Kentucky Guard

Kentucky Guard Recruiters awarded for hard work
December 19, 2023 — Soldiers with the Recruiting and Retention Battalion awarded their top mission making Soldiers during an award ceremony held at the Galt House hotel Dec. 16... MORE

Sgt. 1st Class Heather York, this year’s Directors 54/Recruiter of the Year received her Meritorious Service Medal during the Mission Maker award ceremony held at the Galt House hotel Dec. 16, 2023. As Kentucky’s selection for Directors 54, she went on to compete in the regional competition. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Crane)

Firefighters respond to unique call
May 15, 2023 — Fire Chief Rondal Hambrick, Crew Chief Kyle Wade and drivers Tyler Henderson and Lincoln Miller, responded to the downed WWI aircraft that crash had landed on the training center May 15... MORE

All four responded to the downed JN4 Jenny that crash landed on the training center.

Thunder Six promoted to colonel
October 27, 2022 — Army Lt. Col. Steve Mattingly, 138th Field Artillery Brigade commander (Thunder Six) was promoted to the rank of colonel in a ceremony at the Federal Hill Mansion at My Old Kentucky Home State Park in Bardstown, Ky. on Oct 6, 2022. Mattingly knows his way around the 138th FAB. He began his military career as an enlisted Soldier in 1998 as a Forward Observer. Since then, he has served as the Bravo Battery 2/238th Field Artillery Battalion commander and 1-623 Field Artillery Battalion commander, among multiple other positions throughout the brigade. In 2021, Mattingly took command of the 138th Field Artillery Brigade. He has been serving in the brigade for 24 years. While more common in the National Guard than active duty or any other branch of service, it’s still quite notable... MORE

Army Lt. Col. Steve Mattingly was promoted to the rank of colonel in a ceremony at the Federal Hill Mansion at My Old Kentucky Home State Park in Bardstown Ky. on Oct 6, 2022. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Lt. Col. Carla Raisler)

Guarding from a Distance: One Kentucky Officer’s Non-Traditional Approach to serving the Commonwealth
August 10, 2022 — An in-depth look at one Kentucky Officer’s Non-Traditional Approach to serving the Kentucky National Guard... MORE

Career photos spanning the 20 plus careeer of of Col. Shaune Jones, Kentucky National Guard (Courtesy Footage)

Kentucky Guard hosts first Senior Leader Engagement with Ecuador in over a decade
April 27, 2022 — Key leaders from the Kentucky Army and Air National Guard welcomed Ecuadorian military forces and political leaders from March 28 through 31, 2022, for the most significant Ecuadorian delegation visit to the United States in over a decade... MORE

Ecuadorian leaders visit Kentucky National Guard as a part of the State Partnership Program on March 28, 2022, in Frankfort, Kentucky. The week-long engagement is the first in-person conference the two countries have held together since 2018.

Kentucky Soldiers awarded for their work during pandemic
December 6, 2021 — Representatives with Sayre Christian Village senior living community presented six service members from the 63rd Theater Aviation Brigade the LeadingAge Kentucky Distinguished Service Award and the Guardian Angel Award during a ceremony at the Army Aviation Support Facility hanger on Boone National Guard Center Dec. 2... MORE

Sayre Christian Village resident Paul Frederick and Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Rezac, 63rd TAB, smile as Kentucky National Guard Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Hal Lamberton presents Fredrick and Soldiers with a military coin for appreciation following a ceremony at the Army Aviation Support Facility hanger on Boone National Guard Center Dec. 2. The Soldiers are awarded the honors because of the assistance they provided during the pandemic. (US Army National Guard Photo by Mrs. Jesse Elbouab)

Kentucky Guardsmen cross state lines for Operation Patriot Press
August 4, 2021 — The unit safely transported the 625,000 pounds of explosive ordinance between Paducah Ky., the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant (MCAAP) in McAlester, Ok., and the Naval Support Activity (NSA) in Crane, In., during Operation Patriot Press... MORE

Trucks from the 2113th Transportation Company of the Kentucky National Guard receive loads as apart of Operation Patriot Press during their annual training from June 2-10. The unit safely transported the 625,000 pounds of explosive ordinance between Paducah Ky., the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant (MCAAP) in McAlester, Ok., and the Naval Support Activity (NSA) in Crane, In., during Operation Patriot Press

BG Campbell retires after serving in nearly five decades
November 15, 2019 — Army Brig. Gen. Scott A. Campbell was honored for nearly 40 years of service in the Kentucky National Guard during his retirement ceremony at the Wellman Armory on Boone National Guard Center Nov. 15. Gen. Campbell leaves his post as Assistant Adjutant General where he served as the Land Component Commander with full command responsibility for all the Kentucky Army National Guard Forces... MORE

Sending Christmas comfort to Kentucky's ADT 5
December 28, 2012 — Operation Resilient Warrior, a Radcliff, Ky. based organization, just down the road from Fort Knox, has adopted the unit as a means to thank them for their service to our country and for the meaningful work they are doing in Afghanistan... MORE

The packages will be sent to soldiers of Kentucky's Agribusiness Development Team 5, in Afghanistan for Christmas.

A Thanksgiving feast
November 22, 2012 — t was quite the feast! Numerous meats, sides and desserts! The Thanksgiving decorations were fantastic, ranging from autumn colored leaves to huge ginger bread homes, and even the staff dressed up as Pilgrims and Native Americans. Keeping with tradition, staff officers from Task Force Longrifles donned their food service uniforms and dished out the amazing smorgasbord to hungry Soldiers waiting in line... MORE

Kentucky Army Aviation helps keep the National Guard in the air
September 24, 2012 — It is often thought that a warrant officer in an Army Aviation unit is only a pilot. That is certainly not the case. The aviation field also demands that experts are on hand as maintenance technicians to ensure that those pilots have a working aircraft to fly. In the Kentucky National Guard, some aviation warrant officers are not only keeping Kentucky Guardsmen in the air, but also are working to keep pilots in quality aircraft nationwide... MORE

Soldiers at the Army Aviation Support Facility prepare for a test flight in a OH-58 helicopter in Frankfort, Ky., Sept. 24, 2012. The Kentucky Guard provides maintenance support to all OH-58s in the National Guard.

Kentucky Guardsmen return from Afghanistan on 9/11
September 11, 2012 — On the eleventh anniversary of 9/11, the Kentucky National Guard welcomed home the soldiers of the 176th Engineer Firefighting Team during a ceremony in Greenville, Ky. The unit deployed to Afghanistan exactly one year ago, Sept. 11, 2011. Friends, family members and the Greenville Fire Department greeted the soldiers at the Muhlenberg County Airport, and then accompanied them to the unit’s home at the nearby Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center. ... MORE

Sgt. Aaron Watts of Versailles, Ky., shares a moment with his son, Cameron, during the welcome home ceremony for the 176th Engineer Firefighting Team at the Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center in Greenville, Ky., Sept. 11, 2012. Watts and his unit deployed to Afghanistan exactly one year before, Sept. 11, 2011 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Kentucky Guardsmen deploy to the Horn of Africa
August 31, 2012 — The Kentucky National Guard honored approximately 565 soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 138th Field Artillery, during a departure ceremony at the Frankfort Convention Center in Frankfort, Ky., Aug. 31, 2012. Hundreds of family members and friends gathered with the Kentucky National Guard command staff to provide a fitting farewell as the unit departed for the Horn of Africa for a scheduled nine-month deployment... MORE

Kentucky's Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Edward W. Tonini speaks to the Soldiers of the 2/138th Field Artillery during the unit's farewell ceremony in Frankfort, Ky., Aug. 31, 2012. Approximately 565 soldiers deployed to the Horn of Africa for a scheduled nine-month deployment.

149th Engineers raise the roof of training possibilities in Kentucky
August 20, 2012 — Soldiers of the 149th Vertical Engineer Company donned their construction hats recently to take on the assembly of new structures at Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center (WHFRTC) in Greenville, Ky. Set in the rolling landscape of Muhlenburg County, a new Contingency Operating Location (COL) is taking shape for the training site and the Kentucky Guard. The buildings the 149th are erecting at WHFRTC not only benefit their own skill set, but also the training possibilities for service members in the Commonwealth... MORE

Spc. Roscoe Click, Spc. Matthew Peck and Sgt. Joshua Brown, all of the 149th Vertical Engineer Company, curve steel panels to form a section of a roof for a K-span building at Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center in Greenville, Ky., Aug. 20, 2012.

Infantry units start annual training with a bang
July 24, 2012 — Artillery simulators, grenades, convoy attacks, casualty evacuations, combatives, and fast roping from UH-60 Black Hawks; all part of the annual training that soldiers of the Kentucky National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry Battalion experienced at the Harold L. Disney Training Center outside Barbourville, Ky., July 16-27. “A lot of these guys are new recruits fresh out of basic, so it’s good training for them,” said Sgt. 1st Class Dennis Bumgardner, senior noncommissioned officer for Bravo Company of the 1-149th... MORE

U.S. Army Pvt. Cory M. Perry, an infantryman with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry Regiment, Kentucky Army National Guard, fast ropes from a UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopter assigned to Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment, during a fast rope insertion/extraction system training exercise at the Harold L. Disney Training Center in Artemus, Ky., July 17, 2012. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. David Bolton/Released)

Disney Training Center first 'net-zero' site for Kentucky Guard
June 7, 2012 — Nestled in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, an array of blue, glass-like panel covered buildings sparkle in the afternoon sun. And the more the sun shines, the greater the benefit to the area. The panels harness the power of the sun and produce electricity for the Kentucky National Guard’s Harold T. Disney Training Center. The buildings at the site, near Barbourville, Ky., are unique, and may even be considered an oddity, as they sit in Kentucky’s coal country. But the 851 solar panels at the training center represent an impact the Guard is making for the Commonwealth and the environment... MORE

Sgt. 1st Class Chaz Martin, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the Harold L. Disney Training Center, discusses solar panel installation at the site in Artemus, Ky., with a representative of Photon Magazine, June 7, 2012. Photon Magazine visited areas in Kentucky to collect information on solar energy efforts in the Commonwealth.

Kentucky's CERFP best in nation, shatters records during evaluation
May 24, 2012 — Kentucky National Guardsmen assigned to the Chemical Kentucky’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High Yield Explosive Enhanced Response Force Package can call themselves the nation’s best after an evaluation May 24 at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in Butlerville, Ind. “This is our culmination event and we wanted to be the best CERFP in the country,” said Lt. Col. Joseph H. Gardner, commander of the Kentucky National Guard’s Richmond-based 103rd Chemical Battalion... MORE

Lt. Col. Dan A. Manning, a physician assistant, assesses a mock casualty as part of the Kentucky National Guard Chemical Radiological Nuclear High-Yield Explosives Enhanced Response Force Package training May 23 at Muscatatack Urban Training Center, Butlerville, Ind.

Kentucky Military Police guards derby trophy
May 5, 2012 — Louisville’s legendary Churchill Downs hosted the Kentucky Derby, May 6, for the 138th time – but for 19-year-old Pfc. Kara Denise Bucklew, a Military Policeman assigned to the 223rd Military Police Company, this was her first Run for the Roses. “The experience has been quite enjoyable,” said Bucklew. “I had the chance to meet a lot of different people and see a lot of different things that I would not normally get the chance to see if it weren’t for me being here with the Kentucky National Guard.” ... MORE

Kentucky Army Guardsman Pfc. Kara Denise Bucklew, a military policeman with the 223rd Military Police Company, guards the winner's trophy for the Kentucky Derby in the Director's Room on Millionaire Row at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., May 5, 2012.

Thunder Over Louisville
April 21, 2012 — ‘Always ready, Always there.' In addition to helping communities around the state when the need arises, the National Guard also takes part in celebratory and festive events, like the Thunder Over Louisville firework show which is a big part of the National Guard’s ongoing community relations. “If your family only shows up when something goes wrong, you don’t know that they’re going to be there for you when something good happens,” said Army National Guard Spc. Ashley K. Thompson, a signal support systems specialist with the Headquarters Battalion 138th Fires Brigade stationed in Lexington, Ky. ... MORE

Guard responds immediately after tornadoes
March 3, 2012 — Before the first winds crossed the Commonwealth of Kentucky March 2, the Kentucky National Guard made preparations to keep its citizen-soldiers safe and ready to assist in the event local officials would request assistance. Once the sun rose March 3, the need for Kentucky’s Guardsmen was evident across more than 40 of the 120 counties. From the sky, in a Kentucky Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, Kentucky’s Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson surveyed the damage and visited with residents in the small community of East Bernstadt, Ky., located in Laurel County... MORE

Staff Sgt. Joshua Matlock, with the Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 623rd Field Artillery (HIMARS), accompanies Kentucky's Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson as they view the debris that covered the area of East Bernstadt, Ky., March 3.

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