Photo By Jerry Hewitt |
Airmen from the 104th Fighter Wing's ICT team prepare to conduct rapid rearming and......read moreread more
Photo By Jerry Hewitt | Airmen from the 104th Fighter Wing's ICT team prepare to conduct rapid rearming and refueling operations for the F-15C Eagle, June 12, 2025, at Westover Air Reserve Base, Chicopee, Mass.
The D-ICT allows for rapid refueling and rearming of fighter aircraft to increase sortie generation and mission readiness.
(U.S. Air National Guard Photo by Jay Hewitt) see less
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From responding to natural disasters to one of the largest deployments in the past two decades, 2025 was a year that tested the Connecticut National Guard’s resilience, but also demonstrated how committed the organization is to serving our neighbors, state, and country.
The year kicked off with more than 200 Connecticut Guardsmen traveling to Washington D.C. to provide assistance in ensuring the peaceful transition of power between former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump during the 60th Presidential Inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025.
Guardsmen from the 143rd Military Police Company, 142nd Medical Company, and 103rd Airlift Wing, collaborated with local and federal law enforcement to provide security, medical, and tactical support during the inauguration.
Back home, Spc. Shane Berube and Spc. Joseph Montenegro, two Connecticut Guardsmen who work full time at the Army Aviation Support Facility, were credited with saving a pedestrian who was struck by a vehicle on Old Country Road in Windsor Locks.
In February, Maj. Gen. Francis Evon, the adjutant general of the Connecticut National Guard, in cooperation with Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, presented the Connecticut Wartime Service Medal to Renee DiNino on behalf of her late grandfather, Tech. Sgt. Frank DiSalvo, a U.S. Army Air Force veteran who served during World War II as a power turret and gunsight mechanic, at Bradley Air National Guard Base.
Sergeant 1st Class Katarzyna Zarzycka, the logistics non-commissioned officer in charge for 85th Troop Command, was named the Department of the Army (HQDA) logistics warrior of the month for February 2025.
The beginning of March kicked off one of the largest rotations of overseas deployments the state has seen in the past 20 years. Soldiers and Airmen from the 1109th Theater Aviation Support Maintenance Group and 103rd Airlift Wing deployed in support of various contingency operations in support of Operations Spartan Shield, Inherent Resolve, and Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa.
The Connecticut Army National Guard’s annual Best Warrior Competition saw 22 Guardsmen challenge each other for the highly coveted title of Best Warrior and Best Non-Commissioned Officer from March 20-23, 2025. In the end, Spc. Matthew Hallgren, a bridge crewmember assigned to the 250th Engineer Company (Multi-Role Bridge Company) and Sgt. Brandon Chang, an infantryman assigned to D. Co., 1st Battalion, 102nd Infantry Regiment, came out on top and moved on to represent Connecticut in the Region One Best Warrior Competition.
We also honored some of our aviation heritage in March by unveiling a new display dedicated to Chief Warrant Officer 3 Diane Dowd at the Gov. William A. O’Neill Armory in Hartford. Dowd was a pioneer in military aviation by becoming the first female aviator in the Army National Guard, serving with the 143rd Aviation Company at Brainard Field.
In April, the 928th Military Working Dog Detachment earned a top rating during its annual kennel inspection and working dog team certification. The inspection reviewed more than 80 unique categories related to kennel management, animal health, and operational procedures. This was the fifth year in a row the 928th has earned this rating.
May was a busy month as the Connecticut National Guard hosted a ceremony to honor the state’s World War II veterans. It also celebrated 25 years of partnership with the country of Uruguay through the State Partnership Program, a collaboration that began in 2000 that focuses on training, peacekeeping operations, and humanitarian responses.
On May 4th, Sgt. Shaunna Mango of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1109th Theater Aviation Sustainment Maintenance Group, was recognized for helping an injured motorist when their vehicle rolled over on Route 9 in Cromwell.
The 14th Civil Support Team conducted collective lanes training in conjunction with Army North observer controllers at the Lebanon Fairgrounds from May 13 – 15, 2025. The training was designed to test service members’ abilities to conduct their Mission Essential Task List capabilities, skills that each member of the team must have proficiency in to be considered mission ready.
In June, the 103rd Airlift Wing partnered with the 104th and 158th Fighter Wings to conduct integrated combat turn exercises at Westover Air Reserve Base. These exercises featured the 103rd’s C-130H Hercules refueling F-35A Lightning II’s from the 158th and F-15C Eagles from the 104th.
In July, the 1-102nd Infantry Regiment and 643rd Military Police Company participated in a combined send-off ceremony for deployment. The 102nd was preparing to deploy to various contingency operations across the Middle East and the 643rd would fall under U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility. Both units are scheduled to be overseas for nine months.
To continue with deployment news, members of the 103rd Force Support Squadron spent five months at Dover Air Force Base to support Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations. On this mission, these Guardsmen helped take care of our Nation’s fallen service members and to ensure their families received the respect and support they deserved during that difficult time.
Army aviators from 1st Battalion, 169th Aviation Regiment assisted the U.S. Coast Guard recover a navigational buoy that broke free from its mooring and washed ashore on an island near Martha’s Vineyard. These Guardsmen used a CH-47 Chinook to raise the 13,000-pound buoy from the sand and drop in back in the water for a Coast Guard vessel to reattach it to its mooring.
In September, the Connecticut National Guard’s Junior Enlisted Counsel hosted its first-ever symposium to help mentor, train, and educate junior non-commissioned officers to lead more effectively in a modern military environment.
And then at the start of the fiscal year, the Connecticut National Guard was affected by what ended up being the longest government shut down in United States history. For 43 days, many of the organization’s military and civilian technicians were furloughed or worked without pay. Although it was a challenging time, the organization’s leadership emphasized the need to help and take care of its workforce no differently than it would its neighbors during a natural disaster or other crisis.
The shutdown was especially difficult for the Guard as the government found ways to pay its active duty service members, but that entitlement didn’t assist the Title 32 technician workforce, despite being Soldiers and Airmen who wear the uniform every day.
As for what else happened in the last quarter of the calendar year, you’ll find that in this edition of the Connecticut Guardian. We hope you all had a wonderful 2025 and we look forward to continuing to serve the great state of Connecticut and the United States in 2026.
