JUNE 30, 2026 – Millions of years ago, pterosaurs roamed the skies. In June, UH-60 Black Hawk and UH-72 Lakota helicopters assigned to the 2-211th Aviation Regiment, Utah Army National Guard, along with a CH-47 Chinook from the 1st Battalion, 189th Aviation Regiment, Nevada National Guard, took flight over Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument for a unique mission: … [Read more...]
Coast Guard Interdicts Over $63 Million in Illicit Drugs
JUNE 30, 2026 - The crew aboard the Coast Guard cutter Bear offloaded approximately 7,720 pounds of cocaine and 4,000 pounds of marijuana worth more than $63 million at Port Everglades, Florida, June 26. The seized contraband was the result of three interdictions in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The crew detected a go-fast vessel June 11, and the … [Read more...]
Medal of Honor Monday: Johnson
JUNE 29, 2026 - Army Pvt. Elden Harvey Johnson fought in the 1944 Italian Campaign of World War II as an infantryman and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary heroism. Johnson was born in Bivalve, New Jersey, Feb. 13, 1921, and grew up in East Weymouth, Massachusetts. He enlisted in the Army in April 1943, at age 22, shortly after the United … [Read more...]
Honoring the Legacy, Building the Future
JUNE 29, 2026 – "If this is all I got left, what do I want to be doing with those last seconds?" The question came to Col. John "Coke" Blocher on April 6, 2003, as enemy artillery rounds landed around his armored personnel carrier during the opening weeks of Operation Iraqi Freedom. As an embedded joint terminal attack controller with the third infantry division's lead … [Read more...]
America 250: Pause, Reflect, Remember
JUNE 29, 2026 - It’s a solemn sight. You have read about it, seen it in books, online articles, even on television. But something about today, this moment, defies articulation. You are surrounded by people, yet only one figure moves: the sentinel pacing his measured line. His footsteps are the only sound you truly register, even as birds chatter and distant traffic … [Read more...]