The 2024 USO Service Members of the Year will be honored Thursday, April 11, 2024, at the organization’s gala at The Anthem in Washington. Top row from left: Army Sgt. Tanner Welch, Senior Airman Travis Spong and Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Royston Pitt. Bottom row from left: Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Marzilli, Marine Corps Sgt. Brett Meil, Illinois Air National Guardsman Capt. James Horn and Space Force Master Sgt. Lewis Perry Jr.

‘Commitment to protecting and serving’: USO honors Service Members of the Year

This is the 21st year the USO has honored Service Members of the Year, nominated by their command leadership “for performing extraordinary acts of bravery that exemplify the values of the Armed Forces and the USO,” according to the organization.

Soldiers and Airmen of the Arkansas National Guard are receiving eclipse glasses at armories and bases around the state in preparation for the 2024 Eclipse that will have a path of totality that covers two-thirds of the state on April 8th. The Arkansas National Guard has been working diligently to get free glasses to Soldiers and Airmen around the state with a drive focused on the upcoming drill weekend, but free eclipse glasses can also be obtained at your local public library, many local businesses, schools, and other public facilities. The Arkansas National Guard is also distributing roughly 23,000 eclipse glasses at public events and local recruiting stations. (Photo by Arkansas Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Jim Heuston)

Arkansas National Guard troops are ready to see the eclipse on April 8

Arkansas National Guard soldiers and airmen are ready for the April 8 eclipse after the service began distributing special glasses at armories and bases around the state.

Social media post of Alabama Guard unit soldier wearing Nazi symbol investigated by US Army

The U.S. Army is investigating how a National Guard unit headquartered in Birmingham posted a photo on social media showing a service member with a helmet patch linked to symbols used by troops for Nazi Germany.

A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk assigned to the Iowa Army National Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility from Boone, Iowa is on the ramp at the Iowa Air National Guard’s 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, Iowa on April 13, 2023. U.S. Air National Guard photo Senior Master Sgt. Vincent De Groot

Black Hawk helicopters showcased for Iowa National Guard employer outreach day

Clear Lake and Mason City residents may have seen Black Hawk helicopters flying low in the sky Tuesday afternoon. The flights were part of an Iowa National Guard and Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve employer outreach day.

An F-35A Lightning II fighter jet on the taxiway at Westfield Barnes Air National Guard Base Tuesday afternoon, May 9, 2023. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)

Noise worries Barnes Air National Guard Base neighbors as Air Force preps for F-35s

Noise impacts in the vicinity of Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport would be “significant” once the latest-generation F-35 fighters are based there in 2026, according to the draft environmental impact statement released in February.

A New York Army National Guard Honor Guard team carries the remains of Chief Warrant Officer John M. Grassia III from a New York Air National Guard LC-130 to a hearse past a line of dignitaries, including New York Governor Kathy Hochul, during plane side honors conducted at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Latham, New York on March 18, 2024. Grassia and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Casey Frankoski were killed in a March 8 helicopter crash in Texas. Photo by Darren McGee/ courtesy Gov. Kathy Hochul's Office.

NY National Guard brings home bodies of 2 warrant officers killed in helicopter crash in Texas

The caskets containing the bodies of Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officers 2 Casey Frankoski and John M. Grassia III, killed in a helicopter crash on March 8 in Texas, were brought home to New York on Monday.

NEW YORK – Soldiers with the New York National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 42nd Infantry Division, lead the annual New York City Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, March 16, 2024. The “Fighting 69th” Infantry has led the world’s largest Saint Patrick’s Day Parade since 1851. (U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Warren W. Wright, Jr., 42nd Infantry Division Public Affairs)

The ‘Fighting 69th’ leads New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day parade for 173rd year in a row

A New York Army National Guard regiment with deep ties to Irish-American history once again took the lead in New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Spc. Deon Harris, from the 3rd Infantry Division, spends time with his family before deploying to Europe from Fort Stewart, Ga., in June 2023. The latest Blue Star Families annual survey of military life saw 32% of those polled choose "likely" in a question about willingness to recommend the military to family. That continues a decline from a high of 55% in 2016.

Survey of Blue Star Families finds considerable reluctance for recommending military life

Military families are growing increasingly unlikely to recommend an armed forces career to loved ones, with fewer than one-third of respondents in the largest annual survey of military life saying they would do so.

National Guard soldier dies trying to save drowning man in Puerto Rico

Staff Sgt. Fidel Cruz Llanos was last seen about 80 yards from the shore of Condado Beach in San Juan, according to the Coast Guard. Several local, state and federal agencies searched for him, and his body was recovered Tuesday.

New Jersey Army National Guard recruiter used job to sexually assault teen, cops say

Police arrested Shawn C. Nguyen on Monday, charging him with two counts of sexual assault, criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child.