Oregon Guard Soldiers lend a hand at Salvation Army Hope House

MEDFORD, Ore. – Seventeen Soldiers assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, traded their weapons systems for shovels, stain brushes and weed eaters during a community service project at the Salvation Army Hope House here, July 11, 2026.

Working alongside volunteers from a local business, the Soldiers dug trenches for sprinkler lines, spread bark, planted trees and shrubs with guidance from a local arborist, built walking paths, cleared weeds along the roadside and stained new benches for placement throughout the property.

"They are an organization that is helping to rehabilitate and stabilize families experiencing homelessness, and so we got the privilege of coming out here and serving them along with the team of their volunteers," said Chaplain (Capt.) Aaron McAndrews, the battalion chaplain. "It's really been a cool transformation to see it all unfold."

Since 1996, Hope House has helped people experiencing homelessness in Jackson County get back on their feet. The drug- and alcohol-free transitional living facility serves around 250 people a year, offering case management and supportive services in a structured environment.

"People who have been homeless that are really ready to get a fresh start in life can come and stay here," said Maj. Randy Mulch, who oversees the Salvation Army's work in Jackson County with his wife. "They meet with their counselor weekly, make life goals, learn life skills, pay off bad debts, get a job, save up money, get connected with our community and get back into life."

The average stay at Hope House is about 10 months, Mulch said, though residents making progress can stay up to two years.

The timing of the project carried extra weight. Hope House recently completed construction of its Hope Lofts expansion, seven new fully furnished studio apartments, and the volunteer effort helped ready the campus for the building's dedication and grand opening, scheduled for July 17.

"It's been great timing, and helped us even more than we thought we could to get ready," Mulch said.

The connection between the Guard and Hope House came through Chris Robertson, owner of Invictus Protection Agency, a local security company, and a former member of the battalion's Alpha Company who deployed with the unit to Iraq from 2009 to 2010 and to Afghanistan from 2014 to 2015.

"I'm just a local businessman that saw a program that I liked, and I wanted to do something to help it," Robertson said. "When I was walking through, I saw some things that just needed labor and maintenance, and I thought, what better way to get that done than calling the Guard?"

Robertson reached out to 1st Sgt. Jeremy Warren, the first sergeant for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, who has served with the battalion for nearly his entire career, including time in Alpha Company. Warren told him the unit had been looking for service opportunities, and the two settled on a date.

For at least one Soldier, the work was familiar territory. Sgt. Donovon Pavloff, a mortarman with the battalion, owns a landscaping company in Days Creek, Oregon, that services Roseburg and Douglas County. On Saturday, he put his civilian trade to work for the community, installing irrigation valves and helping guide the landscaping effort.

Brig. Gen. Alan R. Gronewold, The Adjutant General of Oregon, has emphasized that projects like this reflect why the Oregon National Guard is the military service of choice for Oregonians.

"Our strength comes from being connected to each other and to our communities," Gronewold said. "When our Citizen-Soldiers volunteer their time and skills to serve their neighbors, they demonstrate exactly what it means to be Connected, Competent and Committed."