Since its inception, the National Guard has been marked by a dual calling, one that requires us to regularly face both domestic and international challenges. Last month, we were repeatedly reminded of the California National Guard’s ability to respond effectively on both fronts.

California Air National Guardsmen from Moffett Federal Airfield’s 129th Rescue Wing deployed to Galveston, Texas, to search for stranded victims of Hurricane Ike in mid-September, only days after deploying in support of Hurricane Gustav search-and-rescue operations.

The California National Guard’s Task Force Shovel has been supporting the state’s wildfire mission since their mid-July arrival at the school yard in Burnt Ranch, Calif., a tiny remote community nestled in the Shasta Trinity National Forest. For three members of Task Force Shovel, firefighting was not the only mission they would undertake. Saving lives would take an unexpected priority at a rest area in Maxwell, Calif., when their combat lifesaving skills made all the difference for a critically ill man.

With the California fires mostly under control, the aircrews supporting the massive fire fighting operation can finally begin to breathe. At the height of the air mission, more than two dozen aircraft from as many as 14 states, as far away as New York, were assigned to Joint Task Force Sentinel. Aircrews endured the stifling heat and smoke, flying continuous fire-suppression missions and dropping nearly four million gallons of water on the flames that have scorched more than 900,000 acres, or an area roughl

I would like to introduce myself to the Grizzly’s readers. My name is 2nd Lt. Will Martin, a newly commissioned officer with the 49th Military Police Brigade and public affairs specialist at the Joint Force Headquarters. For the next several months, I will be serving as the editor of the Grizzly while Maj. Mirtha Villarreal is on leave.

In this edition of the Griz Cast, we cover more than 200 Airmen from across the state who came together from the California Air Guard to join the fight in extinguishing the blazes that threaten the Yosemite National Park in central California. We speak to Airmen about their training to become handcrew firefighters and how their military training and experience will help them perform this new mission.

In this video story, California National Guard Soldiers inprocess through McClellan Air Park before going out to fight the fires in California. These Soldiers receive classroom instruction on fire behavior, fire safety, and how to create fire containment lines. Additionally, they were given medical screenings to ensure their safety on the front lines.

California National Guard Soldiers and Airmen come together to battle flames throughout California. In this video, we highlight different aviation platforms the Air Guard brings to the fight. We also see Soldiers actively engaged in fighting wildfires as hand crews for the first time in more than 30 years.

July was an extremely busy month for the California National Guard. CNG members assisted CAL FIRE and the U.S. Forest Service firefighters with fires in Northern California. In addition to equipment, the CNG supported the wildfires with hundreds of personnel in both support roles and actively working on the fire line. At its peak, the CNG had more than 1,300 personnel participating in firefighting efforts.

With California facing a looming cash crisis and without a 2008-09 state budget, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order to make money available to cover the state's costs –excerpt from 31 July, Governor Schwarzenegger Press Release.

The two hundred forty members of the California National Guard’s TF Pick stood silently in formation reflecting on the previous twenty one day experience serving the state of California as firefighters tackling the raging forest fires in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

BOONVILLE, Calif. – Like a credit card or personal digital assistant, there are some things the California National Guard doesn’t leave home without. In its huge wallet, the Guard carries its emergency brainchild: An Incident Commander’s Command, Control and Communications Unit (IC4U) or simply, a communication do-it-all device on wheels.