AL ASAD AIR BASE, IRAQ – In May of this year, 21 Minnesota Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 347 Regional Support Group, Task Force Victory, arrived at Al Asad Air Base to provide Base Operating Support-Integrating services to those stationed here in support of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve. Much like a
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“As leaders, we talk about putting people first because our service members, employees, and their families deserve to work and live in safe, healthy environments where everyone is treated with dignity and respect,” said Army Capt. Andrea Drost, the full-time administrative officer for the Minnesota National Guard’s 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division.
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Family, friends and service members gathered at the Gen. John W. Vessey Recreation Center on Camp Ripley near Little Falls, Minnesota to honor ten individuals, inducting them into the Court of Honor, Oct. 2, 2022. “The Court of Honor, located at the [Minnesota] Military Museum on Camp Ripley, provides a prestigious and visible area for
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An Air National Guard Production Assessment Team (PAT) consisting of cross-functional experts from maintenance and logistics readiness conducted a thorough assessment of F-16 fleet readiness at the 148th Fighter Wing, Duluth, Minn., from September 12-15, 2022.  The assessment was conducted both virtually and on-site between the National Guard Bureau and the wing with the purpose of
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Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians from the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard gathered at Camp Ripley Training Center, Minnesota for a home-grown training event designed to test and validate conventional ordnance techniques while developing personal skills and confidence earlier this month. Trained to detect, disarm and dispose of explosive threats in sometimes extreme environments,
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Members of Army North’s Civil Support Training Team, out of Fort Sam Houston, Texas, traveled to Minnesota for a pre-evaluation training exercise with the Minnesota National Guard’s 55th Civil Support Team (CST), at the Columbia Heights Membrane Plant in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, September 20, 2022. “This is part of a larger evaluation that the 55th
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Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated across the nation every year from September 15th to October 15th. The Minnesota National Guard values the contributions and service of Hispanic American service members like Staff Sgt. Jaime Reyes, a supply specialist with Joint Force Headquarters Detachment 1. “I initially decided to join for college benefits, and I’ve wanted
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September 11, 2022 (Camp Ripley, Minn.) — On Saturday mornings at Camp Ripley, service members swarm the base, traveling from all over the state, to attend their regular drill weekends. For most, formation marks the beginning of their day. On World Suicide Prevention Day, Sept. 10, a group of service members, friends, family and community
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The mood was festive even before the Minnesota National Guard’s 34th Red Bull Infantry Division Band performed their first note on the morning of the Minnesota State Fair’s Military Appreciation Day August 30, 2022, in Falcon Heights. On Tuesday, hundreds of service members, veterans, their families, and supporters gathered to celebrate the annual event. The
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Minnesota National Guard Army Sgt. Benjamin Goeden started playing the guitar at the young age of 14. However, he was inspired well before then by the iconic hair bands of the 80s. He can recall his first itch to strum a guitar as he watched the revolution of the rock’n’roll scene unfold into what we
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