Kentucky Guard

Kentucky National Guard celebrates its newest officers
September 26, 2022 — Seven Kentucky National Guard Soldiers were commissioned to second lieutenant in a ceremony in the rotunda at the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky. on Sept. 24, 2022. Officer Candidate class 64-22 received their commissions with family and friends present after attending the 18-month Officer Candidate School held by the 238th Regional Training Institute (RTI) in Greenville, Ky... MORE

Army Maj. Jack Rachau introduces the newly commissioned officers in a ceremony at the Kentucky State Capitol Rotundra in Frankfort, Ky. on Sept. 24, 2022. The new officers will be pinned by family and friends at the ceremony as part of commissioning tradition. (U.S. Army photo by Andy Dickson)

Kentucky Guard signal leaders swap knowledge, build relationships with counterparts in partner nation Djibouti
September 12, 2022 — Although the early-morning sun was still low in the sky, temperatures were already hovering near 100 degrees, as a small group of Kentucky National Guard signal leaders made their way in utility vehicles across the rugged, barren terrain of sunbaked Djibouti, a small country in East Africa... MORE

Kentucky National Guard Soldier helps neighbors during flooding
August 29, 2022 — One of those Soldiers was Staff Sgt. David Hall, a wheeled vehicle mechanic for the 207th Engineers. Hall watched rushing flood waters rise and destroy the first story of his house from a hill behind his home which sits about 20 yards from Troublesome Creek... MORE

Hall watched rushing flood waters rise and destroy the first story of his house from a hill behind his home which sits about 20 yards from Troublesome Creek.

National Guard Army Aviation rescue operations in Eastern Kentucky floods
August 3, 2022 — As rain continues to hit most of the eastern part of the state, Kentucky Army Aviation crews carry on their mission of search and rescue and move on to air dropping supplies to Kentuckians in need. Pilots and crews from the 63rd Theater Aviation Brigade have worked non-stop since July 28, 2022 to support communities using a combination of UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and UH-72 Lakota helicopters. ... MORE

Kentucky Army National Guard's Detachment 1, Charlie Company 2/238th Aviation Regiment, MEDEVAC, conduct hoist and land rescue mission for victims of flooding in eastern Kentucky on July 28, 2022. Pilots and crew with the MEDEVAC have been working constantly for days to rescue victims trapped on house roofs, trees, and other high points to avoid floodwaters. (Courtesy photos by Detachment 1, Charlie Company 2/238th Aviation Regiment, MEDEVAC)

Kentucky National Guard Youth and Child Camp 2022
July 22, 2022 — Summer camp fun meets military tradition as children of Kentucky’s National Guard (KYNG) attend the week long Child and Youth Camp at Lake Cumberland 4-H Camp in Nancy, Ky. on July 18-22. At the camp, kids ages 9-15 meet and relate to kids with similar experiences, learn about basic fundamentals in the military, and are inspired by their mentors... MORE

Campers attend the Kentucky National Guard (KYNG) Child and Youth Camp at the Lake Cumberland 4-H Camp in Nancy, Ky. on July 18-22, 2022. The Child and Youth Camp is a KYNG sponsored, 4-H supported weeklong camp for children who have ties to the KYNG. (U.S. Army phot by Pfc. Georgia Napier)

Churchill Downs honors fallen Kentucky Guard Special Tactics Airman
July 4, 2022 — Churchill Downs honored a fallen Kentucky Air National Guardsman in Louisville, Ky., June 12, 2022, staging a thoroughbred horse race in his name as part of military appreciation day... MORE

More than 150 Airmen, friends and family members attend Military Appreciation Day at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., June 12, 2022, to honor Tech. Sgt. Travis Brown, a pararescueman from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Special Tactics Squadron who died Feb. 16. One of the races on the day's card was named in honor of Brown and concluded with eight of his fellow 123rd STS Airmen presenting the trophy. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Joshua Horton)

Kentucky Army National Guard instructors meet with Ecuadorian instructors
June 30, 2022 — Kentucky Army National Guard instructors met with six Ecuadorian enlisted instructors at Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center in Greenville, Ky. on June 27-30, 2022. Senior noncommissioned officer instructors from the 238th Regional Training Institute (RTI) met with senior noncommissioned officer instructors from Ecuador’s Army and Air Force in an engagement to share ideas on how to train their servicemembers. ... MORE

Kentucky Army National Guard and Ecuadorian enlisted instructors pose for a group photo at the rappel tower at Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center in Greenville, Ky. on June 29, 2022. Ecuadorian enlisted servicemembers visited the 238th RTI to exchange instructor techniques and procedures in part of the State Partnership Program. (U.S. Army photo by Andy Dickson)

KYARNG engineer company receives outstanding engineer award
June 27, 2022 — For the fifth straight year, a Kentucky Army National Guard engineer unit was named the best in the Guard... MORE

For the fifth straight year, a Kentucky Army National Guard engineer unit was named the best in the Guard.

Kentucky National Guard celebrates 230th birthday
June 27, 2022 — Airmen and Soldiers from across the Commonwealth gathered in Louisville, Kentucky, June 24, 2022, to celebrate the 230th birthday of the Kentucky National Guard, one of the nation’s oldest state militias... MORE

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Wilkinson, left, the Kentucky National Guard’s assistant adjutant general for Air; Airman 1st Class Maryah Bridges, center left; Spc. John Stark, center right; and Col. Joe Gardner, the Kentucky Guard’s Chief of Staff for Army, cut a ceremonial cake during a celebration honoring the 230th birthday of the Kentucky Guard in Louisville, Ky., June 24, 2022. The organization was established in 1792 by Gov. Isaac Shelby, 19 days after the Commonwealth became the 15th state of the Union. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Dale Greer)

Guarding Pride: An Inside Perspective of Serving During the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy
June 22, 2022 — Have you ever been grocery shopping and found yourself jolting your hand away when your significant other goes to hold your hand out of fear of being seen? If you pass all the military standards to qualify as a Soldier but had to hide who you are, would you leave or continue to serve? These are just a few operational norms service members in our LGBTQ+ community have experienced in the past and, at times, are still confronted by today. Eleven years after the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy has been redacted, now married Kentucky National Guard Soldier’s Staff Sgt. Claudia Rector and Jane Roth-Rothstein, KYNG prior service, discuss the many hardships they faced when they fell in love in Afghanistan in 2007. Many of the habits they established early in their relationship still affect how they approach their lives today. The fear of unacceptance still lingers. This is their story. ... MORE

Kentucky Army National Guard veteran awarded bronze star with valor
June 13, 2022 — A Kentucky Army National Guard veteran was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor in a ceremony at the Owensboro Armory in Owensboro, Ky. on June 10, 2022... MORE

Kentucky National Guard veteran Sgt. John Burlew speaks to friends and family that attend an awards ceremony at the Owensboro Armory in Owensboro, Ky. on June 10, 2022. Burlew was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor for actions in Afghanistan in 2002 (U.S. Army photo by Andy Dickson).

Kentucky National Guard participates in Tradewinds 22
May 31, 2022 — Kentucky National Guard Soldiers traveled out of the country to support Operation Tradewinds 22 in Belize between Aug. 29 through May 25, 2022. Almost 40 Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (HHD), 75th Troop Command, including six support Soldiers from other units, set up brigade level operations to support 1,802 servicemembers from 22 partner nations at the British Army Training Support Unit Belize (BATSUB) at Price Barracks... MORE

Kentucky National Guard's Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (HHD), 75th Troop Command poses for a group photo at the end of Operation Tradewinds 2022 at Price Barracks, Belize on May 20, 2022. HHD, 75th Troop Command provided brigade level support to Tradewinds 22, a multinational exercise designed to expand the Caribbean region’s capability to mitigate, plan for and respond to crises; increase regional training capacity and interoperability; develop new and refine existing standard operating procedures (SOPs); enhance ability to defend exclusive economic zones (EEZ); and promote human rights and adherence to shared international norms and values; fully integrate women into defense, peace and security missions; and increase maritime domain awareness to deter illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing activities (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Dickson).

Several countries, ONE TEAM, Tradewinds 22
May 16, 2022 — Two Soldiers from the Kentucky National Guard’s Directorate of Information Management (DOIM) traveled to Belize to support U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)-sponsored Operation Tradewinds 2022 in May, 2022. Maj. Stephen Young, the J6 plans and policy officer for DOIM and Staff Sgt. Brian Bingham, the mission command (MC) spectrum manager, conducted many forms of planning, resourcing and installing communications for Combat Net Radios (CNR), AN/PRC-150s (base-station, man-pack and antennae radios), satellite messaging handhelds and satellite phones for use at multiple locations in Belize and Mexico... MORE

Kentucky National Guard Staff Sgt. Brian Bingham and Maj. Stephen Young pose beside the sign for the Belize Coast Guard (BCG) Forward Operating Base in Calabash Caye, Belize on May 6, 2022. Bingham and Young worked with the BCG to establish communications between all the different training sites involved in SOUTHCOM-sponsored Operations Tradewinds 2022 (U.S. Army photo courtesy of Maj. Stephen Young).

Kentucky Guard Strike Teams support Kentucky Department of Corrections
May 27, 2021 — COVID-19 vaccinations are in full swing in the Commonwealth, and the Kentucky National Guard continues to play a major role in their distribution... MORE

Kentucky National Guard continues security effort in Washington, D.C.
January 28, 2021 — Based out of Richmond, Ky., volunteers from the 149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade have been charged with overseeing the mission and will assist in protecting property and providing a safe environment for citizens to exercise their right to peacefully assemble and protest. Federal and local authorities have requested continued National Guard support following the conclusion of the 59th Presidential Inauguration... MORE

The National Guard has been requested to continue supporting federal law enforcement agencies with security, communications, medical evacuation, logistics, and safety support to state, district and federal agencies through mid-March.

Message from Ky National Guard's Adjutant General
June 2, 2020 — I want to say thank you for your service to our state and our country in these unprecedented times. Our citizens needed us to respond to the ongoing response to COVID-19 across the commonwealth and most recently, to the events in Louisville... MORE

Ky. Guardsmen respond to Iranian ballistic missile attack
May 29, 2020 — Iranian news agencies said ballistic missiles were fired at Al Asad Air Base and at the Air Base at Erbil in retaliation for the death of Major General Qasem Soleimani... MORE

Based out of Owensboro, Ky., Members of the 206th Engineer Battalion deployed to the Middle East on July 25, 2019.

Mr. Mercurio: Ky Guard’s expert on telecom operations
May 27, 2020 — The month of May is dedicated to celebrating Americans of Asian and Pacific Island descent, and the contributions they’ve made to American history... MORE

Kentucky Air Guardsman provide medical support at nursing home in Northern Kentucky
May 11, 2020 — A small team of Kentucky Air Guard medical professionals are augmenting a civilian nursing home in Covington... MORE

Kentucky Guard Soldier posts highest ACFT score yet.
June 26, 2019 — The U.S. Army is transitioning to a new physical fitness test, the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), to better prepare Soldiers in readiness and lethality. To date, no Soldier yet has achieved a perfect score. On June 18, Spc. Ryan Sowder from the 2112th Transportation Company out of Burlington, Kentucky scored 597 out of a possible 600 points. This is the highest score recorded in all of the U.S. Army so far - Active, Guard or Reserve... MORE

88M truck driver, Spc. Ryan Sowder, is part of the 2112th Transportation Company based in Burlington, Ky. He recently scored a 597 out of 600 points on the new Army Combat Fitness Test, which is the highest score to date across the force. Sowder also qualified this year for the 2019 Reebok Crossfit Games in Madison, Wis. (photo submitted)

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