The head of U.S. Army Pacific, Gen. Ronald Clark, congratulates soldiers from B Company, 1st Battalion, 294th Infantry Regiment of the Guam National Guard in Barrigada, Guam, April 12, 2025. The unit won the prestigious Alexander Hamilton Award for its support of Task Force Talon, operational excellence and community service. (Samantha Jetzer/U.S. Navy)
A Guam Army National Guard company made history on April 12 by becoming the first infantry unit to earn the Alexander Hamilton Award, an honor typically reserved for artillery units.
B Company, 1st Battalion, 294th Infantry Regiment — known as “Team Binadu” — received the honor for its support of Task Force Talon, operational excellence and community service, the National Guard said in an April 14 news release.
The task force is responsible for ballistic missile defense on Guam.
The award marks a milestone in drone warfare. In January, the company became the first U.S. unit in the Pacific to successfully disable a drone using a fixed-site counter-drone system.
“We were the first unit to successfully take down a drone in the Pacific region, which sparked a huge interest from many senior leaders and other organizations to come to Guam and see what this capability was,” B Company commander Capt. Thomas Borgonia told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday.
Using the FS-LIDS — the Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Defeat System — the company shot down a drone flying in restricted airspace over a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, site on Guam. The operation, which occurred in January 2024, was the first use of the FS-LIDS on U.S. soil, according to the Guard.
The system, developed by SRC Inc. of Syracuse, N.Y., integrates radar, cameras and counter-drone technologies to protect critical sites from unmanned aerial threats.
The head of U.S. Army Pacific, Gen. Ronald Clark, presents the Alexander Hamilton Award to Capt. Thomas Borgonia, commander of Team Binadu, in Barrigada, Guam, April 12, 2025. (Samantha Jetzer/U.S. Navy)
The Hamilton Award recognizes exceptional mission performance, training and unit readiness. It is traditionally awarded to air defense and field artillery units. Alexander Hamilton, for whom the award is named, commanded a New York artillery company at the outset of the American Revolution.
“This instance proved that air defense is everyone’s responsibility, not just for air defenders,” Capt. Frank Spatt, spokesman for the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, said by email Thursday. The brigade oversees missile defense operations for Japan and Guam.
Beyond its operational success, B Company also earned praise for leadership and community engagement. Following Typhoon Mawar in May 2023, soldiers from the unit cleared debris, pressure washed, repainted and landscaped 12 school campuses, six of which have since passed health inspections and reopened, according to the award nomination.
The company also led two supply drives for Guam Animals in Need, took part in four beach cleanups, and helped restore the Battle of Yigo Memorial.
“I just want to take the time to thank my team,” Borgonia said. “Without my soldiers being the go-getters and people that they are, we wouldn’t have this award.”
