Kentucky names 2026 'Best Warriors'
Kentucky Air Guard honors top Airmen
Kentucky surpasses expectations through ‘KEEP’
Guard Airmen earn Kentucky Distinguished Service Medal for life-saving actions
Kentucky National Guard 'Ready for the Future'

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The Kentucky Air National Guard recognizes the 123rd Airlift Wing’s top Airmen for 2026 during the Airman’s Gala at Wildwood Country Club in Louisville, Ky., March 14, 2026. Senior Airman Ethan Greco, Staff Sgt. Lucas Bradshaw and Senior Master Sgt. Dallas Stoll were honored in the Airman, NCO and Senior NCO categories, while Master Sgt. Josh Pence was named First Sergeant of the Year. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Joshua Horton)
Kentucky Air Guard honors top Airmen
March 25, 2026
The Kentucky Air National Guard recognized the 123rd Airlift Wing’s top Airmen for 2026 during the Airman’s Gala in Louisville on March 14.
Staff Sgt. Shea Moody with Det. 1, 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry Battalion, competes in the obstacle course event of the Kentucky Best Warrior Competition, held at Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center, Greenville, Ky., March 21, 2026. This competition shows the adaptiveness, resilience, and lethality of our forces, affirming the readiness of National Guard citizen-Soldiers to meet the nation's challenges. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by 1st Sgt. Scott Raymond)
Kentucky names 2026 ‘Best Warriors’
March 25, 2026
Twenty Kentucky Army National Guard Soldiers representing major commands across the commonwealth competed in the 2026 Best Warrior Competition at the Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center, March 20-22.
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Jonathan Stubbs, director of the Army National Guard, shares his leadership philosophy with Kentucky Guardsmen at the 2026 National Guard Association of Kentucky conference at the Sloan Convention Center in Bowling Green, Ky., Feb. 28, 2026. Photo by 1st Sgt. Scott Raymond.
Kentucky National Guard ‘Ready for the Future,’ Army Guard Director Tells Leaders
March 11, 2026
The director of the Army National Guard praised the Kentucky National Guard’s combat readiness, domestic response capabilities and international partnerships during remarks at a leadership conference, Feb. 28.

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Lt. Gen. Jon Stubbs, director of the Army National Guard, administers the oath of office to Brig. Gen. Franklin “Shaune” Jones during a promotion ceremony at the National Guard Memorial Museum in Washington, April 3, 2026. Jones, a Kentucky National Guard officer from Owingsville, was promoted to brigadier general. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Ethan Ford)
Kentucky Native Col. Franklin (Shaune) Jones Promoted to Brigadier General
April 28, 2026
Brig. Gen. Franklin “Shaune” Jones, a native of Owingsville, Kentucky, was promoted by Lt. Gen. Jon Stubbs, director of the Army National Guard, in a ceremony at the National Guard Memorial Museum, April 3, 2026.
Members of the Louisville Metro Council present Master Sgt. Ty Allen, left, fire chief for the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Airlift Wing, and Assistant Chief William Weinstein, right, with a proclamation in Louisville, Ky., April 20, 2026, on behalf of eight Guard firefighters who responded to a deadly cargo plane crash last year. The firefighters were among the first emergency responders to arrive at the crash site and worked with dozens of others to bring a raging fire under control. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Phil Speck)
Mayor, city council recognize Air Guard firefighters for plane crash response
April 24, 2026
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and members of the Metro Council paid tribute April 20 to firefighters from the Kentucky Air National Guard and emergency responders from more than 40 other agencies for their coordinated efforts to extinguish a massive blaze after a cargo plane crashed near Grade Lane on Nov. 4.
U.S. Army Warrant Officer Elijah Johnson with his wife, Samijo, and daughter, Mallory after his appointment, Feb. 10, 2026, in Lexington, Kentucky. Johnson is Kentucky’s newest field artillery targeting technician, assigned to the 138th Operational Fires Command. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Crane)
Kentucky welcomes its newest targeting officer
April 21, 2026
Friends and family gathered to celebrate U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Elijah Johnson’s appointment to warrant officer during a ceremony in Lexington, Feb. 10, 2026. Johnson is Kentucky’s newest field artillery targeting technician, assigned to the 138th Operational Fires Command.
A U.S. Air Force F-16 from the Viper Demonstration Team at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., flies over the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, Ky., April 16, 2026 in advance of this weekend’s Thunder Over Louisville air show. The Kentucky Air Guard’s 123rd Airlift Wing is serving as the base of operations for military aircraft participating in the show. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Dale Greer)
Aircraft arrive at Kentucky Air National Guard Base for Thunder air show
April 16, 2026
Military aircraft began arriving at the Kentucky Air National Guard Base on April 16 in preparation for this weekend’s Thunder Over Louisville air show.
Members of the Ecuadorian military examine a forward-looking infrared radiation isotope detector while observing an emergency-response training scenario involving airmen and soldiers from the Kentucky National Guard’s 41st Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team and civilian emergency responders at Churchill Downs Racetrack in Louisville, Ky., March 10, 2026. The Ecuadorians were visiting as part of the National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program to learn more about the Kentucky Guard’s emergency-response capabilities and interagency cooperation across the state, and to share their own techniques for responding to emergency contingencies. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Phil Speck)
Ecuadorian military team visits Kentucky Guard to share disaster-response techniques
April 14, 2026
Seven members of the Ecuadorian armed services visited Kentucky recently to learn more about how the Kentucky National Guard responds to emergencies and to share their own techniques for disaster operations.
Eight firefighters from the 123rd Fire and Emergency Services Department are honored with Kentucky Distinguished Service Medals during a ceremony at the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, Ky., Dec. 14, 2026, for their efforts in subduing a massive fire after a United Parcel Service cargo jet crashed near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in November. Receiving the medal were (left to right) Assistant Fire Chiefs William Weinstein and Kyle Miller; Firefighter Ethan Howay; Crew Chief Logan Ramsey; and Firefighters Mark Shultz, William Daniels, Alan Smith and Robert Holmes (not pictured). Joining the firefighters for the ceremony were Fire Chief Ty Allen and Kentucky’s assistant adjutant general for Air, Birg. Gen. Bruce Bancroft. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Josh Horton)
Kentucky Air Guard firefighters honored for civilian plane-crash response
April 10, 2026
Eight firefighters from the Kentucky Air National Guard were honored here recently for their role in subduing a massive fire after a United Parcel Service cargo jet crashed near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in 2025.
National Guard members stand alongside law enforcement and community partners during the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, or HIDTA, National Awards Ceremony hosted by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, April 2, 2026. The ceremony recognized 10 award-winning investigations supported by federal, state, local and tribal agencies working to disrupt drug trafficking networks across the United States. Courtesy photo by National HIDTA Program.
White House Honors National Guard-Supported Counterdrug Operations
April 9, 2026
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy recognized National Guard counterdrug programs for support to 10 award-winning law enforcement investigations during the National Drug Control Awards Ceremony, April 2.
A Zodiac boat from the 2061st Multi-Role Bridge Company carry U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers competing in the 2026 Best Squad Competition at Fort Knox March 26. The MRBC assisted with the Salt River Live Fire Exercise that challenged the Reserves Soldiers to shoot while in a moving watercraft. (U.S. Army National Guard photos by Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Crane)
Kentucky National Guard Soldiers Support Army Reserve Best Squad Competition at Fort Knox
April 8, 2026
Approximately ten Soldiers from the Kentucky National Guard’s 2061st Multi-Role Bridge Company (MRBC) supported the 2026 U.S. Army Reserve Combined Best Squad Competition at Fort Knox March 26, while simultaneously conducting their own annual training.