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Vermont National Guard COVID-19 Response

COVID-19 Response in Photos

COVID-19 Stories

Aug. 29, 2022

Vermont deputy state surgeon receives Order of Military Medical Merit

The former deputy state surgeon for the Vermont Army National Guard’s Medical Readiness Detachment received the Order of Military Medical Merit in August.

June 29, 2022

15th Civil Support Team Hosts State Partnership Program Engagement

The Vermont National Guard’s 15th Civil Support Team hosted six Soldiers from North Macedonia for civil support training at Camp Johnson in Colchester, June 6 -11th. The North Macedonia Army soldiers were from a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Battalion and came to Vermont to conduct exercises with the Vermont National Guard’s 15th CST.

Feb. 16, 2022

Adjutant general issues biannual update: Feb. 2022

Maj. Gen. Greg Knight, the state adjutant general, released the Vermont National Guard's legislative update on Feb. 14.

Feb. 9, 2022

VTNG leaders discuss hot topics in Facebook live town hall

Vermont National Guard senior leaders answered questions related to mental health treatment and education benefits and discussed updates within the Guard during a Facebook Live town hall event Feb. 8.

Dec. 17, 2021

The Vermont National Guard in 2021: Looking back on a busy year

In 2021 the Vermont National Guard fully engaged both federal and state missions. Overseas deployments and Joint Task Force Coyote, a critical component of the State’s response to the COVID-19, resulted in a high operational tempo, one not experienced in past years.

Nov. 17, 2021

JTF Coyote begins pediatric COVID-19 clinics as adult booster vaccination numbers increase

The Vermont National Guard now supports the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic with vaccinations for youth in the 5 to 11 age group and booster clinics for the general adult population.

Oct. 6, 2021

Joint Task Force Coyote continues COVID-19 vaccination clinics

Recently extended until Dec. 31, the Vermont National Guard’s support to the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic continues. According to Maj. Daniel Dykeman, officer in charge of the Guard’s COVID joint task force, “JTF Coyote is currently occupied conducting vaccination clinics to meet the needs of the State of Vermont.”

Aug. 9, 2021

Biden to approve Austin's request to make COVID-19 vaccine mandatory

By mid-September, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III will request a waiver from President Joe Biden to make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for service members, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said. 

July 29, 2021

Voluntary COVID mapping task force concludes operations

In the early winter of 2020, Vermont Governor Phil Scott tasked the Vermont Department of Health and the Vermont National Guard with mapping the spread of COVID-19 across the state.

July 7, 2021

New commander details 124th RTI's pandemic responses

Operations at the Vermont National Guard’s 124th Regional Training Institute are gradually returning to the pre-COVID normal according to the Institute’s newly appointed commander, Col. William Wagner.

Response Timeline

2020

  • March 7: The Vermont Department of Health announces its first COVID-19 case.
  • March 13: Gov. Phil Scott declares a state of emergency and activates the Vermont National Guard to prepare for state active duty, beginning with five Airmen and two Soldiers. By March 24, a total of 48 Soldiers and Airmen are placed on state active duty.
  • March 23-27: Guardsmen construct medical surge facilities in Barre and St. Albans, each with a 50-bed capacity, a surge site at the University of Vermont with a 96-bed capacity, and a treatment and triage center at the UVM Medial Center Emergency Department, as Airmen support ongoing operations at the Strategic National Stockpile.
  • March 29: The 15 Civil Support Team starts supporting the Vermont Health Department's establishment of a COVID-19 test site in Putney with a team of 11 Soldiers and Airmen.
  • April 2-5: Soldiers and Airmen construct a 400-bed Alternate Healthcare Facility at the Chaplain Valley Exposition fairgrounds to provide augment local hospitals' available services. The AHF receives its first COVID patient April 10.
  • April 22-May 1: The Vermont National Guard distributes more than 160,000 meals, ready-to-eat, to communities suffering economically from the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of a partnership with the Vermont Foodbank.
  • May 22: The 158th Fighter Wing conducts a 90-minute flyover of four F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters as a show of gratitude for health care professionals, first responders, and essential workers, as part of the Air Force's Operation America Strong.
  • May 29: The Camp Ethan Allen Training Site in Jericho resumes training after a suspension caused in part by the COVID pandemic.
  • July 20: A team of Airmen with the 158th Fighter Wing begins assembling enough COVID-19 test kits to ensure Vermont has a reserve of at least 20,000 kits.
  • Aug. 27: Airmen and Soldiers support operations at the Strategic National Stockpile warehouse to help Vermont reopen its public schools for the 2021 academic year.
  • Sept. 18: The 158th Fighter Wing team assembles its 50,000th COVID-19 test kit.
  • Nov. 19: The Vermont National Guard's COVID-19 Test Team moves its test facilities indoors and reactivates the Alternate Healthcare Facility, which remains in standby mode.

2021

  • Jan. 4: Soldiers with the Vermont Army National Guard Medical Detachment and the Air National Guard's 158th Medical Group roll out the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines received from the Defense Department, inoculating 60 service members against the virus. 
  • Feb. 3: As Guardsmen receive their second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, medical professionals took time to dispel rumors about the vaccine through a series of Q&A sessions.
  • March 3: Task Force Coyote shifts its focus from COVID testing to vaccination, with enough supplies to provide 400 vaccinations per day.
  • May 21: Gov. Phil Scott announces that he will lift Vermont's state of emergency when 80 percent of the state's eligible population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
  • June 10: Members of the state's pandemic response team, including state Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine, were recognized by Vermont Guard senior leaders at a ceremony on Vermont Air National Guard Base. 
  • June 14: The governor lifts the state of emergency in place since March 2020, citing the state's accomplishment in reaching the 80 percent vaccination threshold.
  • July: The voluntary COVID mapping task force ends operations after conducting more than 13,000 interviews and closing more than 10,000 cases.
  • Aug. 19: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III announces he will ask President Joe Biden to make the COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for all service members "not later than mid-September."
  • November: Joint Task Force Coyote offers pediatric COVID-19 vaccine clinics and booster vaccinations for adults seeking added protection against the COVID-19 Delta variant.

2022

  • Jan. 26: Col. Justin Davis, the Vermont National Guard director of plans and programs, says Guardsmen will increase staffing support to local hospitals in order to meet health care demands during the Omicron COVID-19 surge.