Minuteman Report

Hawaii Air National Guardsmen participated in Exercise Ulchi Freedom-Guardian, one of the largest Joint Staff direced theater exercises in the world involving more than 30.000 U.S. participants from the Republic of Korea, the U. S., and other nations, came to an end August 30 following two weeks of training around the Korean Peninsula.

Guardsmen from multipule states teamed up with first responders in an exercise at Fort Bragg, N. C. The exercise allowed the military and civilians the opportunity to enhance their emergency response skills in a training environment.

National Guardsmen from Utah help build structures at Forward Operating Base Lighting in the Pukitya Province with the help from the Afghan National Army. The structures are being built to prepare for the U.S. forces drawdown and to accommodte future cosolidation of bases in the country. Story by Army Sergeant Aaron Ricca.

General Raymond E. Johns, Jr., commander of Air Mobility Command, and more than 20 civic leaders from across the nation, visited Rosecrans Air National Guard Base to witness a low-cost, low altitude airdrop by the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center. Story by SSgt Michael Crane

The Joint Training and Experimentation Center, based at the Wyoming National Guard’s Camp Guernsey Joint Training Center, Wyo., recently prepared unmanned aerial vehicles for possible support of civilian firefighting and reconnaissance uses. JTEC personnel reinvested their efforts into the civilian applications after fires broke out at the installation in July 2012. JTEC is a cooperative effort be...

C-5 Galaxies are a strategic airlift workhorse. West Virginia Air Guardsmen move equipment for the Army's 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade as they are replaced by the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Aircrews and maintenance airmen are charged with keeping equipment flowing and the Galaxy flying. Video by SSgt. Neal Uranga

The National Guard Association of the United States met in Reno, Nevada recently to discuss the interests, needs and challenges guardsmen face throughout the nation. Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney spoke at this year’s annual event. Story by Army Sergeant Shane Klestinski.

Hawaii National Guard urban search and rescue forces travel to the Philippines to share their knowledge and expertise. Search and rescue subject matter experts from the Hawaii National Guard's CERF-P (Chemical Biological Nuclear And High-Yield Explosive Enhanced Response Force Package. The team has traveled to Subic Bay, Philippines to teach fifty local first responders, from the Philippine Armed...

Idaho National Guardsmen join other Subject Matter Experts from the U.S. military to share Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear response best practices with the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces personnel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Story by Capt. Tony Vincelli.

Washington National Guardsmen were called in to help firefighters in Eastern Washington battle wildfires. The 66th Theater Aviation Brigade brought in CH-47 Chinook and UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters to drop water on and around the fires helping save homes and lives. Story by Army Staff Sgt. John Kriess.

The command chief to the director of the Air National Guard retired during a ceremony held at the Bolling Parade Field at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling last Thursday. Chief Master Sergeant Christopher Muncy bid farewell to Lt. Gen. Harry M. Wyatt III, the director of the ANG, and other distinguished guests, dignitaries and fellow servicemembers after 35 years of service to the Air Force, ANG and ou...

A New York National Guardsman recently held Teacher development seminars for teachers in Afghanistan's Spin Boldak district. Teachers came in on their day off to further develop teaching skills. Story by Staff Sergeant Katie Gray.

The Nebraska National Guard Agribusiness Development Team, or ADT for the Paktiya Provincial Reconstruction Team, is putting their roots in farming and agriculture to use in Afghanistan by assisting Afghan farmers in developing more efficient methods for crop and livestock production. The ADT is an Operation Enduring Freedom specific operation that relies on volunteers to complete its mission. Sto...

A Missouri National Guardsman deployed to Afghanistan as part of a Provincial Reconstruction Team is teaching blacksmithing techniques to a local Afghan. The goal is for the student to eventually become the teacher. Story by Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Ramos.

The Hawaii National Guard's Environmental Office recently hosted a cleanup and native plant restoration event which coincided with the 19th annual National Public Lands Day. The Guardsmen worked alongside volunteers from Hawaii's Youth ChalleNGe Academy as well as students from a local community college. The cleanup event took place at Diamond Head Crater and was assisted by the Department of Land...

The Missouri National Guard's 1438th Engineer Company recently trained on bridge building techniques at Fort Leonard Wood to prepare for their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan. Story by Adam Winters.

Hikers in Colorado found themselves in need of assistance after one of them fell while rock climbing. A Black Hawk helicopter from the Colorado National Guard was on scene to assist authorities with the rescue. During the rescue operation a Guardsmen fractured his leg, but the mission capability was not decreased.

Twenty-two soldiers made their way to fort Indiantown gap, Pennsylvania recently to compete for a spot on the men's All-Army basketball team. Major David Smith, who has been the team's head coach for the past four years, received more than three hundred applications this year from active duty, National Guard and Reserve soldiers. And that's your Minuteman Report.

Idaho’s Gowen Field Air National Guard Base recently opened a new fitness center, thanks in part to the base recycling program which helped earn $130,000 for the new facility. The Adjutant General of Idaho, Maj. Gen. Gary Sayler, took part in the ribbon cutting ceremony for the six thousand square foot facility which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Story by Staff Sgt. Bob Barney.

A Texas Air National Guard's 147th Reconnaissance Wing received the Texas Lonestar Medal of Valor for rescuing a driver earlier this year who became trapped in her vehicle after it overturned and caught on fire. Story by Senior Airman Mindy Bloem.

The Chief of the National Guard Bureau, Air Force General Craig R. McKinley retired in a ceremony held at St. Francis Barracks in St. Augustine, Florida. Gen. McKinley was the first four star general and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in National Guard history. Story by Army Master Sgt. Paul Mouilleseaux.

Hundreds of Kosovo Force Soldiers responsible for the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo came together to train alongside local authorities in riot control techniques as part of the three-day exercise known as Silver Saber. Soldiers in Kosovo are prepared to face riots or roadblocks that disrupt freedom of movement, and the typical unrest that comes with political change in a region with inst...

National Guard GED Plus Program recruits recently cast their ballots for the upcoming presidential election using the Federal Voting Assistance Program, or FVAP. The program is designed to assist uniformed servicemembers, their families and American citizens living abroad find the tools and resources they need to cast a valid absentee ballot. Video by Air Force Capt. Kyle Key. Story by Tech. Sgt....

The Udari Range in the Kuwaiti desert hosted Operation Steel Sword, the first partnership event between American and Kuwaiti National Guard Transportation Soldiers. During the exercise, Soldiers of the Michigan National Guard's 1462nd Transportation Company exchanged ideas with the KNG on how to conduct convoy operations. Story by Sgt. 1st Class Adam Stone.

The New York National Guard prepared generators for the Presidential elections in New York City and surrounding areas. The coastal areas hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy were still out of power heading into the elections and the hundreds of generators will help deliver electricity to polling places and the new places after many polling places had to be moved or close due to flooding.