Showing posts with label Army National Guard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Army National Guard. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 27, 2023
Saturday, December 25, 2021
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
1,000 National Guard Soldiers to Deploy to Africa as Mid East Wars Wind Down | Military.com
1,000 National Guard Soldiers to Deploy to Africa as Mid East Wars Wind Down | Military.com: It is unclear if the 1,000 Guardsmen is an increase in the Pentagon’s force in Africa, or if those troops are replacing others currently deployed.
Friday, September 17, 2021
DHS Briefing Warns of Potential Violence at DC Rally
A Depratment of Homeland Security briefing to state and local law enforcement agencies stressed the possibility of violence at the "Justice for J6" protest rally based on its intelligence assessment.Officers from Montgomery County,Maryland;Arlington County,Virginia;and Fairfax County,Virginia have been deputised to assist the US Capitol Police at the event on 18 September 2021.As well,the Pentagon has put the D.C. National Guard on standby for a quick response,if needed.*
Capitol fencing was put up by construction crews overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.They also added temporary surveillance cameras to the setup.The fencing is buttressed by concrete jersey barriers to make it sturdier and deter ramming by motor vehicles.*
The DHS briefing noted that online chatter indicated possible violence not only on the eighteenth,but the seventeenth as well.There was talk of storming the Capitol and the kidnapping of a specific member of Congress.Lone wolves and small groups can mobilise quickly and without warning,the briefing cautioned.*
The DHS Transportation Security Administration will bulk up security at Washington area airports this weekend by deploying canine teams.In addition,the Capitol Police and the TSA are upgrading protection of members of Congress.*
Several state capitals across the country are also possible targets for extremist activity over the weekend.*
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Arctic Edge 20:Preparing North America for Advanced Threats
On 13 February 2020,General Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy,US Air Force,commander of US NORTHCOM and NORAD,read a statement before the Senate Armed Services Committee.It was a chilling account of what our totalitarian adversaries have been doing recently to degrade American power and leadership in the 21st century:
However,our key adversaries watched and learned,invested in capabilities to offset our strengths while exploiting our weaknesses,and have demonstrated patterns of behavior that indicate they currently have the capability,capacity,and intent to hold our homeland at significant risk below the threshold of nuclear war.This is emboldening competitors and adversaries to challenge us at home,holding at risk our people,our critical infrastructure,and our ability to project power forward.
The threats facing our nation are real and significant.The Arctic is no longer a fortress wall,our oceans are no longer protective moats;they are now avenues of approach for advanced conventional weapons and the platforms that carry them.Our adversaries' capability to directly attack the homeland has leapt forward,and they are engaged in concerted efforts to weaken our national technological,economic,and strategic advantage.*
The strategic threat to the homeland has entered a new era.Key adversaries Russia and China have deployed and continue to advance a range of capabilities with nuclear,conventional,and cyberspace weapons,believing it to be an effective means of offsetting Western military advantages and limiting our options in a crisis.*
Hence the upcoming NORAD/NORTHCOM Exercise Arctic Edge 20 could not be more welcome than it is now.This biannual,bi-national joint training exercise with the Canadian Armed Forces from 24 February-6 March 2020 will range across Alaska,providing high quality and effective training in the extreme cold-weather conditions found in the Arctic,a press release stated.AE 20 will be the largest joint exercise to be staged in Alaska this year.About 1,000 US personnel from all the Armed Forces will participate.NORAD and NORTHCOM will contribute complimentary,multi-domain capabilities toward the defence of the US and Canada.
What is more,AE 20 will be linked to the National Guard's Arctic Eagle exercise and the US Navy's Ice Exercise (ICEX),the press release stated.All these drills will take place from February-March 2020 in order to prepare Arctic-capable forces across all domains of warfighting.Members of the Canadian Joint Operations Command are expected to participate in the preparation and testing of the joint military forces' ability to operate tactically in the extreme and austere Arctic environments.
However,our key adversaries watched and learned,invested in capabilities to offset our strengths while exploiting our weaknesses,and have demonstrated patterns of behavior that indicate they currently have the capability,capacity,and intent to hold our homeland at significant risk below the threshold of nuclear war.This is emboldening competitors and adversaries to challenge us at home,holding at risk our people,our critical infrastructure,and our ability to project power forward.
The threats facing our nation are real and significant.The Arctic is no longer a fortress wall,our oceans are no longer protective moats;they are now avenues of approach for advanced conventional weapons and the platforms that carry them.Our adversaries' capability to directly attack the homeland has leapt forward,and they are engaged in concerted efforts to weaken our national technological,economic,and strategic advantage.*
The strategic threat to the homeland has entered a new era.Key adversaries Russia and China have deployed and continue to advance a range of capabilities with nuclear,conventional,and cyberspace weapons,believing it to be an effective means of offsetting Western military advantages and limiting our options in a crisis.*
Hence the upcoming NORAD/NORTHCOM Exercise Arctic Edge 20 could not be more welcome than it is now.This biannual,bi-national joint training exercise with the Canadian Armed Forces from 24 February-6 March 2020 will range across Alaska,providing high quality and effective training in the extreme cold-weather conditions found in the Arctic,a press release stated.AE 20 will be the largest joint exercise to be staged in Alaska this year.About 1,000 US personnel from all the Armed Forces will participate.NORAD and NORTHCOM will contribute complimentary,multi-domain capabilities toward the defence of the US and Canada.
What is more,AE 20 will be linked to the National Guard's Arctic Eagle exercise and the US Navy's Ice Exercise (ICEX),the press release stated.All these drills will take place from February-March 2020 in order to prepare Arctic-capable forces across all domains of warfighting.Members of the Canadian Joint Operations Command are expected to participate in the preparation and testing of the joint military forces' ability to operate tactically in the extreme and austere Arctic environments.
Saturday, October 6, 2018
Afghan War:National Guard Soldier Killed in Helmand Identified
A US Army Soldier killed in action in Garmsir district,Helmand Province,Afghanistan has been identified as SPC James A. Slape,23,of Morehead,North Carolina.Serving in support of both the NATO Resolute Support Mission and Operation Freedom's Sentinel,SPC Slape was a member of the North Carolina National Guard's 60th Troop Command,430th Explosive Ordnance Company.
He was an explosive ordnance disposal technician and was approaching a vehicle that had struck an IED,intending to clear a path to it,when a second IED blew up,severely wounding him.He later died at a medical care facility.*
SPC Slape had joined the Guard in 2013 and was deployed to Afghanistan in April 2018,being posted to Camp Dwyer in Helmand Province,which is focused on assisting Afghan National Defence and Security Forces overcome the substantial Taliban militant presence in the Province.He was to have returned home in the spring.SPC Slape's was the seventh American combat death in Afghanistan this year.He was posthumously promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
About 14,000 US troops are serving in Afghanistan at this time,led by General Austin Scott Miller,US Army.*
Righteousness exalteth a nation;but sin is a reproach to any people.
-Proverbs 14:34
He was an explosive ordnance disposal technician and was approaching a vehicle that had struck an IED,intending to clear a path to it,when a second IED blew up,severely wounding him.He later died at a medical care facility.*
SPC Slape had joined the Guard in 2013 and was deployed to Afghanistan in April 2018,being posted to Camp Dwyer in Helmand Province,which is focused on assisting Afghan National Defence and Security Forces overcome the substantial Taliban militant presence in the Province.He was to have returned home in the spring.SPC Slape's was the seventh American combat death in Afghanistan this year.He was posthumously promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
About 14,000 US troops are serving in Afghanistan at this time,led by General Austin Scott Miller,US Army.*
Righteousness exalteth a nation;but sin is a reproach to any people.
-Proverbs 14:34
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
Rapid Trident 18:Preparing Ukraine for NATO
From 3-15 September 2018,troops from 14 nations assembled at Ukraine's International Peacekeeping and Security Centre in Yavoriv for two weeks of intensive training.The Rapid Trident 18 drills were aimed at building the sophistication of the Ukrainian Land Forces while strengthening the bonds with and between the multinational cohort.Ukraine aspires to NATO membership,as does the Republic of Georgia.As part of their path to NATO,both nations must undertake defence reform to ensure their interoperability with Alliance and partner forces.
Those militaries participating in RT 18 included: Azerbaijan;Bulgaria;Canada;Denmark;Georgia;Germany;Lithuania;Moldova;Poland;as well as Romania;Turkey;the UK;Ukraine;and the US.
The annual exercise builds military interoperability through establishing professional relationships and fostering camaraderie in the process of building Ukraine's sustainable training capacity and supporting defence reform,according to US 7th Army Training Command.*
The multinational forces served as trainers,observers and mentors throughout the situational training in platoon-level tasks such as border control and security;cordon and search;medevac and combat lifesaving;convoy security;reaction to contact;countering IEDs;bomb disposal;checkpoint security;observation post operations;drone usage for aerial observation;and armour manoeuvre and tactics. The second week of the drills combined all the training objectives into a live action field exercise for the Ukrainian training battalions,which included the Ukrainian Special Forces;Conventional Forces;National Guard;and Border Guard.
Representing the US were about 100 Soldiers from the California Army National Guard and around 200 from the Tennessee Army National Guard,which is currently serving a nine-month deployment at Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine.The US National Guard units have developed very strong ties with the Ukrainian Land Forces over several years of staffing the JMTG-U.
Those militaries participating in RT 18 included: Azerbaijan;Bulgaria;Canada;Denmark;Georgia;Germany;Lithuania;Moldova;Poland;as well as Romania;Turkey;the UK;Ukraine;and the US.
The annual exercise builds military interoperability through establishing professional relationships and fostering camaraderie in the process of building Ukraine's sustainable training capacity and supporting defence reform,according to US 7th Army Training Command.*
The multinational forces served as trainers,observers and mentors throughout the situational training in platoon-level tasks such as border control and security;cordon and search;medevac and combat lifesaving;convoy security;reaction to contact;countering IEDs;bomb disposal;checkpoint security;observation post operations;drone usage for aerial observation;and armour manoeuvre and tactics. The second week of the drills combined all the training objectives into a live action field exercise for the Ukrainian training battalions,which included the Ukrainian Special Forces;Conventional Forces;National Guard;and Border Guard.
Representing the US were about 100 Soldiers from the California Army National Guard and around 200 from the Tennessee Army National Guard,which is currently serving a nine-month deployment at Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine.The US National Guard units have developed very strong ties with the Ukrainian Land Forces over several years of staffing the JMTG-U.
Friday, August 18, 2017
Update:Soldier Killed in Afghanistan Identified - Special Forces member
US Forces Afghanistan in Kabul has released the identity of the fallen US Soldier killed in action against ISIL-K on 16 August 2017 in Achin district of Nangarhar Province Afghanistan:
Staff Sergeant Aaron Rhett Butler,27,of Monticello,Utah.
SSGT Butler was a Special Forces engineer with the 19th Special Forces Group of the Utah Army National Guard out of Salt Lake City.Sixteen other US service members were wounded in the raid.Fourteen of them were treated and released and the other two remain under hospital care.*
SSGT Butler was reportedly clearing a building with his unit when an IED exploded.The Soldiers were on a partnered operation with the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan.
General John Nicholson,Commander of all US and NATO Forces in Afghanistan,said that,despite the latest causalties,they were determined to continue the struggle against ISIL-K.*
On 17 August,General Mark Milley,Chief of Staff US Army,arrived in Kabul for meetings with Afghan defence officials.
Staff Sergeant Aaron Rhett Butler,27,of Monticello,Utah.
SSGT Butler was a Special Forces engineer with the 19th Special Forces Group of the Utah Army National Guard out of Salt Lake City.Sixteen other US service members were wounded in the raid.Fourteen of them were treated and released and the other two remain under hospital care.*
SSGT Butler was reportedly clearing a building with his unit when an IED exploded.The Soldiers were on a partnered operation with the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan.
General John Nicholson,Commander of all US and NATO Forces in Afghanistan,said that,despite the latest causalties,they were determined to continue the struggle against ISIL-K.*
On 17 August,General Mark Milley,Chief of Staff US Army,arrived in Kabul for meetings with Afghan defence officials.
Thursday, August 17, 2017
US Soldier Killed in Afghanistan - counterterror operation
An American Soldier was killed and about seven others wounded in a clash with Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan militants on 16 August 2017,US Forces Afghanistan in Kabul and the Utah National Guard said.The battle took place in Achin district of Nangarhar Province,a longtime stronghold of the Islamist extremists.All of the Americans were members of the Utah National Guard serving in a partnered operation with the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces.
General John Nicholson,US Army,Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan,said he wants to eradicate ISIL-K from Afghanistan by the end of the year.Eleven Americans have died in the Afghan War so far this year,already exceeding the death toll of ten for all of 2016.*
On Friday,US President Donald Trump is reportedly to hold a meeting about Afghanistan with his National Security Council at the presidential retreat,Camp David,Maryland.A Trump decision on strategy for the war is regarded as being past due on Capitol Hill.The Pentagon favours sending up to 4,000 US troops back to Afghanistan,a partial reversal of the 2014 widescale withdrawal.There are currently about 8400 permanently assigned US service members there.*
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the three key areas are Special Operations Forces,air power and better command and control by the ANDSF.It isn't going to be easy and nonviolent in Afghanistan this year or even next year.
NATO Allies may be approached by the US for additional troop contributions once a strategy is set.
General John Nicholson,US Army,Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan,said he wants to eradicate ISIL-K from Afghanistan by the end of the year.Eleven Americans have died in the Afghan War so far this year,already exceeding the death toll of ten for all of 2016.*
On Friday,US President Donald Trump is reportedly to hold a meeting about Afghanistan with his National Security Council at the presidential retreat,Camp David,Maryland.A Trump decision on strategy for the war is regarded as being past due on Capitol Hill.The Pentagon favours sending up to 4,000 US troops back to Afghanistan,a partial reversal of the 2014 widescale withdrawal.There are currently about 8400 permanently assigned US service members there.*
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the three key areas are Special Operations Forces,air power and better command and control by the ANDSF.It isn't going to be easy and nonviolent in Afghanistan this year or even next year.
NATO Allies may be approached by the US for additional troop contributions once a strategy is set.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
NATO's Exercise Allied Spirit IV:Winter Warfare Challenge
NATO's Exercise Allied Spirit IV is now underway in Bavaria,Germany at the Hohenfels Training Area.The snowy landscape provides a challenging setting for the more than 2400 troops from Canada,Italy,Germany,Latvia,Slovenia,the UK and the US who are participating in the high intensity drills.Combat scenarios being enacted include conventional forces engagement;guerilla warfare;and defending against a chemical weapons attack.They are intended to train brigade and battalion level commands for real world battlefields.*
Leading the major exercise is Italy's Garibaldi Brigade,being the brigade headquarters for Allied Spirit.The Michigan Army National Guard is lead advisor in the higher command echelon.Other US troops participating are the US Army's 2nd Cavalry Regiment and 173rd Airborne Brigade.Besides the Michigan National Guard,Army National Guard troops from Louisiana,Ohio,Washington,DC and California are honing their skills at Hohenfels as well.*
It is our hope to not only learn from our allies,but also demonstrate the US overall support of the NATO mission,said Michigan Army National Guard Colonel Clark C. Barret,Commander,NATO Rapid Deployment Corps-Hohenfels (NRDC-H).The NATO allies show they can work together to resolve potential threats,safeguarding the freedom and security of its members through political and military means,which is a fundamental principal of the most successful military alliance in history,COL Barret added.*
Hohenfels confronts the soldiers with extreme cold and snow,varied terrain and obstacles,testing their ability to respond to simulated threats and challenging all levels of command with decision making and overall operational planning,US Army Europe said.
Leading the major exercise is Italy's Garibaldi Brigade,being the brigade headquarters for Allied Spirit.The Michigan Army National Guard is lead advisor in the higher command echelon.Other US troops participating are the US Army's 2nd Cavalry Regiment and 173rd Airborne Brigade.Besides the Michigan National Guard,Army National Guard troops from Louisiana,Ohio,Washington,DC and California are honing their skills at Hohenfels as well.*
It is our hope to not only learn from our allies,but also demonstrate the US overall support of the NATO mission,said Michigan Army National Guard Colonel Clark C. Barret,Commander,NATO Rapid Deployment Corps-Hohenfels (NRDC-H).The NATO allies show they can work together to resolve potential threats,safeguarding the freedom and security of its members through political and military means,which is a fundamental principal of the most successful military alliance in history,COL Barret added.*
Hohenfels confronts the soldiers with extreme cold and snow,varied terrain and obstacles,testing their ability to respond to simulated threats and challenging all levels of command with decision making and overall operational planning,US Army Europe said.
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