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)
Soldiers of the Georgia National Guard’s 1177th Transportation Company celebrated the rededication of their armory in LaGrange, Ga. during a ribbon cutting ceremony April 2, 2026. The ceremony was attended by senior leaders of the Georgia National Guard and citizens of LaGrange and Troup County. Brigadier General Jason Fryman, commander of the Georgia Army National Guard, was the ceremony’s keynote speaker.
“The ability for (the Georgia National Guard) to accomplish our mission throughout history has been determined by three things:” said Fryman, “funding, facilities, and a sustainable recruiting population in our local communities, like what we have here in LaGrange.”
The LaGrange armory has been home to units of the...
Sergeant 1st Class Andrew Fortson of the 1177th Transportation Company explains the mission and composition of the unit during a guided tour of the newly rededicated National Guard armory in LaGrange, Ga. April 2, 2026.
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...
