Tag: Army National Guard

State, Guard Conduct Cyber Discovery 2024

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The Idaho National Guard and the Idaho Office of Information Technology Services recently hosted Cyber Discovery 2024 at the state’s Chinden Campus in Boise. Cyber Discovery is a regional cyber exercise focused on security operations, incident tracking and response. The exercise takes place within the framework of the Department of Defense’s Innovative Readiness Training program, enhancing its training value to both the state and Idaho National Guard while saving taxpayer dollars.

“One of the biggest benefits to conducting the training like this is that there’s minimal cost to either party,” said Col. Dan Lister, chief information officer for the Idaho National Guard’s Office of Information Management. “If you were to simulate this, you would be into the millions of dollars.”

During the exercise, 26 Guardsmen from Alaska, Idaho, and South Dakota Army and Air National Guards played the role of cyber threat actors while a team of 19 ITS employees, three Boise State cyber security program students and three Idaho Army National Guardsmen formed a defense team.

“We’re training to rapidly integrate Guard members for that cyber 911 that could come at any time,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jerred Edgar, a defense cyber operations element officer with the Idaho National Guard. “We’re able to use the IRT to form and shape that response and rehearse it with our partners.” 

Edgar said the ITS blue team made significant strides in threat detection, synchronized actions, and teamwork over last year’s performance in the exercise.

“Everything we do in these environments produces tangible results that the state can use to reduce cyber threats,” he said. “It’s process improvement, it’s building on efficiencies and identifying effective tools.”

The exercise provides exceptional training value to Guard members as well, said Lister.

“They’re training in a large-scale, real-world environment,” he said. “It really can’t be simulated and it’s very complementary to the skill sets they will use at various military echelon levels wherever they go in the world.”

Maj. Gen. Timothy J. Donnellan becomes Idaho’s 26th adjutant general

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The Idaho National Guard held a change of command ceremony June 25, signifying the transfer of authority between outgoing commander Maj. Gen. Michael J. Garshak and the incoming commander, Maj. Gen. Timothy J. Donnellan.
Garshak served as the commander of the Idaho National Guard and as the adjutant general of Idaho since his appointment in 2017 by former Idaho Gov. Butch Otter. Earlier this month, Gov. Brad Little appointed Donnellan as the state’s 26th adjutant general following Garshak’s retirement, which will occur in a separate ceremony later this week.
“My time as Idaho’s 25th adjutant general and commander of the Idaho National Guard has been the highest honor and most rewarding of my career,” said Garshak. “I am forever grateful for having had this opportunity.”
Under Garshak’s command, the Idaho Army National Guard completed multiple deployments, including the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team’s back-to-back deployments in support of Operation Spartan Shield from 2021-2023 in Southwest Asia. The 124th Fighter Wing completed its second largest deployment in 2020, deploying to 17 bases in 13 countries in support of four named operations.
Locally, the Idaho National Guard was activated four times during the Covid-19 pandemic to complete more than 100 missions throughout the state. The Idaho National Guard was also activated to support wildfire fighting efforts in California and Idaho and deployed twice to Washington D.C. to support civil authorities in the nation’s capital.
Donnellan had served as the assistant adjutant general- Air and commander of the Idaho Air National Guard since 2019. He was promoted to major general in a private ceremony prior to the change of command. In addition to commanding the Idaho National Guard, the adjutant general oversees the Idaho Military Division, which includes the Idaho Office of Emergency Management; the Idaho Youth ChalleNGe Academy; the Public Safety Commission; STARBASE Idaho; and the Idaho Military Museum.
Gov. Little presided over the ceremony, which included the passing of the colors and other customary military traditions.
“Thank you, Gov. Little for your leadership as our Commander in Chief, and for your trust and confidence in me as the 26th adjutant general of Idaho,” Donnellan said. “It is my solemn promise to you and the citizens of Idaho that the Idaho National Guard will continue to be ready and relevant for any challenges overseas or at home.”
The Idaho National Guard consists of the Idaho Army National Guard and the Idaho Air National Guard. The Idaho Army National Guard comprises more than 3,000 citizen-Soldiers who serve in nearly two dozen Idaho communities. The Idaho Air National Guard includes more than 1,300 citizen-Airmen who serve primarily in the Treasure Valley. In addition, the Idaho Military Division is the state’s fourth largest employer.

Guardsmen, Volunteers Clean Up Birds of Prey National Conservation Area

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The Idaho National Guard, with the help of partners and local volunteers, held a trash cleanup event in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area June 22.
“Events like this are really helpful to be able to clean up some of that debris, help lessen the impact on either military training or environmental conservation, and really it’s a win-win for both efforts,” said Lt. Col. Allan Whitehead of the Idaho National Guard.
The Idaho National Guard provided four industrial size dumpsters for the event, all of which were filled to the brim. Idaho National Army Guard Environmental Management Office officials estimated 10-12 cubic tons of trash and debris left behind by recreational shooters or dumped by visitors was removed from the area.
“It just looks poor on the landscape and then people see that and they say ‘Oh it’s okay to do this,’ and it reinforces that it’s okay to dump trash, when I think a lot of us know that it’s not,” said Steve Alsup, the President of the Birds of Prey NCA Partnership.

Idaho National Guard Participates in 13th Annual Return of the Boise Valley People

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On behalf of and in partnership with the descendants of the original Boise Valley People, the Idaho National Guard is proud to have participated in the 13th Annual Return of the Boise Valley People June 13-16. The night of June 13 started with a welcoming ceremony at Boise City Hall Plaza.
The welcoming ceremony included remarks from Tribal leaders, Boise Mayor Lauren McLean and the Commanding General of the Idaho Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Tim Donnellan speaking on the front steps of Boise City Hall.
On June 14, the public was invited to share in the culture of the original Boise Valley people at Eagle Rock Park. Eagle Rock Park is a spiritual gathering place for Tribal people who return to offer prayers for ancestors buried at the site.
On June 15, the Idaho National Guard dedicated a sports complex to the Tribes during a ceremony hosted by the Adjutant General of Idaho Maj. Gen. Michael Garshak.
ROTBVP is intended to welcome home the descendants of the original inhabitants of the Boise Valley. Descendants of the original Boise Valley people include the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in Fort Hall, Idaho; Shoshone-Paiute Tribes, Owyhee Nevada; Burns Paiute Tribe, Burns, Oregon; Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone, McDermitt, Nevada and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Warm Springs, Oregon.

Idaho National Guardsmen, German JTACs reinforce relationships through training

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In 2015, an enlisted Idaho Air National Guardsman and a German Army lieutenant attended the same Joint Terminal Attack Controller Qualification Course and began a friendship that has had international implications for the past eight years. The two engaged in a series of conversations throughout their time at the course that resulted in a lasting partnership between the Idaho National Guard and the German military.

Master Sgt. Justin Clark, a senior airman at the time, is now a JTAC program coordinator with the 124th Air Support Operations Squadron. Clark said he immediately began looking for opportunities to bring the lieutenant’s unit to Idaho upon his return from the course. He said his unit commander’s support was key to guiding him through the process of coordinating and facilitating the German JTAC unit’s first visit to Gowen Field in the spring of 2016. The unit has returned every year since.

 “The win, where it gets better every year, is the partnership,” said Clark. “We share lessons learned, and everyone’s experience culminates to make both parties better.”

This year, soldiers and airmen from Germany’s Joint Terminal Attack Controller Competence Center partnered with the Idaho Air National Guard’s 124th Fighter Wing to conduct close air support training at the Saylor Creek and Juniper Butte Ranges, Idaho, May 1-18. Idaho Army National Guard UH-60 pilots and crew also supported portions of the training, adding another layer of realism to the German troops training and further expanding their nearly decade-long partnership. The joint training incorporated NATO tactics, techniques and procedures, utilizing A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft to prosecute targets ranging from armor, artillery, bunkers, simulated enemy combatants, moving targets, surface to air threats and more.

The visiting joint terminal attack controllers coordinate, integrate and direct the actions of combat aircraft engaging in close air support operations and joint fire observers, who augment JTACs by relaying target data. Leading them was Clark’s former classmate, Maj. Andreas Marx. Now a JTAC instructor himself, he said taking advantage of Idaho’s vast military range complex to enhance his unit’s training and further strengthen the international partnership is a win-win partnership.

“The CAS training opportunity that we have here, in conjunction with our partners from the 124th Fighter Wing is invaluable to us,” Marx said. “We do focus our training very much on large scale combat operations scenarios in the European theater of operations. Our partnership provides both sides with a common understanding and shared TTPs that will be of utmost importance during possible future conflicts with near-peer enemies.”

Located approximately 43 miles southeast of Gowen Field, Saylor Creek Range offers an impact area three miles wide by six miles long, where air and ground assets can employ live munitions.The Juniper Butte Range is located on 110,000 acres in southern Idaho and is covered with simulated hostile radar facilities, most of which are moveable electronic “threats. The range complex consists of two mock surface to air missile site targets in two strafe pits, a command site, a mock rail yard protected by two SAM sites, a radar/radio jamming tower and a range maintenance depot.

Master Sgt. Dennis Goettel, a joint fires platoon sergeant with the German Army, said the training site is unlike anything they have in Germany.

“In Germany, our soldiers never get into realistic situations like they do in Idaho because of training restrictions,” said the platoon sergeant. “It helps our soldiers to see live munitions hit their targets because then they know what they say to pilots really matters.”

 In addition to the training, 124th ASOS Airmen and their German guests participate in other military exchange activities. This year, the units completed German and ASOS physical fitness assessments, and the Germans conducted shoot-and-move 9mm pistol and M4 carbine qualification courses for the Guardsmen.

Clark said the unit is expected to return to Gowen Field for another training event in August, when it will fully integrate with the 124th ASOS to conduct full mission profiles encompassing the squadron’s focus points – shoot, move, communicate, practice combat medicine and fitness.

Youth ChalleNGe Academy breaks ground on new barracks

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The Idaho Youth Challenge Academy broke ground on a new barracks building April 9 in Pierce. Representatives from the Idaho National Guard gathered for the ceremony along with staff members from Gov. Brad Little’s office.

The $13.5 million, 18,000 square foot building will replace temporary billeting facilities currently in use at the academy. The new barracks also allows for potential expansion of the program with room to house up to 180 students and cadre.

Academy Director Trevor Sparrow said building strong relationships has been an important aspect of its success and growth over the years.

“We are so grateful for the support of all of our partners around the state from the cadets who attend, their families, local businesses and communities, the Idaho State Legislature and the Governor’s office,” said Sparrow. “This building solidifies the commitment that Idaho has to ensure the Idaho Youth ChalleNGe Academy stands ready to ensure a legacy of excellence for decades to come.”

The Idaho Youth ChalleNGe Academy opened its doors in 2014 with the mission “to intervene in and reclaim the lives of at-risk youth to produce program graduates with the values, skills, education and self-disciple necessary to succeed as responsible and productive citizens and adults.” Since then, the academy’s focus on providing education and developing employment and life skills among its student body has helped more than 2,000 Idaho youth earn traditional or general education diplomas.

Maj. Gen. Michael Garshak, Idaho adjutant general and commander of the Idaho National Guard, served as the presiding official during the ceremony.

“Two thousand and seventy-five young men and women from the state of Idaho have completed this and have really improved the citizenship and the future for our state,” said Garshak. “It’s time now that we move out of a temporary facility and build permanent barracks because I think the Youth ChalleNGe Academy has demonstrated that it is here to stay.”

The project is slated to be completed in November 2025.