After a decade of combat operations in which National Guardsmen fought and died alongside their active duty counterparts, the experience and readiness of our Soldiers and Airmen is at an all-time high. More than 50 percent of the nation’s Guard forces are combat veterans, who stand confident, competent and equipped to meet the demands of commanders overseas and governors at home.

The past decade has been among the busiest in the California National Guard’s history, with thousands of combat deployments in addition to our domestic emergency response operations. This has produced a generation of proven, experienced, battle-hardened troops that any officer would be proud to lead.

Seven California Air National Guardsmen from the 129th Rescue Wing will be recognized on the California Senate floor Thursday for their efforts in the successful rescue of two injured fishermen from a fishing vessel in international waters 500 miles off the coast of Acapulco, Mexico, on March 12, 2012.

The California National Guard (CNG) will host an aviation open house to showcase its UH-72 Lakota helicopters, the latest addition to its fleet of civil support aircraft April 5.