COVID-19 Response From The Vermont National Guard

COVID-19 Response in Photos

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An F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter pilot assigned to the 158th Fighter Wing, Vermont Air National Guard, adjusts a POW/MIA flag while preparing for takeoff from Vermont Air National Guard Base May 22. Four F-35As honored Vermont’s front line COVID-19 responders and essential workers with a 90-minute statewide flyover as part of Operation America Strong, an Air Force effort to salute healthcare workers across the country.

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Air Force Master Sgt. Karl Johansen holds a COVID-19 test kit at the Strategic National Stockpile Warehouse Aug. 27, 2020. Airmen from across the Vermont Air National Guard's 158th Fighter Wing have supported operations at the SNS Warehouse since March 2020, and continue to support Vermont's efforts to distribute personal protective equipment throughout the state and conduct widespread testing for COVID-19. Johansen is a test kit assembly team supervisor with the 158th FW.

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Vermont National Guard Soldiers and state partners hustle to load meals into vehicles in Peru, Vermont, May 19, 2020. The Vermont National Guard assists the Vermont Food Bank "Farmers to Families" program and Vermont Emergency Management provide fresh produce, dairy and prepared meals.

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Vermont National Guard soldiers load Meals, Ready-to-Eat into a Vermont resident's car at Folsom Elementary School in South Hero, Vermont, May 1, 2020. The outreach program, in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Vermont Foodbank, is part of Vermont's whole-of-government effort to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic and help Vermonters affected economically.

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Air Force Maj. Amber Macrae practices going over patient information at the Alternate Healthcare Facility in Essex, Vermont, April 7, 2020. The Vermont National Guard is working with the state of Vermont and emergency response partners in a whole-of-government effort to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic. Macrae is a medical provider with the 158th Medical Group.

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Sgt. 1st. Class Mason Lord verifies a sample for collection at a COVID-19 sample site at the Landmark College campus in Putney, Vt., April 3, 2020. The Vermont National Guard is working with the state of Vermont and emergency response partners in a whole-of-government effort to flatten the curve during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lord is a survey team chief with the Vermont National Guard's 15th Civil Support Team.

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Air Force Staff Sgt. Keith Gomo helps the Vermont Department of Health unload pallets of medical supplies at a distribution center in Vermont March 31, 2020. The Vermont National Guard is working with the state of Vermont and emergency response partners in a whole-of-government effort to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gomo is assigned to the 158th Logistics Readiness Squadron.

COVID-19 Stories

Lt Col. Matthew Wignall, battalion commander, stands with Col. Ricky Kue, battalion surgeon, both with 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain), Task Force Avalanche, during a site visit in Southwest Asia. The 3-172 IN (MTN) has reached 87 percent of its deployed force being COVID-19 vaccinated. (Photo courtesy of 3-172nd Infantry (Mountain))

June 28, 2021

Vaccination rates soar for deployed infantry battalion

SOUTHWEST ASIA — The Jericho, Vermont, based 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain) surpasses the average COVID-19 vaccination rate while deployed.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jordan Snow, a musician with the Vermont Army National Guard's 40th Army Band, practices drumming at Camp Johnson, Vermont, June 7, 2021. Snow took part in the State's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Josh Cohen)

June 8, 2021

40th Army Band Guardsman recalls COVID-19 activations

CAMP JOHNSON, Vermont — Staff Sgt. Jordan Snow, a musician with the Vermont Army National Guard’s 40th Army Band, signed up

March 3, 2021

Task Force Coyote shifts from Covid-19 testing to vaccination

BURLINGTON, Vermont — The combined Vermont Air and Army National Guard group comprising Task Force Coyote transitioned March 3 from Covid-19 testing to providing vaccinations to the public.

Sgt. Kevin LaPierre receives his second dose of COVID-19 vaccine from Lt. Col. Sarah Davis Feb. 3, 2021, at Camp Johnson, Vermont. Recipients of the vaccines second dose commonly experience mild flu-like symptoms including soreness and mild fever. LaPierre is a fueler with the Vermont National Guard's 186th Brigade Support Battalion. Davis is a registered nurse and the officer in charge of immunizations for the Vermont Air National Guard's 158th Medical Group. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Don Branum)

Feb. 5, 2021

Vermont Guard delivers 2nd vaccine doses, prepares for town hall Q&A

CAMP JOHNSON, Vermont — Medics with the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Medical Group delivered first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at Camp Johnson, Vermont, Feb. 3 while answering questions and dispelling rumors and conspiracy theories.

Staff Sgt. Yolande Allen receives a dose of COVID-19 vaccine from Douglas Sutton during a vaccine rollout at Camp Johnson, Vermont, Jan. 4, 2021. The Vermont National Guard received 200 doses of the Moderna vaccine in late December. Allen is a performer with the 40th Army Band who specializes in flute, tenor saxophone, and vocals. Sutton is a registered nurse with the University of Vermont Medical Center.

Jan. 5, 2021

Vermont National Guard rolls out first doses of COVID vaccine

CAMP JOHNSON, Vermont — Medical personnel with the Vermont Army National Guard Medical Detachment, the 158th Medical Group, and the University of Vermont Medical Center administered COVID-19 vaccinations to 60 Soldiers and Airmen here Jan. 4.

An Army specialist with 1st Squadron, 172nd Cavalry Regiment of the Vermont Army National Guard conducts their annual Spur Ride at the Camp Ethan Allen Training Site in Jericho, Vermont, Sept. 6, 2020. The soldiers were tested on mission essential tasks as they completed a 6.5-mile ruck march. (U.S. Army National Guard Photo by Cpl. Gillian McCreedy, 172nd Public Affairs Detachment, Vermont National Guard)

Dec. 21, 2020

2020 in Review

CAMP JOHNSON, Vermont — The Vermont National Guard has adapted to provide community support and relief related to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 while continuing to fulfill state and national missions.

Nov. 19, 2020

COVID-19 test sites move indoors

CAMP JOHNSON, Vermont — Soldiers and Airmen with the Vermont National Guard have been operating COVID-19 test sites for the general public since March, but with weather getting colder, they’re moving testing indoors while adhering to public health guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Vermont Department of Health.

Lt. Col. Sarah Davis, clinical nurse assigned to the 158th Medical Group, Vermont Air National Guard, conducts training at the Vermont Air National Guard base, South Burlington, Vt., Nov. 7, 2020. In September, Vermont Guardsmen hosted a virtual trauma training with North Macedonia, its partner under the State Partnership Program.

Nov. 7, 2020

Training Must Go On: VT Guard Hosts Virtual Trauma Care Training with North Macedonia

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vermont — In an upstairs room at her home in New York, while her children and dogs are playing downstairs, Lt. Col. Sarah Davis, clinical nurse assigned to the 158th Medical Group, Vermont Air National Guard, sits down at her computer screen with pieces of training equipment nearby, hoping to avoid being interrupted. It was September 28, the first day of a three-day trauma nurse training, when she logged on to greet participants virtually - a new normal during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

(U.S. Air National Guard photo by Miss Julie M. Shea)

May 8, 2020

158th Fighter Wing honors COVID-19 responders with F-35A flyover

Vermont Air National Guard — The 158th Fighter Wing of the Vermont Air National Guard will honor Vermont’s front line COVID-19 responders and essential workers with a flyover on Friday, May 22, 2020.

(U.S. Air National Guard photo by Julie M. Schae)

April 4, 2020

How to build a medical facility in four days

Vermont Air National Guard — April 1st was supposed to be April Fool’s Day, a day that should have been full of jokes and satire. Instead, a team of civil engineers from the Vermont National Guard spent their day on a more serious note.

COVID-19 Resources

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.