Oregon Guard Trains Near White City, Gives Community A Hands-on Look At Aug. 1 Event (Photo) - 08/06/26

WHITE CITY, Ore. — Dozens of Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers spent four days training at the Salt Creek Training Area here, July 30 to Aug. 2, 2026, and opened part of that training to the public Aug. 1, giving local recruiters and interested young adults a firsthand look at what a day of Army training looks like.

Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment worked through weapons training, land navigation and small-unit drills in preparation for a demanding Army skills competition next year that tests Soldiers on core combat tasks. Because part of that training involved firing blank ammunition, the Oregon Military Department brought in wildland firefighters from Camp Rilea to stand by throughout the week as an added safety measure.

The Aug. 1 community event let visiting recruiters, students in the Guard's Recruit Sustainment Program and other interested young adults try out some of the same training the Soldiers had been running all week, including hands-on time with several Army weapons systems.

"This event was a great opportunity for future Soldiers to get hands-on training from Soldiers they will serve alongside in the future," said Sgt. 1st Class Erik Andreason, an Oregon Army National Guard recruiter based in Medford. "Some of the NCOs running the lanes were my enlistments over the last few years, some even graduated from the same high schools as the Soldiers enlisting now. They've grown into NCOs and officers, and now the Soldiers I enlisted are going to be responsible for raising the next generation of local troops."

The battalion closed out the training period Aug. 2 with a road march along the Bear Creek Greenway in Medford.

Jeremy Carver, the Oregon Military Department's deputy director of installations, said bringing in fire coverage for the training was simply part of looking out for the surrounding community.

"I called 1SG Warren to get the details and coordinated our fire coverage to prevent a wildfire from starting," Carver said.

Released Photos: 

Here are all four cutlines in order:

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U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Mychal Taylor, 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, Oregon Army National Guard, instructs Oregon Military Department wildland firefighters as they fire M249 Squad Automatic Weapons loaded with blank ammunition for familiarization at the Salt Creek Training Area near White City, Ore., July 31, 2026.
(U.S. Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne, Oregon National Guard Public Affairs)

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Recruit Sustainment Program members and Guard for a Day participants practice hand-and-arm signals during a class with 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, Oregon Army National Guard, at the Salt Creek Training Area near White City, Ore., Aug. 1, 2026.
(U.S. Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne, Oregon National Guard Public Affairs)

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U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Benjamen Rubio, 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, Oregon Army National Guard, instructs Giovanni Gonzalez, a Guard for a Day participant from Roseburg, Ore., on how to operate the M240 machine gun during training at the Salt Creek Training Area near White City, Ore., Aug. 1, 2026.
(U.S. Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne, Oregon National Guard Public Affairs)

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From left, Jordan Chandler, Matthew Kaye and Cotton Twonames, wildland firefighters with the Oregon Military Department, hold hand tools used to construct firelines at the Salt Creek Training Area near White City, Ore., Aug. 1, 2026.
(U.S. Army National Guard photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne, Oregon National Guard Public Affairs)