MIL Security Engine-1

Source: United States Army

KUNGSÄNGEN, Sweden — Eighty New York Army National Guard Soldiers spent their annual training working alongside Swedish soldiers in Sweden’s sprawling forests.

Instead of spending their two weeks of annual training at Fort Drum, New York, the New York Soldiers were in Sweden as part of New York’s State Partnership Program relationship with the Swedish military.

The two-week deployment, from April 24 to May 8, allowed the New York troops to participate in exercise Northern Lights 26, known as Aurora 26 in Sweden. The team included reconnaissance Soldiers from Troop C, 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment, and military police from the 105th Military Police Company, 102nd Military Police Battalion.

New York and Sweden signed a State Partnership Program agreement in 2024, but this was the largest training exchange to date. Previously, small groups of military personnel had attended training events in each other’s countries.

For many of the Empire State Soldiers, the exercise was a series of firsts, from their first time leaving the continental United States to their first time operating under a foreign command and their first experience with a markedly different approach to reconnaissance and combat operations.

“Their (Swedish) reconnaissance assets are a mounted force, so the size of the movement and the durations are longer,” said Capt. Ryan Sheehan, Troop C’s commander. “We’re usually only out there for 24 hours, maybe 48. Having them do reconnaissance for 72-plus hours gives my Soldiers a perspective on having to equip themselves for that.”

Placed under the command of a Swedish reconnaissance company from the Guard’s Regiment, Troop C’s platoons had to overcome the unique challenges of navigating an entirely new command structure, eventually finding their footing and adapting successfully.

The differences extended into small-unit tactics. Pvt. Tyler Brundage, a Troop C infantryman from Elma, New York, noted that while U.S. doctrine favors establishing a static observation post, or OP, to monitor a target long term, Swedish reconnaissance elements prioritize continuous, fluid movement.

Brundage recalled one grueling mission that began with a six-mile ruck through thick vegetation to a highly camouflaged rally point, culminating in a stealthy nighttime movement through a residential neighborhood under cover of darkness.

“It was super cool,” he said. “We were walking, staying close to the forest, and we had to kick out onto a street, and some lady looked at us through the window. It was crazy because you’re never going to see that in America.”

Despite some small-unit tactical differences, the integration at the team level was seamless. Sgt. Matthew Jankowski, a team leader from Clifton Springs, New York, leading his first large-scale training event, credited his platoon leadership and the professionalism of the Swedish hosts for mitigating potential friction.

“We fell under Swedish command, and we had some Swedes embedded with us, but predominantly it didn’t really change the mission very much,” Jankowski said. “Whatever differences there might have been above my station were absorbed by my platoon sergeant and platoon leader.”

Jankowski described the intense training as a bond-building “crucible.”

“There were a lot of tough moments, but everyone knew there was a mission to do, and they knew what their part was,” Jankowski said. “We had an excellent Swedish soldier with us … the integration was very seamless.”

Brundage emphasized the advanced tactics and state-of-the-art technology used by the Swedish trainers to bring stark wartime realism to the training scenarios, driven by regional security concerns. He recalled his Swedish counterparts using a specialized 12-by-12-foot tarp designed to completely mask thermal signatures from overhead drone surveillance.

“When the drone pops up, and it sees a thermal signature across the whole forest, that tarp that all five of us are sleeping under… it all is the same heat signature,” Brundage explained. “They treat everything so seriously.”

For other New York Soldiers, the training extended beyond reconnaissance and infantry tactics. Spc. Myles McCoy, a military police specialist with the Buffalo-based 105th Military Police Company, spent his time in country partnering with Swedish military police on detainee and combat operations while living out of field tents.

“This is my first time out of the USA,” McCoy said. “Honestly, I love Sweden. (Northern Lights) gives us a lot of opportunity to not be so ‘cone-visioned.’ We’re not just New York state. We’re not just the U.S.”

McCoy said he and his fellow Soldiers used their time working with the Swedish Armed Forces to build rapport, learn, exchange information and make both sides better.

“Coming over to a place like Sweden shows you that there’s a world outside of our own at a much larger capacity,” he said. “There are a lot of people who want to fight for their own country and where they live, just like we do.”

Both leaders and Soldiers agreed that Northern Lights 26 underscored the program’s value, demonstrating that face-to-face engagements translate diplomatic agreements into tangible battlefield capabilities.

“It’s one thing to put it on paper and say, ‘Yeah, we’re teamed with the Swedish,’ but to actually get out here and train with them and truly team with them, I think that’s an entirely different thing,” Brundage said.

“I hope that we’ve made a good impact on them,” Jankowski added. “I hope that they’ve enjoyed us as much as we’ve enjoyed them, and that we were able to build those relationships for a long time and be invited back to training events like this.”

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

CAMP ZAMA, Japan – For most, the final days of May signal the unofficial start of summer, but as the calendar turns and flags are lowered to half-staff across the country, the approaching weekend brings a familiar, quiet burden for Chief Warrant Officer 3 Vandy Thon.

“Every Memorial Day, it’s hard,” Thon said. “Because the pain doesn’t go away when you lose somebody.”

Thon, 39, is the son of a former infantry officer who served in the Royal Cambodian Army in the 1960s. He grew up in Long Beach, California, as a first-generation immigrant when his family migrated to the United States after the end of the Vietnam War.

Thon is currently assigned to the U.S. Army Aviation Battalion – Japan, where he serves as a UH-60L helicopter instructor pilot, and has been an aviator for seven years. But he began his career in the Army 21 years ago, enlisting in 2005 at the age of 18 as an infantryman, just like his father.

After completing training at Fort Benning, Georgia, Thon was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, at Fort Drum, New York. The following year, he deployed to Afghanistan for the first of four tours he would eventually complete there.

Across more than two decades of service, Thon has lost many friends, which brings up painful memories for him in the weeks leading up to Memorial Day. Yet, the weight of these losses extends beyond his immediate circle, as the tight-knit nature of the aviation community makes every report of a downed aircraft feel like a personal tragedy, regardless of whether he knew the Soldiers involved.

“Those of us who work in aviation, every time we hear about a crash or we hear about any incidents involving helicopters, the first thing everyone asks is, ‘Who was it?’” Thon said of the grim reality of aircraft accidents.

Cpl. Aaron Griner

During Thon’s first deployment to Afghanistan, he lost his medic, Cpl. Aaron Griner.

“He loved to take care of Soldiers,” Thon said of Griner. “He was the friendliest person I’d ever met.”

Griner was killed June 28, 2006, when his Humvee struck an anti-tank mine during combat operations in Helmand Province. Griner was sitting behind the driver. Thon was two vehicles behind his friend and saw the explosion.

Griner, a native of Tampa, Florida, was only 24 years old and had become a father just before deploying. Thon said Griner was looking forward to taking his upcoming rest and recuperation leave to travel home and see his wife and newborn baby. Instead, the young medic was the first casualty Thon’s unit suffered in Afghanistan.

“He never made it back home,” Thon said. “It hurt everybody. I don’t think there was a single dry eye during his memorial.”

Thon still remembers witnessing a moment when Griner did not even think twice to help his fellow Soldiers one scorching summer day there in Helmand. It was one instance of selflessness that he said summed up his friend’s character.

“Everybody had run out of water,” Thon said. “Griner had some, but he was not drinking it. He was passing it out to the other Soldiers to make sure they were taken care of. That’s the type of person he was.”

Sgt. Jasper Obakrairur

Sgt. Jasper Obakrairur and Thon were both sergeants and became close friends when they deployed to Afghanistan in 2009.

It was Thon’s second time in the combat zone, and he was part of the team in his unit that detected and neutralized improvised explosive devices. Obakrairur, or “Sgt. OB,” as Thon called him, was an armored security vehicle gunner.

Obakrairur was killed June 1, 2009, in Wardak Province when an IED detonated near his vehicle.

Thon was part of the team that was tasked with securing the wreckage, and the professional nature of the mission provided little shield against the visceral reality of witnessing the devastation firsthand.

“Seeing the aftermath of the vehicle and imagining in my head what happened, it was horrible,” Thon said, “It hurt. It really did.”

Though the heavy grief of that day remains a permanent fixture in Thon’s life, he has ensured that his friend’s legacy extends far beyond the battlefields of Afghanistan. He will always miss the Soldier he knew as Sgt. OB, but he keeps his memory alive in the most profound way possible — by naming his own son, Jasper, after him. For Thon, it is a lasting tribute to the character of a man who always put his fellow Soldiers first.

“He always took care of people,” Thon said.

Memorial Day

This June marks 20 and 17 years, respectively, since Cpl. Aaron Griner and Sgt. Jasper Obakrairur were killed. Thon has lost many other friends and brothers and sisters in arms, and their memory will always stay with him. But each Memorial Day brings to the forefront of his mind those two Soldiers who had a major impact on his life early in his military career.

“Meeting people like Aaron and OB, you realize that the bonds and the family you make in the military, you can’t get that anywhere else,” Thon said. “If they were still here, I would thank them for taking care of me. I would thank them the friendship they gave me.”

No matter how much time has passed, or that will pass, Thon said his friends will never be forgotten.

“That’s what I think it’s Memorial Day is for,” he said. “They sacrificed their lives for us to be there, so I want to continue to celebrate them and keep their memory alive by telling their story.”

Source: United States Army

FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii — The U.S. Army in the Pacific hosted senior land forces leaders from Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and the U.S. Marine Corps for a Land Forces Dialogue (LFD) on Friday, May 15, 2026, on the island of O’ahu, fittingly known in the Hawaiian language as “the gathering place.”

Hosted by Gen. Ronald Clark, Commanding General, U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC), the dialogue brought together Lt. Gen. Simon Stuart, Chief of Army, Australian Army; Gen. Masayoshi Arai, Chief of Staff, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force; Maj. Gen. Joseph Passamonte, Commander, 7th Infantry Division, Philippine Army; and Maj. Gen. Matthew Mowery, Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific.

The LFD followed the Land Forces Pacific (LANPAC) Symposium and Exposition 2026, where leaders from across the Indo-Pacific gathered under the theme “Prevailing through Transformation: Adapting, Innovating, and Modernizing Land Forces in the Indo-Pacific.” LANPAC provided a unique opportunity to shape the future of landpower in one of the world’s most dynamic and strategically vital regions.

As a premier forum for senior land forces leaders, the LFD enables participants to plan together and develop solutions to shared challenges. Aligning efforts across allied and partner armies generates a unified deterrent effect and reinforces stability throughout the Indo-Pacific.

Building on the momentum from the previous LFD held in Tokyo in December 2025, leaders recognized the need to advance more concrete combined cooperation among the four nations. Discussions emphasized sustaining positive momentum and enhancing multinational collaboration, with particular attention to shaping major multilateral exercises planned for upcoming years.

Participants highlighted the LFD as a vital platform for exchanging strategic perspectives and strengthening the professional relationships that underpin effective combined operations. In an increasingly complex security environment, the ability of land forces to execute in combined operations with allies and partners has never been more important.

Hosting the dialogue on O’ahu carried symbolic significance. As “the gathering place,” the island once again served its namesake purpose by convening trusted allies and partners to strengthen the bonds of friendship and shared purpose that define the Strategic Landpower Network in the Indo-Pacific.
The Land Forces Dialogue underscores USARPAC’s enduring commitment to working shoulder-to-shoulder with allies and partners to deliver decisive landpower effects and deter conflict across the Indo-Pacific.

The Land Forces Dialogue underscores USARPAC’s enduring commitment to working shoulder-to-shoulder with allies and partners to deliver decisive landpower effects and deter conflict across the Indo-Pacific.

Source: United States Army

ARLINGTON, Va. – Members of the Georgia National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force assisted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and other state and local law enforcement agencies in an investigation resulting in the seizure of more than 13 kilograms of fentanyl, cocaine and other drugs, along with 10 firearms, cash and other property.

“Roughly 220 Americans are dying a day from fentanyl,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Matt Howard, head of the Georgia Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force. “The leading cause of death right now between 18 and 45 year olds is synthetic drug overdose — not disease, not car accidents, not gun violence — and that is something that I think is beatable.”

The investigation, which concluded March 26 with the above seizures, was led by state and local law enforcement, with the Counterdrug Task Force acting in a support role.

“We’re not cops,” said Howard. “We don’t have a badge and we don’t make arrests.”

Instead, Howard said, the Counterdrug Task Force provides support on the back end through analysis, mission planning, reconnaissance and demand-reduction efforts.

For the March case, task force members conducted more than 60 hours of vehicle reconnaissance while also advising partner agencies on observation strategies and communication plans, Howard said, adding that much of that effort was headed up by one individual on the task force — U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Troy Gonzalez.

“Later on that day, based on information from that case, he supported an operation that got an additional five kilos [kilograms] of meth related to that initial case,” said Howard. “You’re really talking about a person that’s making an actual difference.”

The task force is part of the larger National Guard Counterdrug Program, which includes similar task forces in every state that bolster law enforcement efforts to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking and transnational criminal networks.

“These are global threats that are affecting communities across the country,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Laurie Rodriguez, head of the National Guard Counterdrug Program and assigned to the National Guard Bureau. “The Guard’s enhanced effectiveness in law enforcement support operations is rooted in our enduring presence and established trust within these communities.”

Guard Counterdrug efforts are organized differently in each state based on individual state needs and requirements. Those in the program all serve on Title 32 state orders under the governor’s authority.

Overall, Howard said, the Counterdrug Program assists by providing support that might otherwise be unavailable.

“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.”

That’s where the Guard and the Counterdrug Program come in.

“We only work on narcotics cases, but we provide assistance to those individual agencies that really pays in dividends,” said Howard. “We have experience that is militarily unique that can really help these local agencies kind of flourish.”

One way is by connecting agencies, Howard said.

“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.”

A lot of that comes from the mix of military and civilian-acquired skills that Guard members bring, Howard said, using Gonzalez, who headed Counterdrug Task Force support during the March investigation, as an example.

“You got a guy who’s walking in, that’s this enabler from Counterdrug, who served as a law enforcement officer in the past, served as fireman in the past, was in the Army, and is now in the Air Force,” he said. “A lot of the GBI [Georgia Bureau of Investigation] guys that he was working with, he actually trained when he was a cop.”

That helps make connections and allows him to “kind of serve as an outside mentor” with the goal of a larger impact on the illicit drug trade.

Howard said the March investigation is representative of typical support.

“It’s an impressive case, but it’s kind of par for the course,” he said, adding that last year Counterdrug Task Force efforts in Georgia supported the seizure of 89 million lethal doses of fentanyl — about 3 milligrams is considered lethal.

For Howard, those efforts represent positive moves in the fight against the illicit drug trade.

“The dope game is definitely something that can wear you out, and it’s a real crisis that is actually something that affects each and every one of us every day,” he said. “I’m the rah-rah guy for the Counterdrug program. I’m truly proud to be part of this group. They’re going out and they’re fighting a fight against something that could threaten the life of my daughter.”

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

KUNGSÄNGEN, Sweden – Eighty New York Army National Guard Soldiers spent their annual training working alongside Swedish soldiers in Sweden’s sprawling forests.

Instead of spending their two weeks of annual training at Fort Drum, New York, the New York Soldiers were in Sweden as part of New York’s State Partnership Program relationship with the Swedish military.

The two-week deployment, from April 24 to May 8, allowed the New York troops to participate in exercise Northern Lights 26, known as Aurora 26 in Sweden. The team included reconnaissance Soldiers from Troop C, 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment, and military police from the 105th Military Police Company, 102nd Military Police Battalion.

New York and Sweden signed a State Partnership Program agreement in 2024, but this was the largest training exchange to date. Previously, small groups of military personnel had attended training events in each other’s countries.

For many of the Empire State Soldiers, the exercise was a series of firsts, from their first time leaving the continental United States to their first time operating under a foreign command and their first experience with a markedly different approach to reconnaissance and combat operations.

“Their (Swedish) reconnaissance assets are a mounted force, so the size of the movement and the durations are longer,” said Capt. Ryan Sheehan, Troop C’s commander. “We’re usually only out there for 24 hours, maybe 48. Having them do reconnaissance for 72-plus hours gives my Soldiers a perspective on having to equip themselves for that.”

Placed under the command of a Swedish reconnaissance company from the Guard’s Regiment, Troop C’s platoons had to overcome the unique challenges of navigating an entirely new command structure, eventually finding their footing and adapting successfully.

The differences extended into small-unit tactics. Pvt. Tyler Brundage, a Troop C infantryman from Elma, New York, noted that while U.S. doctrine favors establishing a static observation post, or OP, to monitor a target long term, Swedish reconnaissance elements prioritize continuous, fluid movement.

Brundage recalled one grueling mission that began with a six-mile ruck through thick vegetation to a highly camouflaged rally point, culminating in a stealthy nighttime movement through a residential neighborhood under cover of darkness.

“It was super cool,” he said. “We were walking, staying close to the forest, and we had to kick out onto a street, and some lady looked at us through the window. It was crazy because you’re never going to see that in America.”

Despite some small-unit tactical differences, the integration at the team level was seamless. Sgt. Matthew Jankowski, a team leader from Clifton Springs, New York, leading his first large-scale training event, credited his platoon leadership and the professionalism of the Swedish hosts for mitigating potential friction.

“We fell under Swedish command, and we had some Swedes embedded with us, but predominantly it didn’t really change the mission very much,” Jankowski said. “Whatever differences there might have been above my station were absorbed by my platoon sergeant and platoon leader.”

Jankowski described the intense training as a bond-building “crucible.”

“There were a lot of tough moments, but everyone knew there was a mission to do, and they knew what their part was,” Jankowski said. “We had an excellent Swedish soldier with us… the integration was very seamless.”

Brundage emphasized the advanced tactics and state-of-the-art technology used by the Swedish trainers to bring stark wartime realism to the training scenarios, driven by regional security concerns. He recalled his Swedish counterparts using a specialized 12-by-12-foot tarp designed to completely mask thermal signatures from overhead drone surveillance.

“When the drone pops up, and it sees a thermal signature across the whole forest, that tarp that all five of us are sleeping under… it all is the same heat signature,” Brundage explained. “They treat everything so seriously.”

For other New York Soldiers, the training extended beyond reconnaissance and infantry tactics. Spc. Myles McCoy, a military police specialist with the Buffalo-based 105th Military Police Company, spent his time in country partnering with Swedish military police on detainee and combat operations while living out of field tents.

“This is my first time out of the USA,” McCoy said. “Honestly, I love Sweden. (Northern Lights) gives us a lot of opportunity to not be so ‘cone-visioned.’ We’re not just New York state. We’re not just the U.S.”

McCoy said he and his fellow Soldiers used their time working with the Swedish Armed Forces to build rapport, learn, exchange information and make both sides better.

“Coming over to a place like Sweden shows you that there’s a world outside of our own at a much larger capacity,” he said. “There are a lot of people who want to fight for their own country and where they live, just like we do.”

Both leaders and Soldiers agreed that Northern Lights 26 underscored the program’s value, demonstrating that face-to-face engagements translate diplomatic agreements into tangible battlefield capabilities.

“It’s one thing to put it on paper and say, ‘Yeah, we’re teamed with the Swedish,’ but to actually get out here and train with them and truly team with them, I think that’s an entirely different thing,” Brundage said.

“I hope that we’ve made a good impact on them,” Jankowski added. “I hope that they’ve enjoyed us as much as we’ve enjoyed them, and that we were able to build those relationships for a long time and be invited back to training events like this.”

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