Russell Hepler, a sergeant with the Alaska Army National Guard, died Saturday when he was swept away by the current of the Copper River while dipnetting, according to a report from the Guard Sunday.
Grady Wayne Wilkes, the suspect in the slaying of Auburn police officer William Buechner, is an active member of the Alabama Army National Guard, guard officials confirmed to AL.com Tuesday.
Wilkes, 29, is a corporal and infantry fire team leader who joined the guard in 2010, according to Army National Guard public affairs. Guard officials said they have no record of Wilkes being deployed.
A convicted felon jumped a fence and stole a grenade launcher, rifles and other weapons from an Army National Guard armory in Lancaster that had an unsecured door, prosecutors said.
The Army National Guard is investigating whether a member of an explosive ordnance disposal unit killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in October was appropriately trained and equipped prior to his deployment, the New York Times reports.
The highest-ranking officer in the National Guard has promised North Carolina whatever support it needs to recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Florence.
