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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 Vermont National Guard has a new psychological health coordinator. In October 2021 Jordan Imhoff was hired for the position. Imhoff previously served as the Vermont National Guard alcohol and drug control officer in the Behavioral Services Office. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Joshua Cohen)

Jan. 6, 2022

Meet Jordan Imhoff: Vermont Guard’s new psychological health coordinator

CAMP JOHNSON, Vermont — The Vermont National Guard has a new psychological health coordinator. In October 2021 Jordan Imhoff was hired for the position. Imhoff previously served as the Vermont National Guard Alcohol and Drug Control Officer in the Behavioral Services Office.

Command Sgt. Maj. Melinda Crosby, incoming command sergeant major for the 186th Brigade Support Batallion, 86th Infantry Combat Team (Mountain), speaks with her son, Marcus, prior to the change of responsibility ceremony in Northfield, Vermont, Dec. 4, 2021. Crosby succeeds Command Sgt. Maj. Allen King, who is retiring after 38 years of service. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Don Branum)

Dec. 23, 2021

Newest 186th command sergeant major seeks to grow Soldiers’ potential

CAMP JOHNSON, Vermont — The newest command sergeant major for the 186th Brigade Support Battalion, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), might not have served beyond her first enlistment if not for a couple of non-commissioned officers who saw her potential and the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Now, Command Sgt. Maj. Melinda Crosby wants to help bring out the potential in the Soldiers in her unit.

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
Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Staunton-based 116th Mobile Brigade Combat Team, Arkansas National Guard Soldiers and Guatemalan service members partnered with Arkansas through the Department of War National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program move into the field June 8, 2026, during a training rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center, or JRTC, at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Brig. Gen. Rusty McGuire, senior trainer for the Virginia Army National Guard’s JRTC rotation, and senior trainer noncommissioned officer Sgt. Maj. Ian Gilliam met with the Soldiers to discuss training operations and multinational interoperability. The 116th Mobile Brigade Combat Team is the first Army National Guard brigade to participate in a JRTC rotation as a mobile brigade combat team after transitioning from an infantry brigade combat team in 2025. JRTC provides U.S. military units and personnel with complex, realistic combat training, including joint and combined-arms operations, force-on-force scenarios and live-fire exercises. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Clements.
Arkansas National Guard, Guatemalan Partners Build Interoperability
By John Oldham, | July 16, 2026
CAMP JOSEPH T. ROBINSON, NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas National Guardsmen and Guatemalan Army special forces recently trained together at Fort Polk, Louisiana, during Joint Readiness Training Center, or JRTC, rotation...
Multinational participants pose for a group photo during the West African Religious Affairs Symposium, or WARAS, in Accra, Ghana, July 14, 2026. U.S. and African military chaplains from 10 partner nations gather for the three-day exchange to discuss methods to support and strengthen service members' spiritual resiliency. Photo by Airman 1st Class Alexandra Dale.
Guard Chaplains, Partners Boost Readiness
By U.S. Africa Command | July 16, 2026
ACCRA, Ghana – Military chaplains and religious affairs personnel from the National Guard and 10 African nations gathered July 14 for the launch of the West African Religious Affairs Symposium, or WARAS, a three-day event...
Several shipping containers altered to look like buildings were relocated recently to the grounds of the Pennsylvania National Guard's Fort Indiantown Gap's Unmanned Aircraft System Training and Innovation Facility. The mock village allows Unmanned Aircraft System operators to fly drones around and through simulated buildings in an urban environment. Photo by Brad Rhen.
Pennsylvania Guard Expands Drone Training
By Brad Rhen, | July 16, 2026
FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – As the battlefield continually shifts toward unmanned aircraft systems, the Pennsylvania National Guard’s Fort Indiantown Gap is expanding its unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, and counter-UAS...
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