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 ...

The Maryland National Guard takes great pleasure in recognizing its citizen-soldiers and airmen who have interesting qualities and stand out in their military and civilian careers. This quarter, the MDNG would like to acknowledge Army Staff Sgt. Kenneth T. Smith for his outstanding work as a full-time program analyst with the Maryland National Guard and as a successful entrepreneur.

One of the challenges Maryland National Guard soldiers face is pausing their civilian lives to attend their two-week annual training. This training can span many different places, such as locations across the United States or it can take place overseas. Sometimes, you get a little of both.

Over a year ago, at age 17, I was shipped off from my little hometown in Connecticut to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Many Americans don’t go through the sweat and tears that it takes to become a soldier and even fewer choose to take the misunderstood path that I followed through Basic Training. I enlisted into the Army National Guard ...

By Staff Sgt. Aimee Fujikawa, 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment — In recent events, police officers here in Baltimore, have been under more scrutiny and subject to bias. Staff Sgt. Verlillian Githara, a food service specialist with the Maryland Army National Guard’s 104th Area Support Medical Company, is no different because she has also been a Baltimore City Police Officer for ...

Nine newly minted warrant officers graduated from Warrant Officer Candidate School, class 15-001, during a ceremony on the Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., on Oct. 3, 2015.

I never had the opportunity to visit Germany until I filled out an application to train and receive training from the German Armed Forces. The Military Reserve Exchange Program, established between the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense Reserve Affairs and German Ministry of Defense in 1985, promotes unique training experiences and cultural education for reserve component officers. Each ...

The Maryland Army National Guard’s 104th Area Support Medical Company conducted its first Medical Warrior Challenge competition, on Sept. 12, 2015, to build teamwork and strengthen esprit de corps within the unit. The competition took place at Camp Fretterd Military Reservation near Reisterstown, Md., and included a 500-group push-up event, 9-line medevacs, medical scenarios, sked litter obstacle course, land navigation, ...

September is Suicide Prevention Month. Each day service members, veterans, and retirees take their own lives due to a myriad of different stressors. The military isn’t the only organization facing this problem; suicide is a national issue. Military members are often referred to as heroes, but the fact is, service members are only human and are subject to the same ...

Members of the Maryland Military Department volunteered their time to help cadets, from the Maryland National Guard’s Freestate ChalleNGe Academy, beautify their academy surroundings on the Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland on Aug. 26, 2015.

Baltimore City teens spent a hot summer day getting acquainted with military emergency medical training during Maryland’s Youth Works Summer Internship Program at Warfield Air National Guard Base in Middle River, Md., July 29, 2015. The interns visited with soldiers from the 104th Area Support Medical Company during Operation Raven Care, a two-week training event, from July 25 to Aug. ...