Nebraska National Guard Soldiers with the 2-134th Infantry

Nebraska National Guard Soldiers with the 2-134th Infantry train for airborne operations, Aug. 15, 2020, at the Mead Training Site in Yutan, Nebraska. Following the training, the battalion participated in a ceremony hosted by Lakota braves Russ Cournoyer and Lante Swallow, who performed two songs and presented a Tokala staff to the unit in a long standing Native American tradition, representing the induction of the battalion into the Tokala Society. A Tokala is the strongest of men in the Kit Fox Warrior Society. Created by a military Veteran Nick Gibbons, the cedar staff has the face of a warrior carved into it, is adorned with fox and a single eagle feather, plus the insignia of the 2-134th Infantry. If the battalion should participate in an overseas campaign in the future, they will add a feather and a patch to the staff, commemorating that deployment. The ceremony was intended to bring together the brave warrior culture of our nation and carry that spirit forward within the new battalion. (Nebraska National Guard photo by Sgt. Lisa Crawford)