Air National Guard

NGAUS continues to lead the charge of National Guard and Reserve associations urging Congress to help pay service members during the government shutdown, which is now in its fourth week.

Mississippi Army National Guard 2nd Lt. Sawyer Walters came to Washington, D.C., last week “with a positive attitude” for the second NGAUS Capitol Summit of 2025.

The National Guard Bureau today operates with two of its four senior positions filled by leaders in an “acting” capacity with less than the correct rank. In fact, NGB has not had all four posts filled by Senate-confirmed officers of the appropriate rank in 16 months.

Since Congress failed to pass normal appropriations or a stopgap budget before the start of the fiscal year on Tuesday, the federal government is officially shut down.

Physical fitness and combat training standards will be raised and scrutinized, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Tuesday told hundreds of generals, admirals and senior enlisted personnel from across the services and components.

The Air National Guard lost a fighter unit Sept. 23 when the Maryland National Guard formally ended the A-10C Thunderbolt II mission at Warfield Air National Guard Base outside of Baltimore.

The Air Force last week unveiled changes to its Physical Fitness Assessment and a new fitness program that will soon apply to all Airmen across the total Air Force.

Amid a historic surge in military recruiting, the National Guard exceeded its fiscal year 2025 goals. Since November 2024, the U.S. military has achieved its strongest recruiting performance in 30 years.

Three associations that combine to represent all of the nation’s nearly 800,000 National Guardsmen and Reservists are urging congressional leaders to pass fiscal 2026 appropriations for defense, military construction and veterans affairs.

In his most high-profile speech since becoming Air Force secretary in May, Troy Meink emphasized familiar themes — the necessity to modernize, the need to perfect readiness, and remaining focused on “taking care of our people.”

The scope of the Pentagon’s modernization plans for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft will be reduced amid ongoing cost overruns and schedule delays, according to a recent report from a congressional watchdog.

The Space Force will take over all space missions currently performed by nine Air National Guard units Oct. 1, according to a July 30 memo signed by Air Force Secretary Troy E. Meink.