From the historic runways of a World War II island to the austere outback of Australia, a specialized unit of the Colorado Air National Guard has been quietly setting the stage for U.S. defensive posture in the Indo-Pacific region.

When U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Bren Dee Rogers enlisted in the Colorado Army National Guard in 1987 as a teletype operator, the path to wearing the star of a general officer was not on her radar.

What began as a routine afternoon of physical therapy and a quick workout for U.S. Air Force Maj. Joshua Stevens, a civil engineer with the 240th Civil Engineer Flight, 140th Wing, turned into a life-altering moment when gunfire erupted at the high school next to the recreation center in Evergreen, Colorado, Sept. 10, 2025.

The Colorado National Guard’s Child and Youth Program provides year-round engaging programming for school-age children of military families.