July 27, 2016

Medical countermeasures training during Vigilant Guard 2016

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. — Members of the Vermont National Guard, regional civilian and federal partners came together for Vigilant Guard 2016 training at the 158th Fighter Wing, Burlington International Airport, South Burlington, Vt., July 27, 2016. Vigilant Guard 2016 is a national level emergency response exercise sponsored by the National Guard and NORTHCOM. The Medical Counter Measures (MCM) exercise, one small portion of Vigilant Guard 2016, was a way to practice response skills to a health epidemic in the state.

July 27, 2016

Vigilant Guard 2016

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. — After three years of planning the Vigilant Guard 2016 exercise began in earnest July 27, 2016 at the 158th Fighter Wing, Burlington International Airport, South Burlington, Vt. Service members received mock Strategic National Stockpile supplies to respond with medical counter measures during a simulated emergency. Dr. Harry L. Chen, the commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health, U.S. Air Force Maj. General Steven Cray, Adjutant General, Vermont National Guard, and Christopher Herrick, the director of the Vermont Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, spoke about the role of their respective organizations during the training and how that would transfer to a real-life disaster scenario. The event is a starting point of more to come during Vigilant Guard 2016.

June 1, 2016

2016 TAG Match more than a competition

CAMP ETHAN ALLEN TRAINING SITE, Vt. — Pop-up targets teach guardsmen to, keep their head on a swivel, notice and react to fast changes in their environment. It is important to be able to react quickly, being able to locate a target, find a location on a map, getting an aircraft into the air.

May 14, 2016

Recruit Sustainment Company trains with other units

CAMP ETHAN ALLEN JERICHO, Vt. — The Recruit Sustainment Program is the first step into military life for most National Guardsmen. The program is designed to teach Soldiers basic level tasks to make them successful in Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training. To further that effort, the cadre and commanders of the Recruit Sustainment Company attempt to involve other units in their training.

April 29, 2016

VTNG Conducts Simulated Search and Rescue Operations

CLARE, N.Y. — Vermont National Guard Soldiers and Airmen perform rescue and escort operations training.

April 24, 2016

Recruit Sustainment Program prepares Soldiers

CAMP ETHAN ALLEN TRAINING SITE, Vt. — For many Soldiers, basic training is a pivotal starting point in their military career. In basic training, recruits are taught how to be a Soldier in the U.S. Army and are prepared mentally and physically for their careers. Not everyone makes it through basic training; those who don't are called "training pipeline losses."

April 2, 2016

Aviation conducts domestic operations training

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. — Hurricane Irene affected many states on the East Coast including Vermont in 2011. The storm caused flooding and was responsible for an estimated $6.5 billion in total losses in the United States according to the National Weather Service. The National Guard was prepared for the disaster, and in response thousands of National Guard Soldiers and Airmen swiftly mobilized to support civilian authorities.

Oct. 7, 2014

Vermont's adjutant general says Macedonian partnership remains strong

CAMP JOHNSON, Vermont — Returning from the Vermont National Guard’s State Partnership country, Macedonia, Maj. Gen. Steven Cray, the adjutant general, was extremely optimistic about the future of the partnership and the tri-lateral engagement between Macedonia, Vermont and Senegal, Vermont’s other State Partnership country.

Aug. 13, 2013

N. Macedonian army conducts combined training with 186th BSB

FORT DRUM, New York — Members of the North Macedonian army are training through combined operations with the 186th Brigade Support Battalion here, from Aug. 4 and scheduled to stay until Aug. 19.

June 27, 2012

Cooperative Lancer 2012

North Macedonia — About 40 members of the Vermont Army National Guard joined a dozen other countries in the former Yugoslav Republic of North Macedonia in May for a two-week long NATO exercise that was designed to enhance interoperability between participating countries. Named Cooperative Lancer and Longbow, the Vermont Army National Guard  members worked with fellow military men and women from more than a dozen NATO countries and NATO-partner countries. Vermont has had a good relationship with North Macedonia via the State Partnership Program since 1993 which has fostered close ties between the two groups.