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

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National Guard News
The guidon bearer for 643rd Military Police Company, Connecticut National Guard, poses for a photo with his family after returning from deployment at Bradley Air National Guard Base, East Granby, Connecticut, July 11, 2026. At their welcome home ceremony, a large crowd of families and friends gathered at the base’s flight line so they could greet their returning Soldiers as soon as they disembarked their aircraft. Photo by Staff Sgt. William Griffen.
Connecticut Guardsmen Return From US Southern Command Deployment
By Timothy Koster, | July 13, 2026
EAST GRANBY, Conn. – About 100 soldiers assigned to the Connecticut Army National Guard’s 643rd Military Police Company returned home at Bradley Air National Guard Base July 11, after being deployed for nearly a year to the...

A U.S. Air Force C-130 sourced by the Washington National Guard lands on Angaur Airstrip, Palau, June 25, 2026 as part of exercise Alupang ACE. Conducted under Exercise Valiant Shield, the collaboration between the Government of Palau, the U.S. Embassy, the Washington and the Guam National Guards demonstrated both the expeditionary sustainment capabilities of the Joint Force and the commitment of our Allies and Partners toward a free and open Indo-Pacific. Photo by Tech Sgt. Christian Brecht.
Guam, Washington Enhance Readiness With Palau Partners
By Mark Scott, | July 13, 2026
BARRIGADA, Guam – Guardsmen from the Guam National Guard and the Washington National Guard recently conducted Exercise Alupang ACE in support of Exercise Valiant Shield 2026 in Palau as part of Guam’s partnership with that...

Surrogate targets created by a collaboration between the Oregon National Guard's 173rd Fighter Wing and Klamath Community College personnel are placed in the Kingsley Field range, May 29, 2026, in Oregon. The targets simulate various adversary missile systems to help train current and future pilots' recognition and strategy techniques. Courtesy photo.
Innovation Partnership Strengthens Oregon Guard F-35 Pilot Readiness
By Master Sgt. Daniel Reed, | July 13, 2026
KINGSLEY FIELD, Ore. – An innovative partnership between the Oregon National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing and Klamath Community College is strengthening F-35 pilot readiness by producing realistic threat surrogates for the...