News

Aug. 9, 2021

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

WASHINGTON — 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. 

Aug. 8, 2021

Vermont National Guard releases organizational assessment

CAMP JOHNSON, Vermont — The Vermont National Guard has publicly released a 113-page assessment prepared by the National Guard Bureau’s Office of Complex Investigations at the request of VTNG Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Gregory Knight.

Aug. 4, 2021

Remembering the Code Talkers

RUTLAND NATIONAL GUARD ARMORY, Vermont — National Navajo Code Talkers Day is Aug. 14, 2021. As the observance approaches, we should take a moment to recognize the sacrifices and contributions of the nearly 25,000 Native Americans who served in the Armed Forces during WWII. In the words of Signal Officer Maj. Howard Connor, “Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima.”

July 29, 2021

Voluntary COVID mapping task force concludes operations

CAMP JOHNSON, Vermont — 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 22, 2021

Vermont ANG launches public tour program

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vermont — The Vermont Air National Guard welcomed visitors on base in June as part of the newly launched public tour program.

July 22, 2021

Senegalese National Fire Brigade visits Vt. for emergency capability demos

CAMP JOHNSON, Vermont — From July 11-21, delegates from Senegal’s National Fire Brigade (Brigade Nationale des Sapeurs-Pompiers) visited Vermont as part of the National Guard’s State Partnership Program.

July 16, 2021

From Iraq to Vermont – One National Guardsman details his long road to military service

COLCHESTER, Vt. — For 24-year-old Vermont Army National Guard Specialist Ali Aljarah, military service means being prepared to deploy, “as the only way to protect and serve my country to help stop harm from being caused anywhere in the world.”

July 14, 2021

VTANG Fire Department assists with Winooski fire response

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vermont — The Vermont Air National Guard fire department responded to a small apartment building fire in Winooski early Wednesday morning. “The crews assisted with fire control, search, salvage and overhaul. The fire had spread throughout the walls and reached the attic. This made things exponentially more difficult for on scene crews to mitigate,” said Brannon Sotor, Vermont Air National Guard installation fire chief. “All personnel on scene worked seamlessly to bring the fire under control.”

July 13, 2021

Vermont Guardsmen transition pandemic support missions at the Strategic National Stockpile

COLCHESTER, Vt. — As members of the Vermont National Guard’s pandemic response force disassembled and stored an emergency medical surge facility recently used as a mass vaccination site, termination of Vermont’s COVID-19 state of emergency has led to a shift in priorities for Soldiers and Airmen supporting the State’s Strategic National Stockpile.

July 11, 2021

Vermont Soldiers arrive in Kosovo

CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo — Greetings from Kosovo! After spending about two weeks at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, Soldiers mainly from the Vermont National Guard once again packed up and moved out! We give a huge ‘thank you!’ to the full-time staff at JMRC for all their help preparing us for our mission in Kosovo. As we took the beautiful bus ride back to Nuremberg, Germany, we realized we were ready to fly to Pristina, Kosovo for our Kosovo Force (KFOR) 29 mission.