitzer round while Battery C, 2nd Battalion, 123rd Field Artillery, performs annual training at Fort McCoy, Wis., in July 2008. Photo courtesy of Army Sgt. 1st...

CAMP PHOENIX, Afghanistan, Aug. 28, 2008 – The chief of the National Guard Bureau came to see his troops serving here during a two-day visit that began Aug. 26. Army Chief Warrant Officer Russell Hoyer from Voorheesville, N.Y., assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix Logistics Task Force, poses for a photo with Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau. U.S. Army photo by Lt. Col. Paul Fanning, Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum was accompanied by Army Command Sgt. Maj. David Ray...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2008 – When they found out one of their own was going to deploy overseas with the Tennessee National Guard, the leadership and employees of Lochinvar Corp. didn’t waste any time. They immediately found out what they could do to help, and they worked together to help him and his unit before, during and after the deployment. The deploying employee, Army Sgt. 1st Class Bill Jacobs, who was an Apache helicopter platoon sergeant with the National Guard and a manufacturing engineer manager with Lochinvar, was so impressed with the level of support he received that he...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13, 2008 – Kim Robinson knows that when military members deploy, they face a lot of stress overseas on top of worrying about their families at home. To help alleviate that stress, Robinson has committed to do what he can to ease the burden on the families of his employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve. Robinson’s company, Robinson Transport, of Salina, Utah, provides $1,000 a month to the families of employees who are deployed with the National Guard or Reserve. This money is meant to supplement the family’s income, and the company still pays all...

KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 12, 2008 – More than 1,000 residents of Ud Kheil village here were treated by Afghan medical staff and received medicine, vitamins and personal items through a joint assistance operation conducted by New York Army National Guard, Afghan and British soldiers Aug. 7. Army Capt. Joseph Merrill works with a translator to direct a father seeking medical attention for his son. Merrill, a native of Binghamton, N.Y., is a member of the New York National Guard. U.S. Army photo by Lt. Col. Paul Fanning, Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The...

GREEN, Ohio, Aug. 6, 2008 – When military recruits speak of their reasons for enlisting, many cite family pride and tradition as their strongest motivation. The desire to follow in a parent's footsteps has prompted many soldiers to enlist into the National Guard. Army Pvt. Larry Gravius (right) was inspired to join the Ohio Army National Guard as a result of the February enlistment of his 18-year-old daughter, Army Pfc. Gwendolyn Gravius (left). U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Bemus, Ohio National Guard  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. For recent enlistee Pvt. Larry Gravius, a 39-year-old...

OMAHA, Neb., July 30, 2008 – As disabled veterans tested their limits during the National Disabled Veterans Wheelchair Games, which wrapped up here yesterday, nearly 400 military volunteers provided the behind-the-scenes support that officials said made the games a success. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Phil Stacey, better known as an “American Idol” finalist during season six, sings the “Star-Spangled Banner” at the opening of the slalom obstacle course competition at the 28th National Disabled Veterans Wheelchair Games. Defense Dept. photo by Donna Miles   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Nebraska Army and Air National Guardsmen, as well...

WASHINGTON, July 2, 2008 – California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered about 200 National Guard members yesterday to provide direct ground support to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as it tries to put out wildfires in the northern part of the state. A helicopter crew from the Army National Guard works with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to put out fires that have burned more than 400,000 acres. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Stuart Brown, California National Guard  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "I can't say enough about the brave men and women...

ARLINGTON, Va., July 2, 2008 – A new relationship with IndyCar promises to propel National Guard recruiting forward and give citizen-soldiers and –airmen a more personal interest in another sport. Driver Vitor Meira; Maj. Gen. Ray Carpenter, special assistant to the director of the Army National Guard; and Panther Racing team owner John Barnes unveil the new 230-mph, No. 4 National Guard IndyCar at the Army National Guard Readiness Center, at Arlington Hall in Arlington, Va., June 25, 2008. The National Guard is participating in the Indy Racing League for the first time. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt....

CAMP RAMADI — Hot wind swirled orange dust around idling Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles as 2nd Lt. Stephan Shuster, platoon leader, described the day’s mission to the combat-equipped force. The troops mounted their vehicles and headed for the heart of the provincial capital city of Ramadi. What might have been a hair-raising combat mission just a year ago is today a trip to securely deliver civil-military operations personnel to the Ministry of Health for a meeting with Iraqi officials. And the combat gear? Well, that is a precaution, not a preparation for battle. Shuster and other Soldiers from...

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2008 – Army and Air National Guard members from California and North Carolina are supporting firefighting efforts in Northern California today following a state active-duty call-up by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and a request for airborne firefighting assets by the Interagency Fire Center. The governor's office reported yesterday that a "swarm of dry lighting cells over the last 16 hours sparked nearly 400 new fires across the state, spanning from Monterey and Fresno counties to the Oregon-California border." Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency June 22 for Monterey and Trinity counties. The governor made similar declarations for...

WASHINGTON, June 23, 2008 – Missouri is the latest Midwestern state to see increasing numbers of National Guard citizen-soldiers and –airmen on duty in the face of the region’s worst flooding in 15 years. “Our priority is to protect the lives of Missouri’s residents and their property,” Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt said during a visit to flood-affected areas with National Guard officials. “Then we will focus on recovery efforts.” “As Missourians continue to face the rising waters of the Mississippi, their Missouri National Guard stands beside them in the fight,” Army Maj. Gen. King Sidwell, the state’s adjutant general, said....

6/19/2008 - GREEN BAY BOTTOM, Iowa (AFPN) -- The men and women of the 185th Air Refueling Squadron from Sioux City, Iowa, are teaming with local farmers to maintain the 20 miles of levees, keeping the flooded Mississippi from inundating the 14 thousand acres of homes and farmland here. The river is flowing 23 feet over flood levels and 20 feet over the corn fields that line it near the farming community of Burlington in Green Bay Bottom, Iowa. "It would have been devastating without the (Air National) Guard here," said local resident Robert Mozingo, a retired mechanical engineer who...

WASHINGTON, June 18, 2008 – Thousands of National Guard troops in the Midwest have moved into high gear reinforcing levees, conducting security patrols, and delivering food, water and relief supplies as record-breaking floods surged through the heartland. Ottumwa, Iowa, residents and members of the Iowa National Guard work hand-in-hand to save a power substation from being overrun by flood waters. Iowa National Guard photo by Army Sgt. Chad D. Nelson  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Nearly 4,000 Iowa National Guard troops are deployed across the state as flood levels break records in almost every river community on the...

6/16/2008 - CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AFPN) -- One hundred-fifty Air National Guardsmen from the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, Iowa, landed at The Eastern Iowa Airport June 15 to augment the 295 already working with Army National Guard and state agencies in Cedar Rapids as flood waters recede from what is being called the 500-year mark. This is one of the largest operations for the wing in several years. It's also the first time in recent memory the Iowa ANG has been recalled for duty by the state. "I've been in for 22 years and this is the...

6/16/2008 - INDIANAPOLIS (AFPN) -- Some Indiana National Guardsmen began returning to their homes on June 15, while others began the next phase of their flood duty in the southwest part of the state -- recovery. Joint Task Force - 81 will have 60 of its 1,300 deployed Soldiers stay behind in the vicinity of East Mount Carmel and New Harmony, Ind., said Lt. Col. Deedra Thombleson, the state public affairs officer. These Soldiers will work with local responders to observe the water level at local levees. "The water levels are receding, and the rain coming doesn't look like its...

WASHINGTON, June 16, 2008 – More than 600 National Guard members in Illinois and Missouri are continuing sandbagging operations along the Mississippi River today in an effort to thwart the flood waters that are subsiding in Iowa. Soldiers from 1138th Transportation Company, based at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., fill sandbags June 15, 2008, in Clarksville, Mo., an area expected to get more flood water this week. Photo by Gary Stevens, Missouri National Guard  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Illinois and Missouri rivers flow into the Mississippi River just north of St. Louis. Flooding on those rivers is not...

WASHINGTON, June 16, 2008 – The Army National Guard has been so successful recruiting and retaining citizen-soldiers that officials purposely slowed May enlistments, National Guard Bureau officials reported. The Army and Air National Guard continued a brisk recruiting pace in May that has filled out the ranks of the Guard across the board. A decade-long decline in recruiting doctors, dentists and physician assistants was reversed in 2007, with a 20 percent increase. Recruiters anticipate a 60 percent increase in 2008 as they execute a four-year recovery program for the field. The Army National Guard was at 102 percent of its...

U.S. NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, June 13, 2008 – Army Sgt. 1st Class Vaughn R. Larson, a syndicated editorial cartoonist, arrived here two months ago as one of 20 members from the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 112th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. Army Sgt. 1st Class Vaughn R. Larson is a syndicated editorial cartoonist serving with the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 112th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Larson is the editor of The Wire, the official weekly publication for Joint Task Force Guantanamo, which handles detainee...

LONG POND, Pa., June 12, 2008 – Hours before his seventh-place start and fourth-place finish in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway here June 9, Dale Earnhardt Jr. looked fresh and rested as he visited National Guard members at an infield area. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (right) talks with members of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard on June 9, 2008, at Pocono Raceway, Pa., before driving the No. 88 National Guard car in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Pocono 500. Braving near triple-digit temperatures, it was the hottest race of the season for Earnhardt and the No. 88 Guard car...

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2008 – Governors in four of six Midwestern states affected by heavy rains and subsequent flooding called out more than 2,000 National Guard members this week as flood waters forced residents from their homes, left thousands without power and damaged infrastructure. Army Spc. Joseph Stamm, 1st Battalion, 151st Infantry, helps residents load sandbags into their vehicle in Martinsville, Ind. Flash floods tore through the area after more than 10 inches of rain poured over the already saturated land. U.S. Army photo by Spc. William E. Henry, Indiana National Guard  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The...

INDIANAPOLIS, June 10, 2008 – The Indiana National Guard is preparing to continue a long flood fight across the southern part of the state. Flooding resulted when more than six inches of rain dumped into the Wabash Valley on the evening of June 6 and well into the morning of June 7. Guardsmen and equipment are moving to counties in southwestern Indiana, and officials are working with the county emergency management director to ensure they know the most efficient means of requesting Indiana National Guard support. More than 900 soldiers and airmen from across the state have been activated, and...

CARSON CITY, Nev., June 10, 2008 – Throughout his Air Force career, Nevada Air National Guard pilot Maj. Derek Routt has distinguished himself by emphasizing basic character traits such as integrity and work ethic. Air Force Maj. Derek Routt illustrates his enthusiasm for flying in an F-16 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., in 2005 during a Red Flag Exercise with 64th Aggressor Squadron. Photo courtesy of Tyson V. Rininger, TVR Photography  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. They promise to be the same attributes Routt upholds this fall when he becomes the first National Guard pilot to take...

TERRE HAUTE, Ind., June 9, 2008 – As members of the Air National Guard's 181st Intelligence Wing and the Army National Guard's 519th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion made their way toward Hulman Field here, they had an idea what their mission was going to be during June's drill weekend. Members of the Indiana National Guard’s 181st Intelligence Wing, from Terre Haute, Ind., fill sand bags June 8, 2008, to stem the flow of flood waters that hit the state June 6-7. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Chris Jennings  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. More than six...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, June 6, 2008 – Deployed Idaho National Guardsmen working as a police mentoring team travel throughout Afghanistan’s Parwan province to train and advise the Afghan National Police. An Afghan National Police officer checks a vehicle’s undercarriage during a vehicle-search class at the Parwan province’s police headquarters in the Charikar district, June 3, 2008. The class is given as part of ongoing training the ANP receive from a team of Idaho National Guardsmen. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jessica R. Dahlberg, 382nd Public Affairs Detachment  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. As part of the training,...

WASHINGTON, May 29, 2008 – About 175 Iowa National Guard soldiers and airmen are serving on state active duty in support of tornado-relief and -recovery missions for northeastern Iowa. The servicemembers were activated the evening of May 26 and the next morning following tornadoes and severe storms in the Butler County area May 25. It is estimated the soldiers and airmen will remain on duty for the next several days. With numerous power lines down, leakage from damaged vehicles, severed natural gas lines, debris, rubble and unstable structures, about 160 soldiers from 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry, are providing security and...

A baby is alive, and his mother, grateful after the decisive actions of a Minneapolis police officer. It's simple moments, like watching her children play together, that Brooke Johnson treasures most these days. "They're just sweet," Brooke says. "You just realize how fragile life is." Last week, 3-year-old Courtney and 10-month-old Philip were in the car. "(Courtney) had been talking to him in the back seat and she said, oh Phil's asleep and I didn't think much of it," Brooke says. But something was wrong. When Brooke looked in the back seat, she saw Philip wasn't breathing. His eyes had...

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq, May 22, 2008 – Most National Guardsmen train and mobilize together as a whole unit before deploying to Iraq, but some deploy individually and are attached to active-duty units. Army Maj. Barry Hafer, left, a Marshall, Texas, native, helps review population perception while going over plans with Army Maj. Keith Chinn, an Elk Grove, Calif., native, at Camp Liberty, Iraq, May 10, 2008. Hafer, a member of 5th Battalion, 112th Artillery Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard, is attached to 4th Infantry Division, Multinational Division Baghdad, and is serving as the division’s Red Team...

Martyrs or Imperial Guard? May 15, 2008 by Sarah Yeomans New discoveries in the catacombs of San Pietro and Marcellinus Details of faces—7th century fresco devotional fresco (The Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology) When a sinkhole opened up after a pipe broke underneath the convent and school of the Instituto Sacra Famiglia on Rome's Via Casilina, the sisters there received a surprise--about 1,200 surprises, in fact. The partial collapse of the building's foundation revealed five large chambers in which the remains of more than a thousand individuals had been interred almost simultaneously sometime at the beginning of the third century...

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2008 – The National Guard's 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team based in New York is part of a task force sent to Afghanistan to train and mentor the Afghan national security forces, a military official said yesterday. “Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix 12 consists of active, Guard, reserve, all services, components, coalition partners -- for a total of 8,500-plus soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen,” Army Col. Brian Balfe, commander of the U.S. Army National Guard’s 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, told online journalists and “bloggers.” While Task Force Phoenix is only on a nine-month tour as opposed...

CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind., May 15, 2008 – Many mothers sit at home and wonder what their deployed son or daughter is doing, hoping everything is all right and waiting for the next phone call. Some might see a mother deploying with her son as a great thing, but what onlookers might not think about is what is left back home. Army National Guard Spc. Roschell Eaton and her son, Spc. Jason Hutchins, both from 3175th Military Police Company, train at Camp Atterbury, Ind., for their upcoming deployment as part of Kosovo Force 10, Multinational Task Force East. U.S. Army...

ROME, N.Y., May 13, 2008 – While North American Aerospace Defense Command celebrates its rich and historic 50-year history, one unit will remain diligently watching the skies just as it did on Sept. 11, 2001. Master Sgt. Thomas Whiteman, an Air National Guardsman with Northeast Air Defense Sector, salutes as Master Cpl. Bob Peldjak, a Canadian member of NEADS, stands at attention while the Canadian national anthem is played and the Canadian flag is raised on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2007. The binational, joint ceremony is held every year at the Veterans Memorial Park in Rome, N.Y., honoring the...

Folks, I want to invite all Freepers and Lurkers in good standing to attend the rally to welcome the families of the graduating cadets of the Coast Guard Academy on May 21, 2008. Vice President Dick Cheney will be the honored speaker.

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2008 – National Guard troops are standing by to assist storm-lashed Kansas City, Mo., residents, a Missouri National Guard official said today. “The Missouri National Guard is prepared and ready to support the citizens of Missouri when called,” Army Capt. Tamara Spicer, public affairs officer for the Missouri National Guard, said in a statement. Up to 80 mph winds, rain and hail reportedly pelted areas north of Kansas City last night and early today. The storm uprooted trees, damaged homes and businesses and caused an areawide power outage. There have been no reports of fatalities, but several...

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2008 – The Defense Commissary Agency is taking the commissary benefit to National Guard and reserve members and their families living in remote areas. Guard and reserve members and their families shop at the case-lot sale at the North Carolina Air National Guard base of 145th Airlift Wing, held in Charlotte, N.C., April 3-6. U.S. Army Photo by Margaret McKenzie  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "The 2004 National Defense Authorization Act authorized full commissary benefits for members of the Ready Reserve," Richard Page, acting Defense Commissary Agency director, said. “Through our new ‘Bringing the Benefit...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y., April 30, 2008 – The Army Physical Fitness Test would be a lot more demanding if “Sgt. Ken” was in charge. It would, in his world, gauge soldiers’ ability to do a lot more than perform a mandatory number of push-ups and sit-ups in two minutes and run two miles within a required time. The test would determine soldiers’ fitness for combat, if Sgt. Ken had his way. Tennessee Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Ken Weichert leads Army and Air Guard senior enlisted leaders through a strenuous workout in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in April. He is...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y., April 29, 2008 – It was 20 times more painful, more debilitating, than any electrical shock she had ever experienced. Yet, a few minutes later, Arkansas National Guard state Command Sgt. Maj. Deborah Collins was walking and talking as normally as if she had never had a shocking encounter with one of the newest weapons available to the National Guard. Arkansas Command Sgt. Maj. Deborah Collins reacts to her shocking encounter with a Taser X26 during a demonstration of nonlethal weapons for the National Guard Bureau's Senior Enlisted Leaders Conference in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in April...

LA PLATA, Md., April 29, 2008 – At least 60 airmen, soldiers and civilians with the Air and Army National Guard brought Christmas early to a disabled Maryland resident here April 26 by repairing her home on "National Rebuilding Day." Members of the National Guard Bureau, the Air Guard Readiness Center and the District of Columbia National Guard were among the volunteers who repaired the home of Michelle Samuel for what they called a "Christmas in April" event. Known nationally as Rebuilding Day, the annual event's community projects are planned and organized for the last Saturday in April. Orchestrated...

WASHINGTON, April 17, 2008 – Military Resale and Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs are working to support members of the military community regardless of their proximity to installations, a defense official told the House Armed Services Committee today. “Our Resale and MWR programs are more effectively reaching out to our active-duty, Guard and reserve families, our retirees, the digital generation of our members, and our military spouses who work,” said Leslye A. Arsht, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy. Part of that MWR outreach will benefit what Arsht described as “far-flung military members and families.”...

GNJILANE, Kosovo, April 17, 2008 – Thronged sidewalks and cafes, jammed roads and packed store shelves suggest progress in this former war zone where National Guard troops play a key role in an international effort to keep the world’s newest country on the path of peace. Army Maj. Gen. Larry Shellito, adjutant general of the Minnesota National Guard; Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty; and Army Brig. Gen. John Davoren, commander of Kosovo Force’s Multinational Task Force East, tour Kosovo on April 12, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill, National Guard Bureau   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image...

WASHINGTON, April 7, 2008 – Deployments are tough on military families, especially on the children. Children of deployed National Guardsmen and reservists often must deal not only with a parent’s absence, but also with the financial burden their family must bear when the deployed parents’ military pay is less than they earn in civilian life. “Our Military Children” helps fund after-school activities for children of the National Guard and reserves when a parent is deployed, one of the organization’s founders said in an interview on the “ASY Live” program on BlogTalkRadio.com. “ASY” stands for America Supports You, a Defense...

INDIANAPOLIS, March 31, 2008 – The Greater Indianapolis YMCA is offering family members of state National Guardsmen an affordable way to stay active and healthy while their loved ones are deployed. Jaxon Curtis, 3, entertains Indiana Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman (left) and Army Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, Indiana National Guard adjutant general, while they wait to address spectators and media at the YMCA in Noblesville, Ind., on March 11, 2008. Jaxon and his sister, Chloe, 1, are the children of Capt. Maurice Curtis, who is deployed to Iraq with 1st Battalion, 293rd Infantry Regiment, 76th Infantry Brigade Combat...

Bushed: A resident of San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood whose regular exercise regimen includes walking the Lyon Street steps was startled the other night when a man popped out of the bushes right in front of the home owned by Sen. Dianne Feinstein and megabucks husband Richard Blum. It was a security guard who was keeping watch over the senator's home, which is also monitored by some eyes in the sky - cameras atop the house's roof. The guard promptly apologized, telling our walker, "I have to go off camera and go to the bathroom in the bushes." "That makes...

CHINA has told Australia its army should oversee the local leg of the Olympic torch relay amid mounting security concerns. Chinese officials have asked Australian Federal Police to hand over security to its own forces to ensure protests do not mar the relay when it lands in Australia next month. The move – which has been rebuffed by the AFP – comes as Beijing reels from an embarrassing relay launch in Greece when human rights activists hijacked the event. China has responded by radically cutting back its relay legs in cities where it expects more trouble, police sources told The...

WASHINGTON, March 14, 2008 – A new “virtual installation” concept that helps families who live far from a military base get information and tap into services available for them during their loved ones’ deployment is expected to begin rolling out next month. Recognizing the challenges Reserve families face during deployments, Laura Stultz, wife of Army Reserve Chief Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, is promoting a virtual installation concept that helps bring information and other resources within reach of families far from military posts. Army Reserve photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Plans are being laid to open several...

CAMP SHELBY JOINT FORCES TRAINING CENTER, Miss., March 4, 2008 – Fourteen soldiers with the Arkansas National Guard's 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team were injured last night when severe weather passed through Camp Shelby. Army Lt. Col. James Treece, commander of 217th Brigade Support Battalion, stands next to wreckage of a barracks at Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center, Miss., March 3, 2008. Severe weather damaged the barracks and injured 14 soldiers with the Arkansas National Guard's 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Photo by Maj. Craig Heathscott, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Injuries were mainly limited to...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29, 2008 – A National Guard civil support team was on scene within an hour last night after Las Vegas authorities sought help with a suspicious substance that later turned out to be deadly ricin. Two members of the 92nd Civil Support Team take a sample of a simulated hazardous substance in a Sparks, Nev., shopping mall during training Nov. 25, 2005. The Nevada National Guard’s civil support team was called to assist Las Vegas Metro Police on Feb. 28, 2008, with a suspicious substance that was later identified as deadly ricin. The team is one of...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2008 – For an Arkansas Army National Guardsman, the war in Iraq came to an abrupt end in the alley of a Baghdad neighborhood on June 13, 2004. Kevin and Danielle Pannell take a break at Ivan's Local Flavor Stress Free Bar at White Bay Campgrounds on Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands, on Oct. 20, 2007. The couple was part of a small group of wounded veterans and their spouses who participated in Team River Runner's first adaptive kayaking trip to the Virgin Islands. Photo by Samantha L. Quigley  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available....

TASWELL, Va., Feb. 12, 2008 – More than 120 Virginia National Guard soldiers went on state active duty yesterday to join in the battle against wildfires raging throughout the state. Virginia Army National Guard aviators Warrant Officer Aaron Trombley (left) and Chief Warrant Officer John Anderson (center) check the location of their water drop on a Virginia wildfire Feb. 11, 2008, near Tazewell, Va., with Dave Slack, Virginia Department of Forestry regional forester. Virginia National Guard photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. While a Virginia National Guard helicopter dumped 600-gallon buckets of water to help contain fires in...