Articles
Students at the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School’s Basic Military Mountaineer Course practice traversing in crampons and learning to stop a fall with ice axes Jan. 21, 2022. The AMWS is a U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command school operated by the Vermont Army National Guard at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Vermont.

Feb. 17, 2022

Making Mountaineers: U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School

CAMP ETHAN ALLEN TRAINING SITE, Vt. – Each service member who enters the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School passes under a placard with an ominous warning from Ethan Allen himself: “The Gods of the valleys are not the Gods of

Staff Sgt. John Hampson, an instructor at the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School, demonstrates a casualty evacuation system to students at the school’s Basic Military Mountaineer Course at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Vermont, Jan. 22, 2022. U.S. and foreign service members learn basic, advanced and specialty mountain warfare skills at the school.

Feb. 17, 2022

Legacies of Excellence: Mountain Warfare School instructors

Service members from French desert commandos to U.S. Special Forces operators have sung the praises of U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School instructors.

Pictured from left, the aid station that accompanied a mobile home (which no longer exists) where the first Army Mountain Warfare School courses were run when it was established in 1983; the current AMWS building, which was built in 1987, and the new $30 million facility scheduled to house students and instructors and support courses in April 2022.

Feb. 17, 2022

Humble Beginnings: U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School

CAMP ETHAN ALLEN TRAINING SITE, Vermont — The U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School was established April 5, 1983, in a mobile home next to a tin shack on a small hill in Jericho, Vermont. The tin shack still exists, across from where a new $30 million facility is being constructed.

Students at the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School’s Advanced Military Mountaineer Course in Jericho, Vermont, drag mountaineering equipment on sleds as they leave the site where they camped in temperatures that plunged to -29 degrees with windchill Jan. 27, 2022.

Feb. 17, 2022

Beyond the Basics: U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School

CAMP ETHAN ALLEN TRAINING SITE, Vermont — The education at the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School doesn’t end at the Basic Military Mountaineer Course.From the four advanced and specialty courses taught in the hills and mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire to the

F-35A Lightning II aircraft from the 34th Fighter Squadron, 388th Fighter Wing, Hill Air Force Base, Utah depart Vermont Air National Guard Base in South Burlington, Vt, Feb. 16, 2022. These deployments were conducted in full coordination with host nations and NATO military authorities, and although temporary in nature, they are prudent measures to increase readiness and enhance NATOs collective defense during this period of uncertainty. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sgt. Michael Davis)

Feb. 16, 2022

VTNG releases statement on F-35 operations

CAMP JOHNSON, Vermont — In the early morning of Feb. 16, F-35A Lightning II aircraft from the 34th Fighter Squadron, 388th Fighter Wing, Hill Air Force Base, Utah departed the Vermont Air National Guard Base in transit to Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. We understand the concern experienced by some this morning, and while the Vermont National Guard will not respond to individual comments related to this mission, the Public Affairs Office has logged all concerns, and leadership takes each comment seriously.

U.S. Army Capt. Mike Arcovitch, commander, and Sgt. Gloria Kamencik, public affairs specialist, 172nd Public Affairs Detachment, Vermont Army National Guard, lead a crisis communication workshop at the Army Home in Skopje, North Macedonia, Feb. 8-10, 2022. The Vermont National Guard and North Macedonia have been partners in the State Partnership Program since 1993.

Feb. 16, 2022

Vermont Guard shares communication strategy with state partner

SKOPJE, North Macedonia — Soldiers from the Vermont Army National Guard led a crisis communication workshop at the Army Home in Skopje, North Macedonia, Feb. 8-10.

Vermont Army National Guard Spc. Wynn Roberts, competes in the patrol race at Camp Ripley, Minn., on Feb. 27, 2013. Over 400 members of the army and Air National Guard across 31 states competed in and supported this year's Chief National Guard Biathlon. (Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Jeremy Bowcock/Released)

Feb. 4, 2022

How the National Guard Biathlon Program came to Vermont

CAMP JOHNSON, Vermont — Next year marks the 50th anniversary the Vermont National Guard has hosted the National Guard Biathlon program.

Spc. Deedra Irwin, a human resources specialist with 86th Troop Command, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), Vermont National Guard, fires a Biathlon rifle during a practice session at the Camp Ethan Allen Training Site in Jericho, Vermont, on Nov. 2, 2021. Irwin, a native of Pulaski, Wisconsin, competed in the 2021 Biathlon World Championship and is on Team USA's 2021-2022 National A Team. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Don Branum)

Feb. 3, 2022

Schedule released for Vermont National Guard Olympic biathletes

CAMP JOHNSON, Vermont — Vermont National Guard Olympic biathletes will compete in televised events Feb. 5-16, with possibilities to compete on Feb. 18 and 19, National Guard Biathlon training officials announced Feb. 3. Most events will be televised live in the early morning hours on NBC Sports and on www.peacocktv.com, with rebroadcast on USA Network later in the day.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. John Hampson, an instructor at the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School, gives a block of instruction on mountain casualty evacuation to French service members with the 5th Overseas Interarms Regiment (5e RIAOM) at the French Combat Training Center at Arta Beach, Djibouti, Dec. 14, 2021. Five instructors from the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, Vt. taught a five-day Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course on basic military mountaineering skills to French service members in Djibouti to strengthen the relationships among the international forces working together in the region. (U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock)

Jan. 11, 2022

Vermont Guardsman rescues three from a frozen lake on Christmas day

CAMP JOHNSON, Vermont — Immediate action by Vermont National Guard Staff Sgt. John Hampson on Christmas Day, 2021, “very likely saved the lives of three people,” according to U.S. Navy Reserve Cmdr. Jordan Gottfried.

Spc. Vaclav Cervenka, a carpentry and masonry specialist with Det. 1, Headquarters Company, Garrison Support Command, Vermont Army National Guard, practices firing a Biathlon rifle during practice at the Camp Ethan Allen Training Site in Jericho, Vermont, on Nov. 2, 2021. Cervenka is on Team USA's 2021-2022 X Team. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Don Branum)

Jan. 11, 2022

Vermont National Guard Soldiers make 2022 Olympic Biathlon Team

JERICHO, Vermont — Three Vermont National Guard biathletes will compete in the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing as part of the U.S. Biathlon Team with an additional member named as the men’s alternate.

The official logo of the Vermont National Guard.

TAG's State of the Guard 2026

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Green Mountain Guard Newsletter Archive

National Guard News
Indiana National Guardsmen with the 113th Engineer Battalion assist the Indianapolis Fire Department with flood evacuations Aug. 15, 2026, in response to devastating storms that swept through Indiana. Photo by Staff Sgt. Christopher Estrada.
Indiana National Guard Answers Call for Storm Relief
By Master Sgt. Jeff Lowry, | Aug. 21, 2026
INDIANAPOLIS — More than 70 Indiana National Guard Soldiers and Airmen deployed across the state to conduct water rescues, clear debris and support communities after heavy rainfall, flooding and damaging winds struck...
This screen grab from a video captures a water drop over the Bug Fire north of Reno Aug. 11. More than 13,000 residents were evacuated, and tens of thousands more were prepared to evacuate valleys north of Reno during the Bug, Stallion and Fred Mountain fires. Eleven structures were lost, but initial fire predictions forecast far worse outcomes following the fires’ ignition Aug. 9.
Nevada Guard Wraps up Wildfire Response, Air Guard Joins Fight
By Capt. Emerson Marcus, | Aug. 21, 2026
RENO, Nev. — More than 13,000 residents evacuated communities north of Reno as three wildfires threatened thousands of homes, prompting the Nevada National Guard to deploy helicopters, security forces and other resources to...
U.S. Army Sgt. Andrew Foley, a motor transport operator with the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 1157th Transportation Company, restricts vehicle access to residential streets undergoing utility repairs in Menasha, Wis., July 31. Foley was one of 85 Wisconsin Soldiers placed on state active duty to assist Winnebago County civil authorities following severe storm damage in the region as part of Task Force Sturgeon. Photo by Paul Gorman.
Wisconsin National Guard Concludes Storm Recovery Mission
By Paul Gorman, | Aug. 21, 2026
MENASHA, Wis. — The Wisconsin Army National Guard concluded more than two weeks of state activation supporting storm recovery efforts in Winnebago County Aug. 15.The Soldiers were activated July 30 following a state of...
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