MIL Security Engine-1

Source: United States Army

CHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaiʻi — Military leaders, state officials and community partners gathered overlooking the Waiʻanae Coast to sign a memorandum of understanding ensuring coordinated emergency access through Kolekole Pass, reinforcing a partnership designed to protect communities along Oʻahu’s leeward coast.

The agreement between the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency and the City and County of Honolulu establishes procedures for opening Kolekole Pass to civilian traffic during life-threatening emergencies, providing an additional evacuation route for residents of the Waiʻanae Coast.

The signing followed a joint emergency access exercise conducted the day prior, led by Navy Region Hawaiʻi in coordination with U.S. Army Garrison Hawaiʻi. Personnel from the garrison’s Directorate of Emergency Services and Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security joined state and county partners to rehearse procedures for opening the pass and managing evacuation traffic during a crisis.

Capt. Samuel White, commander of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, said the training highlighted the importance of coordination among agencies responsible for emergency response.

“Just yesterday we conducted another exercise where we pushed vehicles through the pass with support from the Department of Transportation and our emergency management partners,” White said. “These rehearsals strengthen relationships and coordination so when the request comes, our response is automatic and focused on moving people to safety.”

Col. Rachel Sullivan, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Hawaiʻi, said the renewed agreement formalizes a process that has already proven successful during previous emergencies.

“Today marks the official signing of a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency and the City and County of Honolulu, codifying an agreement for coordinated access to Kolekole Pass as an emergency evacuation route for the Waiʻanae Coast of Oʻahu,” Sullivan said.

Although the pass has been used during past emergencies, Sullivan said the agreement ensures the procedures remain in place beyond individual leaders.

“Our sincere hope is that this agreement — one that transcends individual commanders and personalities — will give peace of mind to our community,” she said.

Maj. Gen. James Bartholomees, senior commander of U.S. Army Hawaiʻi and commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division, said the partnership reflects the military’s commitment to both national defense and community support.

“We are blessed to live here in Hawaiʻi and blessed to serve,” Bartholomees said. “With that comes the responsibility to care for the land we steward and the communities around us.”

Rear Adm. Brad Collins, commander of Navy Region Hawaiʻi, said the agreement reflects years of collaboration between military and civilian partners.

“Today’s signing is more than a document,” Collins said. “It is a reaffirmation of trust, partnership and cooperation.”

Collins noted the pass proved critical during the July 2025 tsunami warning when hundreds of vehicles safely transited the route ahead of the projected wave arrival.

“This worked because of the relationships, planning and trust we have built together,” he said.

James Barros, administrator of the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency, said the agreement demonstrates a shared commitment to protecting residents.

“Our preparedness as a state requires everyone,” Barros said. “This memorandum establishes clear procedures for requesting and opening the pass when circumstances warrant. It is about protecting lives.”

Following the remarks, representatives from participating agencies signed a ceremonial version of the memorandum, symbolizing their continued commitment to coordinated emergency response and community safety across Hawaiʻi.

Source: United States Army

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – When Alaska Army National Guard Land Component Commander Col. Aaron Kelsey greeted Director of the Army National Guard Lt. Gen. Jon Stubbs at the entrance of the Alaska Army National Guard Readiness Center Feb. 20, the mercury had plummeted to 6 degrees below zero with the chill condensing the air to the point the bronzed Minute Man statue standing watch over the Army officers’ meetup was festooned in a layer of frigid frost.

Standing as a representation of the 1,542 Citizen Soldiers and Arctic-capable, mission-ready forces within the Alaska Army National Guard, the statue’s symbolism as a guardian sentry over the North emerged throughout the director’s visit.

Stubbs, accompanied by Army National Guard Command Sgt. Maj. Brian Kendrick, met with Kelsey, Alaska Army National Guard Command Chief Warrant Officer 5 Mark Nieto and Alaska Army National Guard Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Baker before meeting with Alaska Army National Guard leadership and speaking to hundreds of Alaska Army National Guard Soldiers at the readiness center.

Kelsey and the Alaska Army National Guard staff shared several issues with Stubbs and his staff during the leadership meeting.

Arctic aviation is right-sized

When Alaska overlays a map of the continental United States, the vastness of the state is abundantly clear. The distance between Attu in the Aleutian Islands and Belle Bay in Southeast Alaska is 2,400 miles, nearly matching the 2,460 miles bridging New York City and Los Angeles.

Despite great distances, only a tiny fraction of the state is reachable by highway, leaving aviation as the primary means of reaching most communities. This paradigm came sharply into focus during fall 2025’s hurricane-force storms that devastated Western Alaska communities. During the 207th Aviation Troop Command’s response, the helicopter unit flew more than 330 hours, evacuating 501 civilians, transporting 741 disaster response personnel and moving more than 90 tons of cargo.

Arctic Combat Casualty Care

The U.S. military has relied on the “Golden Hour,” a time standard of evacuating critically wounded and injured troops to a higher level of medical care, for the past two decades. Maj. Titus Rund, 207th Aviation Troop Command flight surgeon, said a more realistic standard in a highly contested Arctic environment is “Golden Days,” requiring extended and effective prolonged casualty care.

“We need to accept that medical evacuation may be delayed or denied altogether in a high-end Arctic fight,” Rund said. “Momentum wins war – and casualties stop momentum. If we can’t stabilize and protect our injured in the cold, we lose more than lives. We lose initiative.”

To address the considerable challenges of providing prolonged casualty care in Arctic or extreme-cold environments, Rund submitted a patent on behalf of the Department of War for a casualty-evacuation, or CASEVAC, ecosystem.

The CASEVAC Ecosystem creates a “bubble of warmth” for the casualty and combat casualty care providers by allowing the casualty protection unit – a combined shelter and sled – to dock at a purpose-built casualty collection point shelter. The design enables rapid evacuation from the point of injury to definitive roles of care.

Rund also conceived of and leads a team in the development of an Augmented Reality TeleMentor system funded by U.S. Northern Command through Special Operations Command North in support of Special Operations Forces Arctic Medic exercises. The goal of the system is to upskill medics to perform tasks under the TeleMentor direction of surgeons who may be hundreds of feet or hundreds of miles away from the “point of need,” as demonstrated in the Ukraine conflict.

Drill travel reimbursement

Another challenge posed by the lack of roads in Alaska is getting Alaska Citizen Soldiers from their homes in rural Alaska to unit locations in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks or hub communities that host armories.

The Joint Travel Regulation permits the Secretary of War to authorize travel reimbursement for Reserve Component members commuting beyond local distances for monthly drills. However, policies in place limit the identification of critical shortages, which preclude drill travel reimbursement for most Alaska Army National Guard Soldiers.

Missile Defense and the importance of Space

Stubbs boarded an Alaska Army National Guard C-12 Huron executive transport aircraft Feb. 21 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, then flew the short journey over the towering Alaska Range to Fort Wainwright. He observed infantry training there before driving to the Fort Greely Missile Defense Complex, where he met with Soldiers from the 49th Missile Defense Battalion.

After seeing the mission and training support missions at the Fire Team Readiness Facility, Stubbs spoke with Military Police Soldiers at the Security Control Center, who are responsible for patrolling the complex on even the coldest, snowiest days. Stubbs then moved to the Fire Direction Center, where 49th Missile Defense Battalion Soldiers spoke with him about how they detect, target and destroy incoming ballistic missiles that threaten America.

‘Nobody can do what we do’

Stubbs opened remarks for the Alaska Army National Guard all-call by recognizing Alaska’s Soldiers’ response during the former Typhoon Halong in Western Alaska.

“What you were doing, no kidding, saved lives,” Stubbs said. “You were in the midst of hoisting people off structures that were swept out to sea, saving lives and preserving families. It was incredible.”

Stubbs highlighted how National Guard Soldiers must be ready to respond to disasters and unrest in their states while simultaneously standing ready to deploy overseas into a combat zone for federal contingency and wartime operations.

“Nobody does what the National Guard does,” Stubbs said. “Nobody can do what we do – Citizen Soldiers out there at the tip of the spear inside your respective states.”

“Being a Soldier in the Army National Guard is a big deal,” Stubbs continued. “We’re 332,000 strong, across all 54 states, territories and the District of Columbia. Thirty-three percent of the Army is in the Army Guard. But here’s the deal: We’re the Combat Reserve of the Army, so that 42 percent of the [combat] power is in the Army National Guard.”

Stubbs commended Alaska Army National Guard Soldiers for being the Army National Guard’s and the nation’s Arctic experts.

“The things that you deal with in terms of the conditions, the tyranny of distance and the challenges that come with operating in this type of environment, whether it is just training, Warrior Battle Tasks and Drills, collective training at echelon, it’s not simple,” Stubbs said. “It speaks to the character of this great organization.”

Stubbs said he and Kendrick are confident that the Alaska Army National Guard and its Soldiers are always ready to accomplish any mission, state or federal.

“We are proud of you, we are proud of who you are, what you do and what you represent,” Stubbs said. “I leave you with this: We’re Guardsmen. We need to be proud of that. Nobody else can do what we do, nobody.”

National Guard Website – http://www.nationalguard.mil

National Guard Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TheNationalGuard

National Guard X – https://x.com/USNationalGuard

National Guard Flickr – https//www.flickr.com/TheNationalGuard

National Guard YouTube – https//www.youtube.com/TheNationalGuard

National Guard Instagram – https//instagram.com/us.nationalguard

National Guard State Partnership Website – https://www.nationalguard.mil/

Source: United States Army

PHANOM SARAKHAM DISTRICT, CHACHOENGSAO, Thailand — When a disaster happens and lives are in danger, time might be the most critical asset first responders have.

“We train together, [so] we can respond together swiftly, safely and respectively, supporting Thai authorities and local communities when called,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Prendergrast, commander, 40th Infantry Division, California Army National Guard.

U.S. joint services and partners from the Royal Thai Armed Forces and Bangkok Fire and Rescue Department conducted a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, or HADR, demonstration Feb. 27 during Exercise Cobra Gold 2026 at the Disaster Relief Training Centre in Phanom Sarakham District, Chachoengsao, Thailand.

“Cobra Gold demonstrates our enduring partnership with the Kingdom of Thailand and our collective commitment to readiness and life-saving humanitarian cooperation. Today’s HADR demonstration embodies that commitment,” Prendergrast said. “What we saw today is joint search and rescue teams, medical partners and civil-military coordination, which reflects practical training that will save lives if and when disaster strikes.”

The humanitarian assistance and disaster relief component of Exercise Cobra Gold 2026 is designed to sharpen the ability of multinational forces to respond quickly and effectively to real-world crises. The seven fully participating nations in Cobra Gold 26 — the United States, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and the Republic of Korea — conducted combined planning and field drills that emphasize coordination, information sharing and operational awareness during disasters. A centerpiece of this effort is the HADR demonstration, where forces operate side by side in realistic scenarios such as search and rescue, medical response and urgent life-saving support.

For U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Ricky Manglona, 420th Chemical Battalion, Washington Army National Guard, training in Thailand during these events is more than just a job; it’s about ensuring his family receives assistance when they need it.

“Every time we come and train with the Thais, it’s like seeing our extended family again, like coming over for a holiday or family coming back together,” Manglona said. “So we exchange our stories, like where we’ve been, what we’ve been doing, and then we catch up pretty quick. We work as a team because we train the same, they know the U.S. standards and we know the Thai standards.”

He was just one of the U.S. Soldiers and Airmen who participated in a joint hazmat entry response with the Bangkok Fire and Rescue Department, the Washington National Guard Homeland Response Force, and the Washington National Guard Civil Support Team.

U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kristen Retherford, 10th Civil Support Team, Washington National Guard, was one of the lead planners and the first participant to enter the obstacle during the demonstration. Her training and experience with the 10th Civil Support Team prepared her to work side by side with the Bangkok Fire and Rescue Department.

“The basics of HAZMAT and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear response are the same no matter who is conducting the mission. So whether it is a commercial vehicle spill or leak from a weapon of mass destruction response, the basics are the same,” Retherford said. “You have to assess the situation, detect and monitor for any hazards and make decisions from there to save lives.”

The HADR demonstration emphasizes the integration of specialized search-and-rescue units, including teams with search-and-rescue dogs trained to locate survivors in complex environments. In parallel, Cobra Gold 2026 incorporates simulated evacuation and emergency operations, including a medical response, allowing multinational teams to rehearse the safe movement of civilians from crisis areas to secure locations.

Just as important, the HADR training strengthened relationships between military forces and civilian emergency responders, ensuring smoother coordination during floods, earthquakes and other large-scale humanitarian crises.

“We build that continuity, we build those relationships and work together to get better and learn,” Manglona said. “Bangkok Fire and Rescue Department, they’re like the best premier firefighters in Thailand. Hands down, they’re just the best, and I learn a lot from them every time I come here.”

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