Articles

March 30, 2018

Meet Your Guard: Tech. Sgt. Lindsey Bond

This edition of Meet Your Guard focuses on Tech. Sgt. Lindsey Bond, a maintenance analyst, with the 158th Fighter Wing, who is also a native of Colchester, Vt., and now lives in Milton. Bond has served in the Vermont Air Guard for nine years.

March 30, 2018

Meet your Guard: Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Riley

This edition of Meet Your Guard focuses on Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Riley, a vehicles operations/ground transportation specialist, with the 158th Fighter Wing, Logistics Readiness Squadron, who is also a native of Colchester, Vt. Riley works as a full time supervisor for the Vehicle Operations Section of the Logistics Readiness Squadron.

March 20, 2018

Vermont National Guard medical personnel work in Senegal

Vermont National Guard members mobilized to Senegal Feb. 4-23 to work with Senegalese medical personnel to obtain experience providing services as part of a medical readiness training exercise.

Feb. 16, 2018

Meet your Guard: 1st Lt. John Helme

This edition of Meet Your Guard focuses on 1st Lt. John C. Helme, a signal officer, with 1st Squadron, 172nd Cavalry Regiment, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), who is also a native of Barre, Vt., and currently lives in Burlington, Vt. Helme teaches math at Colchester Middle School.

Feb. 16, 2018

Meet your Guard: Staff Sgt. Yulia Benson

This edition of Meet Your Guard focuses on Staff Sgt. Yulia Benson, a 42R band musician, with 40th Army Band, 86th Troop Command, Garrison Support Command, who is also a native of Kazan, Russia, and currently lives in Milton, Vt. Benson has served in the Vermont National Guard for 11 years and works full time in the guard.

Feb. 16, 2018

Meet your Guard: Sgt. Peter Shepardson

This edition of Meet Your Guard focuses on Sgt. Peter Shepardson, a 91B wheeled-vehicle mechanic, with Bravo Company, 186th Brigade Support Battalion, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), who is also a native of Essex Junction, Vt., and currently lives in Westford, Vt. Shepardson has served in the Vermont National Guard for three years.

Jan. 27, 2018

National Guard Biathlon Regionals Held in Vermont

National Guardsmen from 24 states competed in their respective Regional Biathlon Competitions at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site in Jericho, Vermont. Biathlon consists of target shooting and ski racing. Competitors, ranging from novice to master, are divided into west, central, and east regions.

Oct. 26, 2017

National Guard purifies and distributes water

National Guardsmen are working together to supply the local area with drinking water using their reverse osmosis water purification units (ROWPU). The units supply anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000 gallons of water a day. From the early morning and into the night residents with containers and tanks on their trucks make their way to receive clean water.

Oct. 25, 2017

Reserve unit climbs the extra mile

Winding their way up steep mountain roads, no more than 12 feet wide, the 268th Transportation Company, 393rd Combat Support Sustainment Battalion, 166th Regional Support Group, 1st Mission Support Command out of Ft. Buchanan, Puerto Rico delivers cases of water and food to the 5,000 residents of Jayuya. Many residents are surviving without electricity for more than six weeks following Hurricane Irma, so the mission of the 268th TC is as much community relations as it is commodity distribution.

July 18, 2017

86th IBCT (MTN) finishes warfighter exercise

The 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), Vermont National Guard, conducted a warfighter exercise held from June 3-14. The exercise is a tactical operations drill designed to train brigade staff using a simulation with the Army’s Command Post of the Future, a software system that enables commanders to see the battlefield and communicate across the force. The brigade was at Fort Drum to facilitate the exercise.

The official logo of the Vermont National Guard.

TAG's State of the Guard 2026

Note: the above YouTube video link may not work on all government computers. 

National Guard News
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Alan San Nicolas of the Guam National Guard, assigned to Task Force Talon, 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, pulls security for a U.S. Navy SH-60 Seahawk during a joint medical evacuation and Air Assault tactical training event on Guam, May 26, 2026. During the exercise, the Navy’s Helicopter Sea Combat 25 completed annual requirements for landing zone identification, troop transport and tactical battle drills while the National Guard Soldiers trained on Tactical Combat Casualty Care, landing zone operations and realistic combat and peacetime scenarios. Photo by Capt. Alejo Lujan.
Guam Guard Partners with Navy Helicopter Squadron for Training
By Mark Scott, | July 1, 2026
DEDEDO, Guam – A Guam National Guard unit deployed under Task Force Talon, 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, partnered with the Navy’s Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron, or HSC, 25 for joint medical evacuation and Air Assault...

A C-17 Globemaster III lowers its landing gear as it prepares to land at Stewart Air National Guard Base, New York, May 20, 2026. A C-17 from the 105th Airlift Wing will take part in the July 4 International Aerial Review which will start over Staten Island and finish up over the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge on the Tappan Zee section of the Hudson River. Photo by Airman Anthony Wilson.
New York Guard to Participate in July 4 Aerial Review
By Eric Durr and Staff Sgt. Sarah Post, | July 1, 2026
NEW YORK – Two New York Air National Guard wings will participate in a 150-plane International Aerial Review set for the morning of July 4 in New York City.Airmen from the 105th Airlift Wing, based at Stewart Air National...

U.S. Airmen with the 156th Contingency Response Group board a C-17 Globemaster III assigned to the 105th Airlift Wing, New York Air National Guard, at Muñiz Air National Guard Base, Carolina, Puerto Rico, Jan. 31, 2025. Exercise Sentry South-Southern Strike is a joint military training focusing on contingency response operations, agile combat employment, aeromedical evacuation, maritime training, specialized fueling operations and strategic airlift and airdrops. Photo by Senior Airman Sharymel Montalvo Velez.
Puerto Rico Guard Aids With Venezuela Earthquake Response
By Senior Airman Victoria Jewett, | July 1, 2026
CAROLINA, Puerto Rico – The Puerto Rico Air National Guard, 156th Contingency Response Group is helping with humanitarian assistance operations led by U.S. Southern Command in Venezuela after recent earthquakes in that...