The Wisconsin National Guard's 132nd Army Band owns the reserve component of the 2014 Army Music Noncommissioned Officers and Soldiers of the Year competition.Staff Sgt. Tyler Terrell took first place in the senior NCO category, Sgt. Brian Lydeen took first in the NCO category, and Spc. Micah Lancaster took first in the Soldier category."When the announcement was made, I couldn't believe it," said 1st Sgt. Deb Dahlman, the top enlisted member of the 132nd Army Band who selected Terrell, Lydeen and Lancaster for the competition. "I was so happy, I cried."
A public affairs specialist with the Wisconsin Air National Guard's 115th Fighter Wing has received two awards in the National Guard Bureau Media Contest.Senior Airman Andrea F. Rhode received a second place award in the Commentary category for a column on 9/11, and a third place award for a news article on collaborative emergency response training with the Wisconsin National Guard and civilian authorities.
The National Guard's motto is "Always Ready, Always There" — and the Wisconsin National Guard lived up to that motto in 2014. Watch how the Soldiers and Airmen, men and women of the Wisconsin Army National Guard and Wisconsin Air National Guard put their training to the test last year.
If a single picture can tell a thousand words, then more than 200 pictures should tell a pretty good story about the 177-year history of the Wisconsin Army National Guard.Lt. Col. Eric Killen, a senior staff officer at Joint Force Headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, put together that story when he published a 127-page pictorial history last fall of the Wisconsin Army National Guard that he hopes will spark more interest in the organization's history"I have an interest in history and it struck me that not many of our young Soldiers know or appreciate our organization's history," Killen said. "They don't know anything about the 32nd Brigade, the Civil War or anything that we have done. It is through no fault of their own, because there is nothing out there."
FORT HOOD, Texas — They're not all home yet, but 28 Wisconsin Army National Guard Soldiers returned to the United States from the Middle East Jan. 13.The Soldiers completed an 11-month deployment in specially formed units, the 32nd Military Engagement Team (MET) and the 32nd Base Defense Operations Center (BDOC). The 32nd MET developed relationships with up to 18 partner nations and militaries in and around Kuwait and Jordan. The 32nd BDOC assisted with the security, logistics and administration of camp operations in Kuwait.
Brig. Gen. John McCoy, a Wisconsin National Guard member for nearly 36 years, has been selected for a two-star position with the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph.McCoy, currently the deputy adjutant general for civil support, is expected to begin his new job as Air National Guard assistant to the AETC commander in May. One of 10 major commands in the Air Force, AETC is responsible for training and education for the Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard. This includes initial military training, officer training, technical training, pilot training and professional military education courses.
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin National Guard continued a tradition dating back to the 19th century by supporting the governor's Jan. 5 inauguration ceremony.In the closing days of 1881, Edwin Bryant, Wisconsin's adjutant general, ordered four companies — the Oshkosh Rifles, Fond du Lac Guard, South Side Turner Rifles, and the Burchard Guard — to rendezvous at Madison on Jan. 2, 1882 "for the purpose of being present at the inauguration of the governor and state officers elect."
MADISON, Wis. — Airmen from the 115th Fighter Wing in Madison, Wisconsin, are scheduled to deploy this month in support of the Pacific Command (PACOM) Theater Security Package (TSP).Approximately 250 personnel and 12 F-16 Fighting Falcons will fall under the 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. The TSP deployment is designed to provide the PACOM region with forces capable of a variety of operations, including disaster relief, global situational awareness, combating piracy, active defense and power projection.
MADISON, Wis. — As the motorcyclists mounted their bikes and rode in a slow circle around a parking lot, Jason Herheim barked out commands, instructions and encouragements like a drill sergeant.“This is what you got a motorcycle for, right? To drive around parking lots?” he joked over the sound of multiple engines.The riders, all members of the military, were not beginners — this was an advanced riders course, sponsored by the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing and facilitated by Madison Area Technical College.