Source: United States Navy
WASHINGTON — U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force leaders held the U.S. Navy-JMSDF Strategic Dialogue at the Pentagon, June 17, reaffirming both navies’ shared commitment to maritime cooperation, interoperability, and readiness in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Source: United States Army
BAUMHOLDER, Germany – A student with U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz’ Baumholder Youth Services recently earned the title of Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) 2026 Northeast Military Youth of the Year. The award, which comes with a $20,000 college scholarship, recognizes outstanding academic achievements, academic potential and commitment to community service.
Three years ago, Patrick Akar-Donkor, military teen and student at Baumholder Middle High School, moved from Ghana to Germany. He embraced the challenges of a new country and a unique military lifestyle instead of letting them overwhelm him.
The garrison’s Public Affairs Office recently spoke to Patrick to chat about his journey, the people who supported him along the way and what it means to be the 2026 Youth of the Year.
First off, congratulations on being named the 2026 Northeast Military Youth of the Year! Do you remember exactly where you were or what you were doing when you found out you won?
Thank you! The event was held at Major League Baseball headquarters in New York City, and I had the chance to meet the CEO of BGCA, Mr. Jim Clark. All four finalists gave their speeches, and afterward I sat with the Chief Baseball Development Officer Tony Reagins, when he announced that I had been selected as the 2026 Northeast Military Youth of the Year. I was very honored to be chosen, and it was an exciting moment for me. Afterward, we celebrated, took photos and headed back to the hotel for a pizza party.
Moving from Ghana to Germany in 2023 must have been a massive transition. How did the Baumholder Youth Services program help you find your footing and build a community in a brand-new country?
The Baumholder Teen Center was where I was able to make friends and connect with people, which was very important in dealing all the change. There were staff members like Mr. Ryan and Mrs. Jacque that I could talk to about anything, and they helped me adapt to my new school and military community. At the teen center, I was able to learn and make connections, which shaped me into the youth leader that I am today.
You helped bring back the European Keystone Summit for the first time in over a decade. What was it like bringing military youth together from all over the region?
Yes, that is one of my favorite accomplishments in Keystone! It’s very important for teens to be able to connect with one another, especially in military communities. Most Keystone clubs in Europe are unable to attend the National Keystone Conference in the United States, so it was important for us to bring that experience here.
We offered activities through the Red Cross, cooking clubs, sports programs, gift wrapping with the Baumholder Spouses Club Angel Tree program and many other opportunities, all completely free. Our “little” event even inspired BGCA to come to Europe and organize an official Europe Keystone Conference in Germany this November in Garmisch. It will be open to Keystone clubs across the region, and I’m honored to have been part of the team that helped make it possible.
It’s impressive reading about your accomplishments! You’ve logged more than 200 volunteer hours, maintained a 3.8 grade point average, played sports, served in student government and acted as the vice president of the robotics club. How do you balance all these moving parts, and what drives you to stay so heavily involved?
When people ask how I maintain my GPA while staying involved in sports, school and the Teen Center, I think it really comes down to having a community that supports you. I have that support not just at the Teen Center, but also at school, at home and throughout the entire Baumholder community.
I’m very fortunate to be part of such a close-knit community because it provides so many opportunities for teens. When you’re surrounded by opportunities and by youth leaders who inspire you, you’re motivated to stay involved and keep trying to be better. The BMC and BGCA have given me so much, and that’s why I believe it’s important to give back through volunteering.
Looking back at your time here so far, what has been your favorite memory of living in the Baumholder Military Community?
Over the past three years here at Baumholder, I have had many amazing experiences, from going to New York City for the youth of the year event, to meeting the amazing staff at the teen center, scoring a touchdown in a football game for the first time ever, placing sixth in our robotics completion and many other memorable experiences. But I believe the most important and my favorite memories are the little and simple ones, like playing Tekken in the teen room with my friends Keandre and Jason and the fun conversations at the Waffle House during school trips.
You’re planning to study sports business or sports management in college. If you could pick your dream job in sports leadership, what would it be?
I am very passionate about sports, and my dream job would be to become the sports director of Manchester United Football Club. Right now, I haven’t committed to a college yet and am still exploring my options. The University of New Mexico and the University of North Texas are among my top choices.
The $20,000 scholarship from BGCA will help me take the next step toward earning a degree in sports business or sports management and, hopefully, achieving my dream of one day becoming a director at a prestigious sports organization.
Baumholder Youth Centers serve students in grades six to 12 with free middle school teen programs offered daily after school and throughout the summer. Affordable morning camps also support families during out-of-school hours, providing a full day of activities for youth.
U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz sets, serves, and secures the total force community, enabling power projection for the European Theater.
Connect with us: https://linktr.ee/usag_rp
Source: United States Army
FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. — Soldiers with the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, 56th Mobile Brigade Combat Team conducted training June 17-18 on the new vehicle they will use for movement to and from mission locations.
The Infantry Squad Vehicle, or ISV, is a light, unarmored vehicle capable of transporting an infantry squad of nine Soldiers and their gear over rugged terrain, emphasizing speed and agility over armor and firepower. The ISV is the primary vehicle used by the Army’s relatively new mobile brigade combat teams.
Staff Sgt. Jordan Briggs, the battalion master driver, led the initial training on the ISV, training the trainers for each company. Briggs walked through each step of the preventive maintenance checks and services for the vehicle, a vital step in caring for and maintaining each vehicle to remain mission-ready and capable.
He then walked them through the vehicle’s capabilities and how to operate it. Each Soldier then completed a driving course around Fort Indiantown Gap.
“The companies’ representatives performed exceptionally well throughout the course, demonstrating strong technical proficiency disciplined execution, and a clear commitment to safety,” Briggs said. “The training not only met but exceeded expectations, producing confident and capable ISV operators ready to support mission requirements.”
The next training was conducted by the companies to develop confidence in the vehicle platform.
“I thought the training was very thorough,” said Spc. Nathan Breitenstein of A Company. “It addressed everything from walking up to the vehicle not knowing anything about it to being comfortable driving it. I feel confident in operating it based on our training.”
Sgt. Connor Vaughan, also with A Company, has experience driving several military vehicle platforms. He praised the training as well, explaining that it was very easy to understand the ISV’s purpose and capabilities.
“I’m looking forward to the implementation into the company, to see their scope and how we will use them in the field,” Vaughan said. “I think they’re pretty slick.”
The 56th Mobile Brigade Combat Team had been a Stryker brigade for 20 years before converting to a mobile brigade combat team in March. As a Stryker brigade, it was centered around eight-wheeled, armored Stryker vehicles.
Several ISVs arrived at Fort Indiantown Gap earlier in 2026 for driver training. The remainder of the brigade’s ISVs are expected to begin arriving in 2027.
The battalion plans to continue training Soldiers on the ISV throughout annual training to build a strong base of confident drivers, fully capable of operating the vehicle during any mission.
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Source: United States Army
ARLINGTON, Va. — Drug trafficking networks often cross state and international borders, and analysts with the National Guard Counterdrug program are helping law enforcement officials identify trafficking routes and connect investigations across jurisdictions in order to disrupt and stop the flow of illicit drugs.
“Borders serve as the main line of defense for preventing drugs from entering the U.S., but threats posed by illicit drug trafficking do not stop there,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Laurie Rodriguez, National Guard Bureau Counterdrug division chief. “They exist in all states.”
In one recent investigation, Guard analysts identified text-based communications tied to a fentanyl trafficking network operating across six states. Their work contributed to the seizure of 196,000 fentanyl pills and additional narcotics arrests, said Rodriguez.
The investigation was one of thousands supported each year by the program, which provides analytical, reconnaissance, operational, and training support to law enforcement agencies throughout all 54 states, territories, and the District of Columbia. Congress authorized the program in 1989. Since then, the mission has expanded well beyond its early efforts focused on marijuana eradication.
“What once focused primarily on local and state marijuana eradication missions has expanded into disrupting activities and dismantling drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations,” Rodriguez said, adding that the program is structured differently in each state based on local needs, threats, and law enforcement partnerships.
Nationwide, nearly 3,000 Guard personnel support those efforts as part of the program. All serve on Title 32 status and remain under control of their governors while supporting federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies.
Rodriguez said today’s drug trafficking organizations operate more like sophisticated criminal enterprises than isolated local groups, using communications, financial, and transportation networks that often span jurisdictions and international borders.
Much of the program’s mission now centers on criminal intelligence analysis and interagency coordination.
Guard analysts assigned to High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, state intelligence hubs known as fusion centers, and multi-agency task forces help law enforcement investigators identify trafficking routes, communication patterns, financial links and organizational structures connected to larger criminal networks.
“Analysts act as a force multiplier and bridge gaps between local, state and federal law enforcement partners,” Rodriguez said.
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Matt Howard, head of the Georgia National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, said Guard personnel often help connect agencies and investigative efforts that may otherwise operate separately.
“I think we are sometimes the bridge between elements or agencies where we can get folks to kind of work together,” he said. “I think we’re really the trusted brokers.”
Beyond analysis, the Counterdrug program provides military-unique capabilities many law enforcement agencies cannot sustain independently, said Rodriguez. Reconnaissance teams use fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft and specialized equipment to identify trafficking corridors and illegal drug activity, while other personnel provide communications, transportation, engineering and language translation support.
“I’ve worked with law enforcement agencies that have like 12 people, counting the secretary,” said Howard. “They don’t have helicopters. They don’t have an analysis person.”
The Counterdrug program brings those capabilities, said Rodriguez.
The program also operates five schools that train Guard members, law enforcement personnel, and community organizations in areas including criminal intelligence analysis, ground reconnaissance, and partnership development.
Other elements of the Counterdrug program work with anti-drug coalitions and community organizations to help communities develop long-term prevention strategies and responses tailored to local conditions.
“The Guard is already connected to these communities,” Rodriguez said. “The trust is already there.”
Rodriguez said the program continues adapting alongside law enforcement partners as criminal organizations evolve their methods and operations.
In fiscal year 2025, the Guard Counterdrug program supported more than 2,800 law enforcement agencies and contributed to narcotics-related seizures valued at approximately $15 billion, according to NGB figures.
Rodriguez said those operations are not only removing narcotics from communities, but also disrupting the financial networks that sustain larger criminal organizations.
“We’re denying these cartels and high-priority targets the revenue that they would have otherwise,” she said.
Related Links
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Source: United States Navy
MONTEREY, Calif. – The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) celebrated the achievements of its 2026 Spring Quarter graduating class during a commencement ceremony in King Hall, June 18, recognizing more than 400 U.S. and allied military officers and government civilians prepared to excel in the fleet and force through advanced education and research.
Source: United States Navy
SAN DIEGO (June 19, 2026) – Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) returned to its homeport of Naval Base San Diego following a three-month underway to the U.S. 3rd Fleet and 7th Fleet areas of operations, June 19.
Source: United States Navy
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – U.S. Pacific Command joint forces, along with allied and partner forces, are scheduled to participate in exercise Valiant Shield (VS26) 2026, June 22–July 1, in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Japan, and at sea around the Mariana Islands Range Complex.
Source: United States Army
BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Army National Guard’s 2-116th Combined Arms Battalion reorganized as a mobile infantry battalion June 18 in a ceremony at Gowen Field, part of a strategic modernization effort designed to strengthen the military’s capabilities in response to emerging global threats.
“The nature of warfare is evolving, and so too must we,” said Lt. Col. Jared Mckie, executive officer of the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (Mobile Brigade Combat Team). “Defeating the adversaries of tomorrow requires a force that is more agile, more deployable and capable of operating across vastly different, complex terrain.”
During the ceremony, the unit was reorganized as the 2nd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment (Mobile Infantry). Its two armor companies and one mechanized infantry company were redesignated as mobile infantry companies; a newly formed multi-purpose company was activated; and its logistics support company was reorganized as a combat logistics company.
The reorganization is part of the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team’s transition from an armor brigade to a mobile brigade combat team as part of the U.S. Army’s Transformation Initiative. The modernization effort is designed to strengthen the military’s capabilities by adapting fighting formations and integrating new technologies to prepare units and Soldiers to fight on the battlefield of the future.
The regiment has turned in its Abrams Main Battle Tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles for Infantry Squad Vehicles, which are based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 platform and can carry up to nine Soldiers.
“The tools we fight with are changing, but the mission remains the same: to find the enemy, fix them and destroy them,” Mckie said. “The vehicles we fight on will change, but the lethality, the discipline and the proud heritage of the 2-116th will remain intact.”
The unit’s headquarters and headquarters company will remain in Caldwell. A Company will relocate from Emmett to Burley. B Company will remain in Nampa. C Company will remain on Gowen Field. D Company, the newly formed multi-purpose company, will be located in Emmett and provide the regiment with organic strike, reconnaissance and sensing capabilities.
G Company, 145th Brigade Support Battalion, was reorganized as C Company, 145th Light Support Battalion and will remain on Gowen Field. The event also featured a change-of-command ceremony for all the battalion’s company commanders and a change-of-responsibility ceremony for all its first sergeants.
Earlier this month, the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (Mobile Brigade Combat Team)’s engineer battalion was inactivated, and a signal, engineer and military company were each reactivated as part of the brigade’s transition to a mobile brigade combat team. In July, the Idaho Army National Guard will activate the 1st of the 116th Cavalry Regiment (Mobile Infantry), which will be headquartered in Lewiston. Logistics and engineer companies in northern Idaho will convert to infantry units.
In August, the 145th Brigade Support Battalion will relocate from Lewiston to the new Jerome Readiness Center and become the 145th Light Support Battalion. The Jerome Readiness Center will be dedicated to former Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne on June 29.
Units in Twin Falls and Jerome were already scheduled to relocate to the Jerome Readiness Center later this summer and will now become logistical support units. Elsewhere in the Magic Valley region, the field artillery battery in Burley will relocate to Boise.
In eastern Idaho, the 1st of the 148th Field Artillery Regiment’s headquarters will remain in Pocatello. The region will gain an infantry company in Saint Anthony and gain nearly 275 additional part-time Soldiers. Following the transition, which is expected to be completed by the end of September, Idaho Army National Guard units will be located in 19 communities across the state.
Outside Idaho, subordinate battalions of the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team from the Montana and Oregon Army National Guards converted to infantry battalions and ceased affiliation with the brigade. The 1st of the 221st Cavalry Regiment, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, will remain affiliated with the brigade and convert to a mobile infantry battalion.
The 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (Mobile Brigade Combat Team) will retain its cavalry lineage and designation following its transition.
The brigade traces its lineage to the 1st Cavalry, which was constituted on March 4, 1920, and organized throughout Idaho’s Snake River Valley. The unit was redesignated as the 116th Cavalry on Oct. 12, 1921, and has been headquartered in Boise since Dec. 9, 1930. Elements of the brigade and its predecessor organizations have served in every major conflict since 1891, including the Spanish-American War, the Mexican Border Campaign, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
Related Links
The Official Website of the National Guard | NationalGuard.mil
State Partnership Program | NationalGuard.mil
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Source: United States Army
FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – Soldiers with the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, 56th Mobile Brigade Combat Team conducted training June 17-18 on the new vehicle they will use for movement to and from mission locations.
The Infantry Squad Vehicle, or ISV, is a light, unarmored vehicle capable of transporting an infantry squad of nine Soldiers and their gear over rugged terrain, emphasizing speed and agility over armor and firepower. The ISV is the primary vehicle used by the Army’s relatively new mobile brigade combat teams.
Staff Sgt. Jordan Briggs, the battalion master driver, led the initial training on the ISV, training the trainers for each company. Briggs walked through each step of the preventive maintenance checks and services for the vehicle, a vital step in caring for and maintaining each vehicle to remain mission-ready and capable.
He then walked them through the vehicle’s capabilities and how to operate it. Each Soldier then completed a driving course around Fort Indiantown Gap.
“The companies’ representatives performed exceptionally well throughout the course, demonstrating strong technical proficiency disciplined execution, and a clear commitment to safety,” Briggs said. “The training not only met but exceeded expectations, producing confident and capable ISV operators ready to support mission requirements.”
The next training was conducted by the companies to develop confidence in the vehicle platform.
“I thought the training was very thorough,” said Spc. Nathan Breitenstein of A Company. “It addressed everything from walking up to the vehicle not knowing anything about it to being comfortable driving it. I feel confident in operating it based on our training.”
Sgt. Connor Vaughan, also with A Company, has experience driving several military vehicle platforms. He praised the training as well, explaining that it was very easy to understand the ISV’s purpose and capabilities.
“I’m looking forward to the implementation into the company, to see their scope and how we will use them in the field,” Vaughan said. “I think they’re pretty slick.”
The 56th Mobile Brigade Combat Team had been a Stryker brigade for 20 years before converting to a mobile brigade combat team in March. As a Stryker brigade, it was centered around eight-wheeled, armored Stryker vehicles.
Several ISVs arrived at Fort Indiantown Gap earlier in 2026 for driver training. The remainder of the brigade’s ISVs are expected to begin arriving in 2027.
The battalion plans to continue training Soldiers on the ISV throughout annual training to build a strong base of confident drivers, fully capable of operating the vehicle during any mission.
Related Links
The Official Website of the National Guard | NationalGuard.mil
State Partnership Program | NationalGuard.mil
The National Guard on Facebook | Facebook.com/TheNationalGuard
The National Guard on Flickr | Flickr.com/TheNationalGuard
The National Guard on Instagram | Instagram.com/us.nationalguard
The National Guard on X | X.com/USNationalGuard
The National Guard on YouTube | YouTube.com/TheNationalGuard
Source: United States Army
ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay – Friendship, or amistad in Spanish, brings more than 20 National Guard medical professionals from throughout the country to Paraguay, but this is more than a cultural exchange. The seasoned practitioners brought thousands of hours of clinical experience to share with Paraguayan medical professionals and offer care to locals during Exercise Amistad 2026.
The annual exercise – which includes rotations in both Paraguay and the Dominican Republic this year – is tailored to the host nation’s needs. Guard members from Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Utah are taking part in the exercise in Asunción, Paraguay, June 15-26.
The overall goal is to deliver care while strengthening partnerships and exchanging expertise in real-world conditions.
“It is absolutely incredible to watch a U.S. joint medical operations team come to a country they may have never been to and operate in multiple locations,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Peter Mudge, commander of the Arkansas Air National Guard’s 188th Medical Group, and mission commander of the Paraguay portion of the exercise. “They are doing all this with teammates and all foreign partners they have never met, with a common goal of providing world class medical care in whatever situation they are given. They are, plain and simple, amazing.”
The Guard members and their Paraguayan partners are melded into four teams to provide aid at clinics selected by Paraguay’s Ministry of Health, each of which sees an average of about 100 patients a day. This year is focused primarily on optometry and audiology services, but also included dental and family care.
“Audiology and optometry definitely impact people’s lives,” said Mudge. “You can see it on people’s faces when they get glasses or hear better than they have ever have in their lives. Seeing the brightness on their face is just an incredible experience.”
U.S. Army Maj. Meghan Hart, a physician assistant with the Massachusetts Army National Guard Medical Detachment, echoed Mudge’s enthusiasm.
“It’s a special mission that we have, being able to treat the local community where they’re resource limited, so we’re able to bring a little bit of outside support to them,” she said.
“But we’re also able to see our impact almost immediately, and that’s the most rewarding thing.”
Although providing care in South America was new to many of the team members, interacting with patients is what most of the team does in their civilian careers.
Serving in the Guard allows Soldiers like U.S. Army Capt. Brad Daniels-Demers to be a nurse practitioner as a part-time military member with the Massachusetts Army Guard Med. Det. and work full time in a hospital as a nurse practitioner on the civilian side.
“I think the Guard has a particular advantage, because not only do we have our military-trained skill set, but we also have civilian career skills,” he said. “So, when we match those things together, not only do we offer a variety of knowledge, but we can offer more to the local community.”
For the Massachusetts National Guard members, working with Paraguayans is familiar territory. The Massachusetts Guard has a 25-year partnership with Paraguay through the Department of War National Guard State Partnership Program. The program pairs Guard elements with partner nations for mutual training and subject matter expert exchanges.
Although Amistad is not an SPP event, it builds on foundations developed through the program and mirrors its focus of exchanging best practices. The emphasis was on Guard members mentoring Paraguayan medical students working alongside them in the clinics.
For U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Kirk Drennan, an optometrist with the Utah Air National Guard’s 151st Medical Group who is also fluent in Spanish, the ability to communicate without a translator increased his ability to provide care. It has also improved his working relationship with his Paraguayan counterpart, Paraguayan Dr. Petter Gumercindo, who has finished medical school and is working toward becoming an ophthalmologist, he said.
“Hopefully that translates into perpetual care where they can go on to treat more and more, and we can snowball this into bigger and greater things,” he said.
Drennan’s snowball effect is already coming to fruition, with the next phase of the exercise scheduled to bring Guard members to the Dominican Republic later this summer.
Amistad is just one of many exercises and operations Guard members participate in globally.
“Our Soldiers and Airmen gain invaluable experience working alongside trusted partners, sharing expertise, strengthening readiness and building relationships that enhance security,” said U.S. Air Force Gen. Steve Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau.
Related Links
The Official Website of the National Guard | NationalGuard.mil
State Partnership Program | NationalGuard.mil
The National Guard on Facebook | Facebook.com/TheNationalGuard
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