Missouri National Guard > News and Media

7th CST, Israeli HFC, Look to Build Strategic Partnerships
March 16, 2023 — Members of the Missouri National Guard's 7th Civil Support Team (CST) visited Tel Aviv to learn from the Israeli Home Front Command's (HFC) 60th Search and Rescue Brigade (SRB) and explore strategies to address chemical, biological, radiological, or explosion (CBRNE) contamination incidents. The goal is strengthening ties, building trust, and developing mutual training support between the two organizations to bolster response capabilities during CBRNE events. During their visit, the 7th CST personnel participated in a five-day "Commander's Course on Incident Command System," where they observed various training exercises and exchanged ideas to improve operations. Both the Israeli HFC and the U.S. military have a history of sharing best practices, and the partnership with the 7th CST aims to enhance these practices further to protect citizens in both countries during times of need. ... MORE

An Israeli translator explains the Commander's Course on Incident Command System to Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas Allee with the 7th CST, December 5, 2022

The Golden Partnership that Strengthens Tomorrow's Leaders
March 2, 2023 — The road to leadership has many possible routes. One of those routes is commissioning as a United States Army Officer through the Missouri Army National Guard’s (MOARNG) Guard Officer Leadership Development (GOLD) program... MORE

Officer Candidates run through Warrior Tasks while being evaluated.

BLUE FLAG exercise prepares Pacific Air Forces for pacing challenge
February 23, 2023 — Airmen from the 505th Combat Training Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida, executed exercise BLUE FLAG, which tested Pacific Air Forces' ability to prevail in conflict against a strategic competitor as well as the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command air component's ability to ensure command, control, communications, and computer, or C4I, systems resiliency against escalating cyberspace attacks, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Jan. 28 – Feb. 3... MORE

Over the shoulder photo of two U.S. Air Force Airmen in uniform looking at a blue binder.

The Warrant Officer Way
November 4, 2022 — Patrick Muenks grew up on his mother's family farm in Linn, Missouri, where his family has been for multiple generations. He recalls having a great childhood surrounded by many aunts, uncles, and cousins with his five other siblings. Though he longed for a place off the farm. ... MORE

Chief Warrant Officer Five (CW5) Patrick J. Muenks retirement ceremony takes place at the Army Aviation Support Facility, Jefferson City, Mo., Sept. 23, 2022. Muenks retired after 41-years of dedicated service to the Missouri Army National Guard.

A Musical Lineage
October 20, 2022 — Sgt. 1st Class Roger Kirchner of the 135th Army Band explains that family is deeply rooted within the Missouri National Guard's Army Band. “There's no other band in the state if you want to play music and become a member of the National Guard," stated Roger. "Everybody stays in the unit for basically their whole career. So, you have those guys as your family as well. You're just as much family when you’re in a van for thousands of miles, for hundreds of missions, with the same five to six people.”... MORE

Roger Kirchner (center), poses with his father Keith (left), and his son Royal (right), at Van Buren High School. This is the school where Keith was a teacher and Roger a student.

Missouri is all hands on deck: collaborative training amongst Missouri agencies
October 14, 2022 — Public safety depends on multiple organizations collaborating, and training becomes essential in finding a solution to a problem. The Missouri National Guard recently teamed up with our local state partners to focus on training in times of emergency... MORE

Joint training exercise with Det. 2, Co. G, 3/238th Aviation MEDEVAC, Cox Health and Missouri State Highway Patrol at Hercules Glade Wilderness, Bradleyville, Mo., Oct. 06, 2022. Multiple Missouri departments teamed up to practice life-saving MEDEVAC scenarios. (Photo by U.S. Army National Guard Spc. Rose Di Trolio.)

Gold Achieved: Officer Candidate Class 60 Commissioning Ceremony
September 20, 2022 — Officer Candidates from Class 60 gathered inside the Missouri Capitol Rotunda on September 10, 2022, for a graduation ceremony that culminates their commitment to becoming commissioned officers in the U.S. Army. The Officer Candidate School (OCS) trains new and prior enlisted service members to become second lieutenants. The candidates had to rely on their intellect, mental fortitude, and physical fitness to be successful and meet the required expectations to graduate... MORE

Emily Pickerell, Missouri Army National Guard, is pinned as a 2nd Lieutenant during the graduation of Officer Candidate Class 60. The ceremony was held in the Missouri State Capital building's rotunda on 10 September, 2022.

Missouri National Guard Warrant is `Puppet Master’ for Cyber Shield, DoD’s Largest Unclassified Cyber Defense Exercise
July 20, 2022 — Herrell served as the senior controller for Cyber Shield 2022, which ran from June 5-17 at the Army National Guard Professional Education Center on Camp Joseph Robinson in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Senior controller requires vast knowledge of cyber threats, superior technical knowledge, creativity and a lot of hard work, Battistelli said... MORE

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Katie Harrell poses in uniform at a computer

Funeral Honors
May 27, 2022 — "Sometimes I can pick a service on the other side of the state. I'll go to the service that those Soldiers are on and won't tell them that I'm there; I'll basically hide in the bushes."Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Newcomb of the 1-138th Infantry Regiment says this is one of the things he does to make sure that the Missouri National Guard Funeral Honors... MORE

Picture of two people standing behind a flag covered coffin

Solutions through Partnerships
May 11, 2022 — The Army’s new health initiative, Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F), aims to make a genuinely comprehensive holistic health approach by adding key tenets to holistic health, such as mental, sleep, and spiritual readiness. The program encourages soldiers to take better care of their minds and bodies and emphasizes learning how to conduct wellness training properly. But without funding for the program Army-wide, how will National Guard units implement this initiative? That’s what this year’s class at WashU is here to help find out... MORE

Graduate students make a presentation to an audience.