National Guard

By Staff Sgt. Julian Kemper  175th WG – Maryland Air National Guard MIDDLE RIVER, Md. – The day before Thanksgiving, most people are thinking about a short list of things to do – ensuring the turkey is thawed, cleaning the house for a family visit, or preparing for a long trip to see relatives. For Maryland Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Brooke ...

By Staff Sgt. Lindiwe Henry. KINGWOOD, W.Va. — Less than one month ago, two Maryland Army National Guardsmen were in a grueling competition against 18 of their fellow Soldiers and Estonian Defence Force members to determine the victors who would go on to represent their state at the Region II Best Warrior Competition in West Virginia. Spc. Matthew Zrebiec, won the ...

by Sgt. Grace Wajler CAMP DAWSON, W.V. — U.S. Army National Guard Soldiers and noncommissioned officers from Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia participated in the grueling Region II Best Warrior Competition hosted by the West Virginia Army National Guard at Camp Dawson, May 4-7, 2026. The four-day event tested participants on a wide range of warrior tasks to ...

by Tech. Sgt. Alexis Wade Leaders from across the United States military and private sector came together to participate in the Cognitive Warrior symposium presented by Liminal Collective at the San Antonio Spurs facility, San Antonio, Texas, March 23-24th, 2026. In attendance were principal cyber advisors from the Department of the Air Force, Army, Navy, Space Force, United States Cyber Command, Cyber ...

Story by Senior Master Sgt. Christopher Schepers The Maryland National Guard held a joint ceremony where they bid farewell to the outgoing and retiring Command Sgt. Maj. David Harry, command senior enlisted leader of the Maryland National Guard, and welcomed his replacement, Command Sgt. Maj. Larry LeCates, during a change-of-responsibility ceremony at the Fifth Regiment Armory, May 2, 2026. Maryland Army National ...

by Maj. Benjamin Hughes MIDDLE RIVER, Md. – The Maryland National Guard (MDNG) supported a massive search and rescue exercise (SAREX) spanning 20 square miles of land and water, from the Loch Raven Reservoir Dam to Gunpowder Falls State Park, along with emergency responders from around the state, April 23, 2026. The MDNG Joint Staff coordinated the response of a CH-47 Chinook, ...

Story by Staff Sgt. Laura Virtue CENTRAL FINLAND – Cyber personnel from the Maryland Air National Guard partnered with allied nations across the joint force to sharpen their defensive capabilities during NATO Exercise Locked Shields 26, one of the world’s largest and most complex live-fire cyber defense exercises, April 11-25, 2026.  Twelve Airmen from the 175th Cyberspace Operations Group augmented teams from ...

  Story by Maj. Mary Lyons POZNAN, Poland – Nineteen Soldiers from the Maryland Army National Guard’s 58th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade (EMIB) worked alongside V Corps during Warfighter Exercise 26-3, a joint exercise that stretched across Germany and Poland to keep U.S. forces sharp and deepen cooperation with NATO allies on Europe’s eastern flank, March 9-23, 2026. The corps-level command post exercise, ...

  Story by Senior Airman Sarah Hoover EDGEWOOD, Md.—Maryland Army National Guard soldiers conducted medical evacuation training with two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters assigned to the 29th Combat Aviation Brigade, collaborating with local police K-9 units at Lauderick Creek Military Reservation, April 1, 2026. The event involved 30 participants, including Guard members from Company C, 1st Battalion, 169th Aviation Regiment, officers from the ...

Story by Maj. Michael Fedner BALTIMORE – The Maryland Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition has crowned this year’s Best Soldier and NCO. The competition concluded with Staff Sgt. Nicholas Casagrande and Spc. Matthew Zrebeic named Best Warrior in the NCO and Soldier categories, respectively, during the closing ceremony held in Reisterstown, Maryland, April 12, 2026. Although Casagrande, a combat engineer assigned ...

by Maj. Michael Fedner BALTIMORE – The Maryland Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition has crowned this year’s Best Soldier and NCO. The competition concluded with Staff Sgt. Nicholas Casagrande and Spc. Matthew Zrebeic named Best Warrior in the NCO and Soldier categories, respectively, during the closing ceremony held in Reisterstown, Maryland, April 12, 2026. Although Casagrande, a combat engineer assigned to ...