An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Articles
News | July 29, 2016

Search and Rescue

By Sgt. Heidi Kroll 172nd Public Affairs Detachment

A simulated earthquake shook Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Jericho, Vt., July 29, 2016 as part of Vigilant Guard 2016. This resulted in several downed trees, as well as collapsed bridges and buildings, with individuals and simulated casualties located throughout the scenario. The scenario was set up to test title 10 forces, state, federal and local agencies, emergency responders and nine states with National Guard units.

As a result of the earthquake a house was submerged in water; the only way for the responders to gain entrance was through the roof, once inside they discovered an unconscious casualty.

A Canadian Airman teamed up with soldiers for the New York Air National firefighters, and Massachusetts Task Force 1 members to remove the unconscious individual from the building using a ladder to assist moving the sked back through the hole in the roof.

“It was a great to be able to combine our assets together to complete the mission,” said Sgt. Mark Lewis, team leader, 19th Wing Comox, Royal Canadian Air Force.

Firefighters with the Vermont Air National Guard 158th Fighter Wing worked with FEMA’s Vermont Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue. Members from both teams lined up with pry bars to lift; on the count of three the building was raised and two mannequins’ were recovered from underneath the collapsed building. FEMA’s Vermont Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue called in the air ambulance for a medevac to the hospital.

“This prepares us to work with all entities, local, federal and international to be more cohesive when the need arises,” said Rafael Goyenechea, medical specialist, FEMA’s New York Task Force 1.

There were additional situations all along the road to test the different agencies that were partaking in this lane. One individual was trapped in a culvert so that the search and rescue teams would have to work to extract the mannequin and provide medical aide as needed. Another situation had an individual trapped under a car, the Firefighters from the Vermont Air National Guard 158th Fighter Wing quickly dug under the car, and were able to extract the individual.

“The agencies on this lane handled everything we through at them, we are going to need to be more creative,” said Master Sgt. Michel Morin, range and utilities NCOIC, Garrison Support Command.

There were additional situations all along the road to test the different agencies that were partaking in this lane. Vigilant Guard 2016 is an exercise created to give the over 5000 participants from all of these organizations a training environment where they can train together and build relationships that will be a benefit in a real world situation.

The official logo of the Vermont National Guard.

TAG's State of the Guard - April 2025

The above YouTube video link may not work on all government computers. Read the transcript of MG Gregory Knight's full State of the Guard here.

National Guard News
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...