National Guard

To Speed Up COVID-19 Vaccinations, North Carolina Is Turning To The National Guard

By Jay Price • Jan 19, 2021
At a drive-through vaccination site in Elizabeth City, N.C., Tech Sgt. Steven Simpson of the North Carolina National Guard administers a COVID-19 vaccination as Maj. Hollis Guenther gives the next recipient instructions about the vaccine.
Jay Price / WUNC

North Carolina is among more than a dozen states that have called up the National Guard to help at vaccination sites, and Joe Biden may mobilize Guard units nationally.


In California, The National Guard Is Helping Fill Staff Shortages At Long-Term Care Facilities

By • Aug 4, 2020

As overwhelmed health departments call for help, National Guard members have been deployed to help run COVID19 testing sites and assist nursing homes.

Meet North Carolina National Guard’s First African American, Female Black Hawk Pilot

By Frank Stasio & Dana Terry • Jul 14, 2020
Jeffries stands in uniform next to a sign that reads 'Lindsey Jefferies NC's First Female African AMerican Black Helicopter Pilot for the NC Army National Guard.'
Courtesy of Lindsey Jefferies

Captain Lindsey Jefferies was the first of her six siblings to graduate from college. As a child, her family struggled financially and was constantly on the move in search of better paying jobs and a lower cost of living. She hoped that getting a good education could be a ticket to a more secure future and set the goal of attending UNC-Chapel Hill.

What Happens To National Guard Members Who Refused To Deploy To Protests?

By & Frank Stasio • Jun 17, 2020
Soldiers of Indiana National Guard
Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy

As protests surged in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of a former Minneapolis police officer, governors and mayors in more than 20 states deployed the National Guard to control the crowds.

What National Guard Training Can Tell Us About Policing Protests

By editor • Jun 12, 2020

A National Guard soldier called in to help quell protests in Louisville fatally shot Kentucky restaurant owner David McAtee.

Some National Guard Members Are Likely To Face Discipline After Refusing To Deploy To Protests

By • Jun 11, 2020

Some members of the National Guard are facing consequences because they refused orders to deploy to major cities during this month's protests.

As It Responds To The Pandemic, The National Guard Says More People Want To Enlist

By Jennifer Brookland • May 19, 2020

In some states, recruiters are reporting an uptick in the number of people who are expressing interest in joining the Guard.

First Black Brigadier General In NC National Guard Credits Sharecropper Father For Success

By & Frank Stasio • Jun 19, 2018
Gabriella Bulgarelli / WUNC

For James Roy Gorham, growing up in the small farming community of Falkland, NC was full of tough lessons, and he learned many of them from his father.

The Political Junkie: Trump’s Troop Policy And A Head-Spinning Week In Washington

By & Frank Stasio • Apr 6, 2018
photo of scott pruitt
Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Creative Commons

This week President Donald Trump announced he wanted an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from the fight against ISIS in Syria. In a news conference with Baltic leaders Trump said the U.S. was “very successful against ISIS.” The president has since pulled back on an urgent removal plan, and instead instructed the military to withdraw from the conflict within a few months.

NC National Guard Adjusts To Changing Times, Plans Two New Centers

By • Nov 23, 2017
A picture of the NCNG logo.
North Carolina National Guard

Shifting populations and changing demographics. Those are the key drivers behind the initiative known as the Readiness Center Transformation Master Plan.

North Carolina Military Helping Puerto Ricans Access Clean Water, Roads

By & Frank Stasio • Oct 27, 2017
PONCE, PUERTO RICO - North Carolina National Guard SSG Joe Rodriguez carries donated water and MRE's for Nani Soto in a distribution center in a sports arena in the Southern town of Ponce, the 2nd largest city in Puerto Rico, on October 20, 2017.
Angel Valentin / For WUNC

It has been more than five weeks since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. Close to three-quarters of residents on the island are still without power. Many also still do not have access to food or safe drinking water. 

With Huge Job Ahead, N.C. National Guard Begins Rebuilding Rural Puerto Rico Roads

By • Oct 24, 2017
1st Lt. Erin Graham of the North Carolina National Guard inspects a washed out bridge in the small Puerto Rico community of Vallaja.
Jay Price / WUNC

A North Carolina-based engineering battalion is making slow progress repairing roads that were blocked or damaged in Hurricane Maria. But months of work lies ahead.

Lawmakers Look To Arm NC National Guard Members

By • Aug 5, 2015
North Carolina National Guard Public Affairs

North Carolina legislators are considering a bill that allows the North Carolina National Guard to arm its service members at recruiting centers.

State Senator Dan Soucek  sponsored the measure in response to last month's killing of five servicemen outside a Navy Reserve center in Chattanooga, T.N. Soucek said policy keeping Guardsmen unarmed makes them potential targets for terrorists.

National Guard Honors Top World War II Veterans In Raleigh

By • Jul 23, 2015
A picture of the NCNG logo.
North Carolina National Guard

The N.C. National Guard will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II with a ceremony Friday honoring 16 members of the 30th Infantry Division.

Six soldiers from the division were awarded the Medal of Honor for their service in World War II. Then-General Dwight Eisenhower's staff ranked the 30th as the top infantry division in the European theater.

Its contemporaries still honor the division.

New Office Helps Veterans Turn Miltary Experience Into A Civilian Career

By • Dec 4, 2013
Soldier saluting
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Veterans returning from deployment face a quickly-changing job market. Many have a difficult time explaining how their military experience has prepared them for the civilian work force. The unemployment rate for veterans is about 7-percent, on par with the national average.

The North Carolina National Guard Education and Employment Center helps guard members look for civilian jobs.

Manager and fellow veteran Austin Walther says they also help vets translate their military experience into civilian job skills.

National Guard Members Deploying To Egypt

By • Oct 22, 2012

About 100 North Carolina National Guard Soldiers will deploy to Egypt this week.

The men and women are scheduled to spend the next nine months in the Sinai Peninsula, supporting the 1979 peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. Captain Matthew Boyle says the mission is a standard operation and has not been affected by the tenuous situation in Egypt and the Middle East.