The Georgia Department of Defense alongside state partner, Georgia Defence Force, participates in the State Best Warrior Competition at the Cumming Readiness Center, Cumming, Georgia; the Catoosa Volunteer Training Site, Ringgold, Georgia; and Fort McClellan, Alabama, March 8-13, 2026. The competition demonstrates the readiness and lethality of the Georgia DoD and country of Georgia Defence Force soldiers by testing the competitors with physical fitness assessments, written exams, and other warrior tasks and battle drills. (U.S. Army National Guard video by Sgt. Chasity Williams)
WASHINGTON – General Thomas Carden has been appointed as the first four-star Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau, bringing nearly four decades of experience to the organization that oversees more than 435,000 Soldiers and Airmen.
For Carden, the title 'Vice’ is a familiar one. He explained that, like his previous deputy roles, the position is fundamentally about amplifying the commander’s intent.
“The vice or the deputy doesn’t have his or her own vision for strategy,” said Carden. “They figure out what the chief wants to accomplish in time and space to enable the 54 (states and territories) to do what they do best, and that’s generate readiness, lethality and capability for the joint force.”
Carden’s journey...
02.12.2026 | WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
Story by Charles Emmons
Soldiers of the Georgia Army National Guard's 138th Chemical Company stand in formation during a departure ceremony at the Clay National Guard Center in Marietta, Ga., March 20, 2026. The Soldiers completed the ceremony ahead of a planned deployment to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to support Operation Spartan Shield.
U.S. Airmen of the 165th Airlift Wing, Georgia Air National Guard, responded just before 7 p.m. Feb. 22, 2026, to contain a rapidly spreading brush fire located on the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport airfield.
The fire, which burned nearly 10 acres of grass surrounding the airfield, ignited shortly after an engine issue on a departing commercial aircraft and expanded quickly due to wind gusts reaching up to 60 mph. Fire attack...
