News Archive

Capt. Patrick Randall, recruiting and retention officer for the New Hampshire Army National Guard, shoots at a 35-yard target during the “All Army Pistol Team Match,” the final event of the 2025 New Hampshire National Guard Combat Marksmanship Competition at Fort Devens on July 16, 2025.

Sept. 5, 2025

NH Airman Wins Top Gun

FORT DEVENS, Mass. — Tech Sgt. Michael Strempfer, an aerospace ground equipment mechanic with the 157th Air Refueling Wing won the overall championship for combined arms in the 2025 New Hampshire National Guard Combat Marksmanship Competition held July 16 to 19 at Fort Devens.

Tech. Sgt. Amber Martine of the 157th Air Refueling Wing, New Hampshire Air National Guard, dashes through Concord’s Karner blue butterfly conservation easement during a 30-kilometer Norwegian Foot March on June 14, 2025.

Sept. 5, 2025

Tech. Sgt. Amber Martine Dominates Norwegian Foot March

CONCORD, N.H. — Midway through the rain-soaked race, Tech. Sgt. Amber Martine surged forward to seize the lead. She never looked back. That’s what the air transportation specialist from the 157th Air Refueling Wing said after she bested 56 New Hampshire National Guard soldiers and airmen in an 18.6-mile Norwegian Foot March on June 14 in Concord.

Airman stands outside in uniform, trees in background, clear blue sky

Aug. 15, 2025

Beyond the Uniform: Airman’s Training in Leadership, Healthcare Becomes a Lifeline

PEASE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.H. — Master Sgt. Cody Lewis, an aerospace medical technician with the 157th Medical Group, New Hampshire Air National Guard provided quick thinking and medical expertise to help a fellow Jiu-Jitsu student who suddenly went into cardiac arrest during a martial arts class in Londonderry, N.H . December 10, 2024.

Command Sgt. Maj. William Ferland, outgoing state command sergeant major of the New Hampshire Army National Guard, gives a farewell speech during his retirement ceremony June 8, 2025, at the Edward Cross Training Complex in Pembroke. Photo by Pfc. Makayla Panzer, 114th PAD.

June 12, 2025

It Was Always About The Soldiers

PEMBROKE, N.H. — William Ferland joined the New Hampshire Army National Guard in 1984 to become a welder. On a hazy drill Sunday more than four decades later, he retired as the state command sergeant major.

Soldiers from the 12th Civil Support Team, New Hampshire National Guard, transfer a notional victim to a decontamination line during a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear response exercise April 9, 2025, at Storyland in Glen, N.H.

May 5, 2025

Far From a Fairy Tale

GLEN, N.H. — On a cold, windy morning just after sunrise April 6, members of the 12th Civil Support Team zipped up their hazmat suits and donned protective masks in the abandoned parking lot of Storyland in Glen. The children and families who usually pack the fairy tale-inspired theme park had been safely evacuated as the specially trained New Hampshire Army and Air National Guardsmen prepared to respond to a chemical incident. The scenario was fictional, but the mission was anything but.

Sgt. Matthew Witcher, a fuel supply specialist with Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment (MEDEVAC), builds a shelter during a search and rescue field training exercise April 12, 2025, at the Edward Cross Training Complex in Pembroke. Soldiers from the NHARNG company practiced building shelters during a final evasion tactics event.

May 5, 2025

Lost and Found

PEMBROKE, N.H. — Despite an early spring snowstorm, soldiers from Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment (MEDEVAC) partnered with New England K-9 Search and Rescue for a joint training exercise April 12 at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Concord and the Edward Cross Training Complex in Pembroke.

From left, Col. Nelson Perron, commander of the 157th Air Refueling Wing, Col. Pablo Soriano, chief of staff of the Salvadoran Air Force, Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Reiter, command chief of the 157th ARW, and Col. Rafael Melara, commander of the Salvadoran Air Force Academy, exchange gifts at the Ilopango Air Show in El Salvador on Feb.1, 2025.

March 8, 2025

Picture Perfect

ILOPANGO, El Salvador — The New Hampshire National Guard’s senior Army and Air aviation commanders met their counterparts from the Salvadoran Air Force during the Ilopango Air Show, which featured a KC-46A flyover by the 157th Air Refueling Wing and performances by the 39th Army Band on Feb. 1 and 2.

From a hover of 70 feet, Sgt. Daniel Bourque, a medevac crew member with the New Hampshire Army National Guard, lowers Sgt. 1st Class Ethan Major during a rescue operation Dec. 19, 2024, on Franconia Ridge.

March 8, 2025

When Minutes Count

FRANCONIA, N.H. — A momentary break in cloud cover gave a New Hampshire Army National Guard medevac crew just enough time to save a stricken hiker in the White Mountains on Dec. 19, 2024. Patrick Bittman, 28, of Portland, Maine was rescued after a solo hike on Franconia Ridge turned into a near-death struggle against severe weather, according to Lt. James Kneeland of New Hampshire Fish and Game, which led the search and rescue effort.

From left, Chief Master Sgt. Paul Lawrence, Pfc. Killiam MacPherson and Brig. Gen. Erik Fessenden admire their apt cake-cutting at the 2024 New Hampshire National Guard awards ceremony and birthday celebration Dec. 13, 2024, at the Edward Cross Training Complex in Pembroke.

March 8, 2025

Cut Above

CONCORD, N.H. — The New Hampshire National Guard held its 388th birthday celebration and annual awards ceremony Dec. 13, 2024, at the Edward Cross Training Complex in Pembroke. The youngest and oldest guardsmen, Pfc. Killiam MacPherson and Chief Master Sgt. Paul Lawrence (standing in for Lt. Col. Peter Degnan), joined Brig. Gen. Erik Fessenden, director of the joint staff, for a traditional cake cutting.

Col. Davis Ulricson, outgoing commander of the 197th Field Artillery Brigade, receives the Ancient Order of Saint Barbara medal during a change of command ceremony Dec. 7, 2024, at the Manchester armory.

Dec. 10, 2024

Rewarding Command

MANCHESTER, N.H. — The 197th Field Artillery Brigade held a change of command Dec. 7, 2024, at the Manchester armory. Col. Davis Ulricson relinquished command to Lt. Col. Jeffrey Samon, culminating a tenure that saw one of the New Hampshire National Guard's most storied combat units achieve new heights of operational excellence.

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