Ohio Army National Guard honors NBC4 for its support through reporting

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Members of the Ohio Army National Guard stopped by NBC4 Friday to recognize our station's support of one of their missions. 

NBC4’s General Manager Larry Cottrill accepted the plaque on behalf of the station from Brigadier General Matthew Woodruff, Assistant Adjutant General for Army with the Ohio National Guard. The award celebrated NBC4's support of the National Guard's Non-Commercial Sustaining Announcement Public Education Partnership (NCSA-PEP) program.

Woodruff said this partnership helps them reach a wider audience and share public service messages educating and encouraging Ohioans to take action. The campaign is a partnership with the Ohio Association of Broadcasters.

“I think the greatest benefit too is when you look at local TV and radio, you have that direct influence and impact on our local communities and it makes a huge difference. I think we have a shared goal in taking care of our communities,” Woodruff said

Watch: Full interview with National Guard members

Part of the messaging has to do with recruitment, per Staff Sergeant Alvin Holloman, a Columbus area recruiter. He specifically works in the Reynoldsburg office, and said they are looking for people who actually want to serve in the military. They are looking for people between the ages of 17 and 35. 

“Drive, determination, someone who's wanting to make a difference in their community, someone who wants to become better, someone who wants to get an education -- that's what we're looking for,” Holloman said. 

Cadet Miles Lilly enlisted in the Ohio Army National Guard last December. 

“I joined because I wanted to have that sense of purpose. I wanted to serve my country and some type of way because I felt it was the right thing to do," Lilly said. 

He said so far his favorite memories are from basic training. In his short time he’s been involved he said he already feels like he is creating a family. 

“One of the things I really like about being in the National Guard is just the people. There's so many different people around the world that come in, even if they're doing active duty," Lilly said. "You get to meet those people, people with different backgrounds, people with different religions."

Woodruff said the Ohio National Guard is unique. He said they have a dual mission: a federal mission and a state mission. On the federal side, he said they can support the national interest of the United States and go overseas. State-wise, he said their missions are under the Governor of Ohio. 

Woodruff said their missions can be responding to a disaster here in the U.S. or overseas, when they usually have about 18 months notice for deployment. One of the Ohio National Guards' recent missions was responding to recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

“So from an army perspective, we sent a chinook helicopter, which is a dual blade helicopter. It's our biggest helicopter hauls, heavy equipment and supplies. They were in North Carolina. With their crew, they transported tons of supplies back and forth in the Asheville area. The video that they shot in some of the still photos that we received you can find on our website,” Woodruff said. “But the devastation that happened down there is just unbelievable. When you have rivers routing, towns decimated, things like that that happen, and they were able to support citizens of another state.”

Woodruff said he was able to talk to the aviation crew who were down in North Carolina. He said many of them called it the most meaningful mission they have ever done. 

“The thing they were the most proud of was at the end, the North Carolina National Guard gave them a North Carolina flag where every crew from all the states that supported it had signed the flag. So I assume each organization got one that they were very proud of and they've hung it up in their aviation facility as well," Woodruff said.

Woodruff said the Ohio National Guard is all volunteers. He said he has been a part of it for 34 years and has had an amazing experience.

“What I tell the soldiers I get a chance to speak to is, you know, every day if you wake up and think about how to make someone else's life better, you're going to have a good day,” Woodruff said. “And if I can carry that through 11,000 soldiers and that's how they wake up and start their day, I think we're going to have a great National Guard.”

He said there are many benefits to joining the National Guard, including free college tuition. Members also have a path to citizenship, meaning Ohio National Guard members have a process to get expedited citizenship.

For more information about joining the Ohio National Guard, you can call 1-800-GOGUARD or go to nationalguard.com. To read more about recruiting questions, check here.