October 2020 Gallery
Courtesy photo
National Hispanic Heritage Month
Soldier’s path to service began in Argentina
Ohio Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Adriel Nemec joined the Guard in 2013 and currently serves as an Army Basic Leader Course instructor at the 147th Regiment (Regional Training Institute) in Columbus, Ohio. Nemec, a native of Argentina, was born to missionaries and lived in or visited more than a dozen Central and Southern American countries when he was growing up. Here, he is pictured during an overseas deployment in 2017.
STC | 147TH RTI | READ STORY
Photo by Master Sgt. Joe Harwood, 179th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
ADTS tricks C-130H Hercules into simulated flight, ensuring safe operations
Airmen from the 179th Airlift Wing Maintenance Group run early morning diagnostics on a C-130H Hercules with an Air Data Test Set, or ADTS, Oct. 8, 2020, in Mansfield, Ohio. While the aircraft remains grounded, the ADTS simulates flight, testing calibration and simulation of systems that normally operate in flight, providing critical information to ensure safe operations during actual missions.
Photo by 1st Lt. Caroline Pirchner, Ohio National Guard Public Affairs
Guard members play role in conservation of Northeast Ohio training facility
Ohio Air National Guard Master Sgt. Kristin VanFossan, a personnel specialist with the Ohio National Guard’s Joint Force Headquarters, stands for a photo following a controlled deer hunt Oct. 10, 2020, at Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center, near Newton Falls, Ohio. VanFossan, who has been a hunter for about seven years, was selected for the women’s 50/50 hunt where the primary applicant is required to be a female. The Ohio National Guard, Camp James A. Garfield environmental office and Ohio Division of Wildlife work together to facilitate these annual hunts as a conservation effort to preserve the training facility’s natural resources.
OHARNG | STC | READ STORY
Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Chad Menegay, Ohio National Guard Public Affairs
Guard members, USO partner to host virtual Army Ten-Miler event
Runners gather for a group photo just prior to a virtual Army Ten-Miler Oct. 11, 2020, at Dodge Park near downtown Columbus, Ohio. The informal event was supported by the USO and initiated by a group of Ohio National Guard members. Traditionally held each October in the Washington D.C. area, the 36th annual Army Ten-Miler is being conducted virtually, around the world, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo by Senior Master Sgt. Beth Holliker, 180th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
180th Fighter Wing deploys F-16s in support of U.S. Central Command
Airmen assigned to the 180th Fighter Wing prepare F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets for an Aerospace Expeditionary Force deployment in the early morning hours, Oct. 12, 2020, at the 180th FW in Swanton, Ohio. The F-16 deployment is part of a 300-Airman aviation package to combat zones within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, and is in addition to the 100 members of the wing who are currently deployed to six countries around the world.
Photo by Airman 1st Class Mikayla Gibbs, 121st Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
121st Medical Squadron trains to save lives during catastrophic event
Airmen from the 121st Medical Group, 121st Air Refueling Wing conduct a training event Oct. 17, 2020, at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio. Part of the medical element of the Ohio National Guard Homeland Response Force, the Airmen trained on scenarios to prepare them for facilitating medical and casualty recovery operations in the event of a major or catastrophic event in the U.S.
Video by Hari Sreenivasan, PBS’ “Amanpour & Co.”
How the Ohio National Guard is helping the state’s food banks
Maj. Gen. John C. Harris Jr., Ohio adjutant general, recently appeared on the Public Broadcasting Service’s “Amanpour & Co.” television show to talk about the Ohio National Guard’s ongoing mission providing support to several food banks and regional warehouses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sitting down for an interview at the Mid-Ohio Foodbank in Grove City, Ohio, Harris talks about the critical mission that hundreds of Soldiers, Airmen and Ohio Military Reservists have been conducting since March in service to their fellow Ohioans.
Photo by Senior Airman Kregg York, 180th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
Serving fellow Ohioans with pop-up COVID-19 testing throughout state
Ohio Army National Pfc. Kaitlin Conway takes a COVID-19 test sample from a participant during a pop-up testing drive-thru Oct. 19, 2020, at Anthony Wayne Junior High School in Whitehouse, Ohio. Since June, when Gov. Mike DeWine announced that all Ohioans were entitled to be tested for COVID-19, even if they were in a low-risk group or asymptomatic, there has been a significant increase in demand for tests. Ohio National Guard personnel have been helping provide support to their fellow Ohioans by conducting pop-up testing sites throughout the state, in cooperation with community health partners.
Courtesy photo
1-145th Soldier earns ARCENT NCO of Year title on deployment
Sgt. Aaron Amsden, a Soldier with 1st Battalion, 145th Armored Regiment, won a series of Best Warrior Competitions while deployed overseas to become the 2020 U.S. Army Central Command Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. The BWC recognizes Soldiers who demonstrate commitment to Army values, embody the warrior ethos and represent the force of the future.
Photo by Master Sgt. Larry Williams, 178th Wing
123rd Air Control Squadron deploys overseas
Members of the 123rd Air Control Squadron salute during the playing of the national anthem, as part of the unit’s call to duty ceremony Oct. 21, 2020, at Blue Ash Air National Guard Station in Blue Ash, Ohio. The 123rd ACS — which assists ground force commanders in control of regional airspace by directing joint service aircraft as well as coordinating and controlling close air operations, intelligence gathering and airlift — is deploying in support of U.S. Air Forces Central to provide tactical command and control capabilities within the USAFCENT area of responsibility.
Photo by Senior Airman Amber Mullen, 178th Wing Public Affairs
178th Wing Fire Emergency Services Airmen step up during COVID-19 pandemic
A firefighter assigned to the 178th Civil Engineer Squadron practices putting out an aircraft fire Aug. 13, 2019, at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center in Alpena, Mich. Due to mission needs during the COVID-19 pandemic this year, several of the wing’s firefighters have performed additional duty by helping staff the wing’s emergency operations center.
Photo by Tech. Sgt. Joe Harwood, 179th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Taking flight one last time: OHANG brigadier general retires after three decades of service
Brig. Gen. Todd M. Audet (right), then-Ohio Air National Guard chief of staff, joins Col. James R. Camp, then-179th Airlift Wing commander, during an “engines running quick crew change” July 21, 2016, in Mansfield, Ohio. Audet, who recently retired after more than 30 years of service, was the Ohio deputy assistant adjutant general for Air since October 2018.
Video by Sgt. 1 st Class Chad Menegay, Ohio National Guard Public Affairs
Celebrating our Soldiers and Airmen on Day of the Deployed
No longer considered a strategic reserve, today’s National Guard is a fully operational force of nearly 450,000 Citizen-Soldiers and -Airmen who live, work and serve in communities throughout the country. Of those 450,000 men and women serving in the National Guard, approximately 10% are deployed in every region around the world, on a daily basis, supporting U.S. National Defense Strategy. Since 9/11, more than 25,000 Ohio National Guard Soldiers and Airmen have deployed is support of the War on Terrorism.