W.Va. Guard to promote director, joint operations to brigadier general
April 16, 2024 — Maj. Gen. Bill Crane, the Adjutant General of West Virginia, will preside over the promotion ceremony for West Virginia Army National Guard Col. Arthur J. Garffer as he is promoted to the rank of brigadier general April 18, 2024, at 12:30 p.m. at Joint Forces Headquarters in Charleston, West Virginia... MORE

GRAPHIC with the text:
COL Art Garffer's promotion ceremony to the rank of Brigadier General will be livestreamed on the West Virginia National Guard Facebook page on Thursday, April 18, 2024, beginning at 1220 eastern standard time.

W.Va. Guard hosts 3rd annual statewide Military Retiree Appreciation Day
April 16, 2024 — The West Virginia National Guard, in partnership with the West Virginia Retired Military Council, hosted the third annual West Virginia Military Retiree Appreciation Day at the Glen Jean Armed Forces Reserve Center, Glen Jean, West Virginia, April 13, 2024. The event was open to all military retirees, immediate family and surviving spouses from all branches and components, and provided a venue for retirees to get updates on benefits and current retiree issues as well as to reconnect with service and veteran service support organizations. ... MORE

Photos from the third annual West Virginia Military Retiree Appreciation Day held at the Glen Jean Armed Forces Reserve Center in Glen Jean, West Virginia, on April 13, 2024. Hosted by the West Virginia National Guard, the even drew more than 200 military retirees, immediate family and surviving spouses from all branches and components and provided a venue for retirees to get updates on benefits and current retiree issues, as well as to reconnect with service and veteran service support organizations. (Army National Guard photo by Edwin L. Wriston)

W.Va. Guard continues to build and expand important international partnerships
April 12, 2024 — The Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Bill Crane, and other West Virginia National Guard leaders recently returned from trips to Peru and Qatar as the Guard continues to build and expand important international partnerships through the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program (SPP)... MORE

Maj. Gen. Bill Crane, Adjutant General of the West Virginia National Guard, and members of the WVNG senior leadership, pose for a photo with members of the U.S. Embassy Military team and Gen. Carlos Rabanal, Peruvian Deputy Commander for the Chief of Defense, at the Peruvian Joint Command in Lima, Peru, in late March, 2024. (Courtesy Photo)

167th Airlift Wing celebrates reopening of Fuel Cell Maintenance Hangar
April 5, 2024 — The 167th Airlift Wing celebrated the long-awaited reopening of its fuel cell hangar in a ceremony held April 5th, 2024. Amongst its attendees were local, state, and federal representatives and staff, leadership of the West Virginia National Guard, and Airmen from across the wing... MORE

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Crane, West Virginia National Guard Adjutant General, ceremoniously cuts a ribbon to mark the reopening of Hangar 305, Shepherd Field, Martinsburg, West Virginia, April 5, 2024. Attendees included local, state and federal representatives and staff, West Virginia National Guard leadership and 167th AW Airmen. A renovation project to remedy the Hangar 305’s foundation issues was completed in February 2024, allowing 167th Maintenance Group personnel to resume aircraft fuel cell maintenance in the facility. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by SMSgt Emily Beightol Deyerle)

Opinion: The Importance of NATO on its 75th Anniversary
April 5, 2024 — Born out of the ashes of post WWII, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, commonly referred to simply as NATO, was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and ten Western European nations to provide collective security against the growing threat of a hostile Soviet Union and to alleviate regional instability. This week, NATO celebrated its 75th anniversary. Seventy-five years of friendship, partnership, and common bonds that tie and strengthen us. Since its inception, the alliance has flourished, overcoming challenges, welcoming new members and partners, and helping to set the course for international peace and cooperative security. ... MORE

Graphic on NATO 75th Anniversary. (U.S. Army National Guard graphic by Edwin L. Wriston)

W.Va. Guard receives over $40 million in Military Construction, Defense appropriations
March 27, 2024 — The West Virginia National Guard will receive more than $34 million in military construction funding and $7 million in defense funding secured through the bipartisan appropriations packages passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 9 and 23, 2024... MORE

W.Va. Guard Aircraft and Personnel Assist with Aerial Firefighting Support
March 22, 2024 — Today, two West Virginia National Guard UH60M and HH60M Blackhawk helicopters and personnel arrived on scene and are assisting the West Virginia Division of Forestry and local government and emergency management officials in Hardy County, West Virginia, as they combat large-scale wildland fires.. The deployment of aircraft and personnel is in response to West Virginia Governor Justice’s State of Emergency issued for Grant, Hampshire, Hardy and Pendleton counties due to “extensive forest fires” announced Thursday afternoon. Local emergency management officials made the request for Guard support via the West Virginia Emergency Management Division Thursday evening, and Guard assets were mobilized and on scene Friday morning. ... MORE

West Virginia National Guard personnel conduct aerial wildland firefighting sorties over Hardy County, West Virginia, on March 22, 2024. West Virginia Jim Justice declared a State of Emergency for four counties in the Eastern Panhandle of the Mountain State due to serious wildland fires that have consumed more than 4,000 acres of woodlands and threaten local communities and residences. Crews flying UH60M and HH60M Blackhawk helicopters from Company C, 1-150th Assault Battalion and Company C, 2-104th General Support Aviation Battalion are utilizing an aerial firefighting system called a “Bambi Bucket” capable of dropping up to 630 gallons of water on active fire lines per sortie to combat the blazes. The delivery method allows firefighters to contain or extinguish the fire in areas of rough and dangerous terrain that ground-based personnel could not safely or easily reach. (Courtesy Photo)

WVANG C-130J Super Hercules Lands Safely After In-flight Fuel Leak
March 13, 2024 — A C-130J-30 Super Hercules from the 130th Airlift Wing based at McLaughlin Air National Guard Base in Charleston, West Virginia, experienced an in-flight fuel leak during a routine training flight this afternoon and returned safely to Yeager International Airport in Charleston without incident, March 13, 2024... MORE

The West Virginia National Guard is proud to announce that the 130th Airlift Wing has met the requirements to be declared a C-130J-30 unit with Initial Operational Capability as of January 1, 2024. Located in Charleston, West Virginia, the 130th has been in the process of transitioning airframes from the C-130 H3 Hercules model to the advanced C-130J-30 Super Hercules model since 2021. The unit currently operates eight C-130J-30 aircraft, each valued at approximately $90 million. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by 2nd Lt. De-Juan Haley)

W.Va. Guard Begins Active Partnership with Fairmont State University Open Source Intelligence Exchange Program
March 13, 2024 — The West Virginia National Guard has begun an active partnership with Fairmont State University’s Open Source Intelligence Exchange (OSIX) program, providing students real-world opportunities to develop, hone, and enhance their education in collaboration with the WVNG intelligence directorate (J2)... MORE

153rd Public Affairs Detachment Arrives in Germany, Participates in Allied Spirit 24
March 11, 2024 — Soldiers with the 153rd Public Affairs Detachment, Joint Forces Headquarters, West Virginia National Guard, arrived at Hohenfels Training Area in Bavaria, Germany, on March 7, 2024, to provide public affairs support for Allied Spirit 24... MORE

US Army Pfc. Ayden Norcross provides photography support during Allied Spirit 24, March 9, 2024, in Hohenfels, Germany. Allied Spirit 24 is a U.S. Army exercise for its NATO Allies and partners at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center near Hohenfels, Germany that develops and enhances NATO and key partners interoperability and readiness across specified warfighting functions. (U.S. Army National Guard Photo by Staff Sgt. Justin Hough)

Video by Sgt. 1st Class Whitney Hughes

National Guard special forces operators participate in Exercise Ridge Runner 2023

National Guard Bureau

June 15, 2023 | 0:56

National Guard special forces operators with Charlie Company, 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne), their active duty special operations counterparts, allies, and partners from 18 nations participated in the Ridge Runner Irregular Warfare Exercise 2023, held throughout West Virginia, from May 27 to June 17. Ridge Runner is a dynamic and realistic exercise platform for the United States Special Operations Command and community of allies and partners that enables participants to train and validate readiness, while enhancing the nation's strategic irregular warfare capabilities. (U.S. Army Video by Sgt. 1st Class Whitney Hughes)