Missouri National Guard

MOUNT VERNON, Mo. - It was a bittersweet meeting when Missouri National Guard Staff Sgt. Mike Byers, his cousin, Brian Hamlet, and Mark Lindquist reunited. Three months and three days prior, the trio came together amidst the destruction of the Joplin tornado. And while this day was one for thanks, praise and celebration, it was not without tears. “What do you say to someone who saved your life?” asked Lindquist, squeezing tight to Byers' hand in a room at the Missouri Rehabilitation Center in Mount Vernon.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Nineteen local soldiers will depart the Ozarks on Saturday for a medical mission in Afghanistan. The Missouri National Guard members will conduct medical evacuations of wounded soldiers.  The guard will host a deployment ceremony Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at the old airport terminal in Springfield.

A surprise fan showed up for a Missouri girl's basketball game this weekend. Eleven-year-old Kyleigh Ismael was stunned to see her dad, Sergeant First Class Andrew Ishmael, greet her on the court just before tip-off in St. Louis this weekend. Ishmael just returned from an 11-month deployment in Afghanistan. He's assigned to the Missouri National Guard's 135th Military History Detachment. After nearly a year apart, the family is making plans to visit Disney World.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon will be in Springfield Sunday to send off 20 National Guard troops heading to Kuwait. The 1107th Theater Aviation Sustainment Maintenance Group will work on helicopters and other military vehicles that will be used by soldiers in Afghanistan.    Sunday's ceremony is at 1 p.m. at the Missouri National Guard Aviation Classification Repair Activity Depot on North Lester.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Missouri National Guard had perfect timing on Sunday afternoon as the 1107th Aviation Group returned home.  Its 150 members spent the past year in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan repairing aviation equipment, including 462 helicopters. The 1107th saved the Army millions of dollars in repairs and modifications but there's no pricetag that compares to being home. "This is the best Christmas gift anyone could give me," Nancy Mulliner said about having her son, Sgt. Richard Mulliner, home.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Labor’s Division of Labor Standards, along with federal authorities, initiated an investigation on Monday into unauthorized alien workers employed by a subcontractor to complete insulation work on a building built with public funds. The DLS received information about unlawful activity involving a subcontractor hired to complete insulation work on the Missouri National Guard Helicopter maintenance facility building (AVCRAD) in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- As a possible federal government shutdown looms, many in the Ozarks wonder what it would mean for their paychecks.  President Obama met with Democratic and Republican leadership on Thursday morning and again on Thursday afternoon to try to reach a budget agreement by the deadline of midnight Friday. The sticking point is the amount of spending cuts.  Obama wants to cut $33 billion in services; Republicans want to cut $61 billion.  If they don't agree on a number, it's federal employees’ next paychecks that could be cut. The question is whether the threatened government shutdown is about politics or about reforming the government’s pocketbook.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Sen. Roy Blunt returned to his home here on Thursday during a break from Congress.  While he was at the national airport, he toured a Missouri National Guard facility.  Members of the Guard gave Blunt a look at the AVCRAD (Aviation Classification Repair Activity Depot) building to be completed later this year that will be used to paint aircraft. Blunt also praised the 60 new jobs the new National Guard Facility will create in Springfield, plus the construction jobs that have helped get the project to this point.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The commanding general of Fort Leonard Wood will talk to reporters on Wednesday morning about actions to reduce sexual assaults on the installation.  This comes after more than a dozen women and two men from across the country filed a class action lawsuit this week.  They claim the military didn't do enough to investigate the sexual crimes against them.  That suit names top level Pentagon officials, past and present, including Donald Rumsfeld. That nationwide case could reach the Ozarks in a positve way by promoting awareness of resources.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon on Tuesday requested the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to extend the program that is helping to expedite removal of debris in Joplin after the devastating tornado on May 22. More than 1.1 million cubic yards of debris have been removed under the Expedited Debris Removal Program, which is scheduled to end on Aug. 7.  Under the program, the federal government will pay 90 percent of the cost of...

About 20 citizen-soldiers from the Missouri National Guard said goodbye to their loved ones Sunday as the group prepared to deploy overseas. The soldiers, mostly members of Springfield's 1107th Theater Aviation Sustainment Maintenance Group, will be stationed in Kuwait but those with special skills will go to Iraq and Afghanistan. Their duties include maintaining helicopters and other military vehicles.  Missouri Governor Jay Nixon was on hand to help send off those in uniform.