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 | Feb. 11, 2025

Air National Guard Conducts Arctic Training in Minnesota

By Audra Flanagan 148th Fighter Wing

70 Air National Guard airmen gathered at Camp Ripley Training Center, Minn., from Jan. 27 to Feb. 8, 2025, to train and conduct mission-essential tasks in extremely cold temperatures, during the Air National Guard’s Cold Weather Operations Course (CWOC).

The class comprised of mostly security forces personnel from 37 wings representing 27 states, also hosted a maintenance group commander, medical personnel, a cyber communications specialist, and a public affairs specialist. Two participants and one instructor from the 3rd Canadian Division’s Lake Superior Scottish Regiment, 38th Brigade Group also attended the course.

Class participants spent the first phase of the course in a classroom where they studied troop movements, risk management, cold weather injury care, and specialized equipment use.

The second phase sent students outdoors to practice over snow movement, Ahkio sled hauling techniques, land navigation, and thermal structure building.

The final phase was a six-day, five-night field training exercise where students traversed snow-covered terrain, reacted to leadership challenges, established a patrol base, constructed and slept in thermal or arctic shelters, and provided hypothermia care while enduring Minnesota’s winter weather.

The class was divided into six teams who navigated the field training as a group. The teams rucked long distances, while pulling Ahkio sleds filled with equipment, the first two days, then built self-sustaining camps, and slept in a10-man arctic tents with a small stove for heat.

Thermal shelters were constructed on the third and fourth nights using only supplies in an airmen’s pack or found in nature. While some teams created two or three-person “lean to” or A-frame style thermal structures, other teams created 10-person shelters to capitalize on body heat. Class attendees used fire as their only heat source while temperatures dipped below zero and wind gusts reached 30-miles per hour. It also snowed on the days they slept in thermal shelters.

Despite the challenging conditions, most of the class expressed building and sleeping in thermal shelters was their favorite part of the field training exercise. “Students enjoy thermal shelters because it tests their resilience, mental fortitude, and newly learned skills,” said course planner, 148th Security Forces Squadron Master Sgt. Heath Parks. “Sleeping in a thermal shelter in negative temperatures after days of exhausting ruck movements is not for the faint-hearted. Completing multiple nights in extreme field conditions demonstrates our airmen can do anything they put their minds to.”

The final day of the field training consisted of one last ruck to Lake Farrell. Upon arriving, teams set up and heated their 10-man artic tents then participated in a cold-water immersion supervised by the United States Coast Guard’s Training and Rescue Station from Duluth, Minn.

During the cold-water immersion, one individual from each team was transported after his or her jump, via Ahkio sled, to their arctic shelter to allow teams to conduct thermal rescue techniques and prevent hypothermia.

During the field training, airmen ate arctic versions of Meals Ready to Eat (MRE). Many of the students experienced bumps, bruises, and blisters commonly found when navigating rough terrain. Students were supported by three Aerospace Medical Services Technicians from the 148th Fighter Wing.

“Training courses like the CWOC enhance lethality and increase our airmen’s combat capabilities,” said Lt. Col. Ronald Rios, Chief, Air National Guard Security Forces Operations Branch, who participated as a student in the course. “The CWOC allows personnel to employ these skills in extreme weather conditions so they can secure and defend U.S. national interests and support our allies and partners anytime, anywhere, around the world.”

This was the second annual CWOC planned and hosted by the Minnesota National Guard’s 148th Fighter Wing. Camp Ripley is a 53,000-acrew regional training center located near Little Falls, Minn., which features diverse landscapes from heavily forested areas to prairies to lakes and ponds.

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
A UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter assigned to the New York National Guard's A Company, 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation, prepares to lift an M-119 howitzer belonging to the 1st Battalion, 258th Field Artillery during a training exercise at Fort Drum, New York, June 8, 2025. The 258th Field Artillery's C Battery will be part of a 246-Soldier New York Army National Guard contingent serving as the Opposing Force, or OPFOR, at the National Training Center from July 25 to August 3.
NY Army Guard Serves as Opposing Force at Training Center
By Eric Durr, | July 15, 2025
LATHAM, N.Y.  –  Two hundred forty-six New York Army National Guard Soldiers will go to Fort Irwin, California, the home of the Army’s National Training Center in the Mojave Desert, starting July 15.The Soldiers will serve...

Gen. Steven Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Senior Enlisted Advisor John Raines III, SEA to the chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Janeen Birckhead, the Adjutant General of Maryland and Command Sgt. Maj. David C. Harry, senior enlisted leader of the Maryland Army National Guard, pose for a photo with competitors in the Army National Guard’s 2025 Best Warrior Competition on July 12, 2025, at Under Armour Headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. The Army National Guard’s 2025 National Best Warrior Competition, hosted by the Maryland National Guard, is an annual event that unites Soldiers and Noncommissioned Officers from seven regions across the United States. Competitors face a demanding series of physical and mental challenges designed to test their military expertise, resilience, and dedication to the Warrior Ethos for the opportunity to advance to Best Squad Competition.
Army Guard’s 2025 National Best Warrior Competition Begins
By Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Ames, | July 15, 2025
BALTIMORE — The Army National Guard’s 2025 National Best Warrior Competition officially kicked off this week in Maryland, bringing together 14 elite Soldiers and noncommissioned officers from seven regions across the United...

An Oregon Army National Guard HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter, assigned to the 641st Aviation Regiment, conducts a search and rescue mission on July 13, 2025, in the caldera at Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. The same Black Hawk later in the day conducted a second rescue mission at Lake Harriett, Southeast of Crater Lake, when three hikers were injured from a falling tree limb.
Oregon Guard Responds to Multiple Search and Rescue Missions
By John Hughel, | July 15, 2025
SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon Army National Guard’s 641st Aviation Regiment worked with several agency partners to respond to multiple search and rescue operations in one day across the state during its scheduled Inactive Duty...