Plains Guardian

By 2nd Lt. Briell Zweygardt Public Affairs Office People from across Kansas gathered on Jan. 14 to attend the inauguration ceremony for Gov-elect Laura Kelly that took place on the south lawn of the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka. Participants included members of the Kansas National Guard and the Kansas Highway Patrol who were there to render honors to their …

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By Airman Emily Amyotte 190th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs With a high deployment tempo and limited aircraft, finding an available aircraft for boom operators to practice tying down cargo was almost always a problem. Master Sgt. Nathan Neidhardt, aircrew training NCOIC, 190th Operations Group, solved this problem by creating a fully-functioning cargo loading training simulator which checks all the …

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On Jan. 19, the command team and 12 staff from the 169th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion attended the Leaders Training Program at Fort Polk, Louisiana, to plan and prepare for a Joint Readiness Training Center rotation later this spring. Kenneth Gill, the coach for Team 169th CSSB, said 169th CSSB team gained valuable experience working through the Military Decision Making …

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By 2nd Lt. Briell Zweygardt Kansas Adjutant General Public Affairs “Three, two, one, break ground.” Eight golden shovels broke the ground at Fort Leavenworth Nov. 30, marking the start of construction for the new training barracks for the mission training complex-Leavenworth and readiness center for the 35th Infantry Division. The official party at the ceremony hosted by the Kansas Army …

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Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, Kansas adjutant general, and Chief Master Sgt. Maurice Williams, Kansas National Guard command senior enlisted leader, made history when they became the first National Guard joint reviewing team for an Air Force Basic Military Training graduation at Lackland Air Force Base on Sept. 28, 2018. Tafanelli, whose son Nicholas was among the graduates, was contacted by …

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By Capt. Margaret Ziffer Public Affairs Officer of the Kansas Army National Guard Kansas City, Missouri – In 2005, Lance Cpl. Lauren Swensson, a radio operator in the U.S. Marine Corps, had just begun her first deployment to Iraq. She had completed a basic emergency medical treatment course through the Navy a few months prior, so one day her supervisor …

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The Kansas National Guard will be adding three new names to its roster of distinguished Guardsmen during an induction ceremony for the Kansas National Guard Hall of Fame Nov. 4. The ceremony will take place at Ramada Hotel and Convention Center, beginning at 2 p.m. This year’s inductees are retired Col. Wayne L. Cline, the late retired Col. James E. …

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Zombies. Seems like they’re everywhere these days –movies, books, television (including commercials). So, the best thing to do is be prepared for them. And if you are, you’ll be better prepared for any other emergency that life sends your way. During October, the Kansas Division of Emergency Management places a special emphasis on reminding the public, with tongue firmly in …

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President Donald Trump has granted a request from Gov. Jeff Colyer, M.D. for a federal disaster declaration for several Kansas counties affected by severe thunderstorms, straight-line winds, and flooding from Sept. 1 through Sept. 8, 2018. “I want to thank President Trump on behalf of the people of Kansas for this federal disaster declaration,” said Colyer. “We will continue to …

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The National Emergency Management Association has appointed Angee Morgan, deputy director of the Kansas Division of Emergency Management, to the Emergency Management Accreditation Program commission. “I’m extremely honored to represent NEMA as an EMAP commissioner,” said Morgan, who has been deputy director of KDEM since 2008. “Meeting EMAP standards not only provides evidence of government’s best efforts to comply with …

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