Free Republic

Guard troops are stationed at 13 medical facilities in the state... Each team consists of about six to 10 medical corps members, led by a physician or a nurse. Some facilities, like El Centro Regional Medical Center in Imperial County, have two teams. The Guard has dispatched medical help since the start of the pandemic, but the need is now greater, with hospitals reaching a breaking point from an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases. Last week, nine National Guard medical corps members arrived at Riverside Community Hospital, where there are more intensive care patients than beds. Staffers have converted a...

Firefighters have been working nonstop to put out multiple wildfires ravaging land and homes from the hills to the beaches of Southern California. High above the flames and smoke, heavy duty materiel is helping them better battle those blazes. In a partnership between state fire protection agency CAL FIRE and the California Air National Guard, unmanned drones have been assisting firefighters by relaying information that those on the ground could not otherwise get. The MQ-9 Reapers that were deployed this week have sensors that can see through smoke and feed back live video to the fire command. “We can show [firefighters]...

In Building 4001, service members routinely see raw sewage bubbling up from shower drains and toilets and spilling onto the floor, according to a February report by Sgt. Dustin Shepherd, noncommissioned officer in charge of camp operations. Building 6038, where soldiers check in for training, recently lacked heat despite temperatures dropping to 30 degrees, and had no air conditioning for blazing summer days. "I am literally sick over this," Shepherd wrote to superiors in a February e-mail obtained by The Bee, "and completely disgusted with the lack of soldier care." Scores of buildings created as temporary structures during the urgency...

These aren't the 300 Spartans you heard about from Greek myth or the movies. They are the nearly 300 Spartan combat support truckers of the National Guard who are on their way back to Iraq. The 1498th Transportation Co., nicknamed "The Spartans," departs today from March Air Reserve Base for its ultimate destination, a staging area in Kuwait designed for supporting missions into Iraq. ... On Tuesday the largest California Guard unit to deploy during the initial phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom got ready to redeploy to the Middle East, with 18 or so of its original members making the...

Lockheed Martin Corp. delivered its150th C-130J Super Hercules cargo plane to the California Air National Guard as the eighth and final C 130J assigned to the 146th Airlift Wing at Channel Islands Air National Guard Base near Oxnard. The aircraft was accepted on May 8 at Lockheed Martin's plant in Marietta, Ga., and flown to California by Brig. Gen. Darren W. McDew, Vice Commander of 18th Air Force. "The C-130J is an evolutionary leap in airlift technology compared to legacy C-130s," McDew said during the acceptance ceremony in Marietta. "This aircraft offers flexibility through greater range and payload for commanders...

LANCASTER - Entire units of soldiers stationed in Iraq will soon be receiving many items that are difficult or impossible for them to get, thanks to the efforts of an Antelope Valley Hospital nurse. Wendy Fuentes, assistant director of the 2 Tower telemetry unit at the hospital , has gathered hundreds of nonperishable items, from beef jerky to toothpaste, and assembled large care packages to send to various units stationed in Iraq. Many hospital employees have gotten behind the effort, donating items as well as money for the considerable postage required to get the packages to their destinations. "Wendy Fuentes...

LANCASTER - The joint-Lancaster-Palmdale "Salute to Troops" event scheduled for July 10 at JetHawks Stadium will include a visit by the commanding general of a storied California National Guard division and a star of the Iraq war, an M-1A Abrams battle tank. National Guard troops from Lancaster, Palmdale, and all across the Antelope Valley have served in Iraq. A Marine Corps Reserve helicopter squadron from Edwards Air Force Base is serving in Iraq now, and the other Marine Reserve helicopter unit based at Edwards served in Afghanistan last year. The Lancaster-based National Guard 756th Transportation Co. is back in Iraq,...

PALMDALE - For Phelan resident Kevin Scott, it means seeing his 1-year-old daughter walk. For Tehachapi resident William Maybee, it's a new appreciation of what family and friends mean. For Wrightwood resident Adam Gorey, it means a honeymoon. For soldiers from Bravo Company, 185th Armored Regiment of the California Army National Guard, it means they can move on with their lives after more than a year. Two buses carrying the soldiers from the Palmdale Armory arrived in Poncitlan Square on Monday to a throng of supporters and to the arms of their families. "Today, we welcome soldiers who have fought...

EDWARDS AFB - In support of real-world operations, testers from the Global Power Fighters Combined Test Force performed accelerated testing to equip the F-16, for the first time ever, with a 500-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition, or GBU-38, that was completed July 16. The 416th Flight Test Squadron built up to the release of three inert, guided GBU-38 weapons from a Block 30 F-16 at China Lake Warfare Center Weapons Division Range from July 13 through 16, and successfully completed developmental testing. "In 30 days, operational and developmental testing was completed, which is a huge success highlighting the abilities of...