Articles
Tech. Sgt. Lindsey Bond, maintenance analyst, 158th Fighter Wing poses for a photograph.

March 30, 2018

Meet Your Guard: Tech. Sgt. Lindsey Bond

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. — 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.

Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Riley, vehicle operations and ground transportation, 158th Fighter Wing, poses for an official photograph.

March 30, 2018

Meet your Guard: Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Riley

CAMP JOHNSON, Vt. — 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.

Vermont Guard members obtain medical experience in Senegal

March 20, 2018

Vermont National Guard medical personnel work in Senegal

ZIGUINCHOR, 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.

1st. Lt. John C. Helme, 1st Squadron, 172nd Cavalry Regiment, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain) poses for a photograph. (Courtesy Photo)

Feb. 16, 2018

Meet your Guard: 1st Lt. John Helme

CAMP JOHNSON, Vt. — 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.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Yulia Benson, bandsman, 40th Army Band, Vermont Army National Guard plays during a concert.

Feb. 16, 2018

Meet your Guard: Staff Sgt. Yulia Benson

BURLINGTON, Vt. — 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.

Sgt. Peter Shepardson, wheeled-vehicle mechanic, Bravo Company, 186th Brigade Support Battalion, Vermont Army National Guard, poses for a photo. (Courtesy Photo)

Feb. 16, 2018

Meet your Guard: Sgt. Peter Shepardson

CAMP JOHNSON, Vt. — 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.

Biathlon Competition

Jan. 27, 2018

National Guard Biathlon Regionals Held in Vermont

CAMP ETHAN ALLEN TRAINING SITE, Vt. — 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.

Moving water

Oct. 26, 2017

National Guard purifies and distributes water

COMERIO, Puerto Rico — 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.

Puerto Rico Hurricane Assistance

Oct. 25, 2017

Reserve unit climbs the extra mile

JAYUYA, Puerto Rico — 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.

Soldiers participate in warfighter exercise

July 18, 2017

86th IBCT (MTN) finishes warfighter exercise

FORT DRUM, N.Y. — 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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Green Mountain Guard Newsletter Archive

National Guard News
U.S. Army Soldiers with A Battery, 1st Battalion, 182nd Field Artillery Regiment, Michigan Army National Guard, roll off M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, from a C-130J Hercules aircraft at the National Training Center, Michigan, June 10, 2026 to conduct a HIMARS Rapid Infiltration, or HIRAIN, mission. The movement was part of a Minuteman Rotation at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, to conduct a HIRAIN exercise. The HIRAIN demonstrated the unit's capability to rapidly deploy a HIMARS via airlift, execute a strike and exfiltrate to avoid detection. Photo by 1st Lt. Daniel Throne.
Michigan, Rhode Island Guardsmen Complete Rocket Training
By Capt. Ryan Benoit, | June 12, 2026
ALPENA, Mich. – Michigan National Guard Soldiers and Rhode Island National Guard Airmen completed a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System Rapid Infiltration, or HIRAIN, from Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Michigan,...
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Conner Kin, Senior Airman Jacob Quintero, and Airman 1st Class Mason Turner, radio frequency transmission systems technicians assigned to the 123rd Air Control Squadron, install cable roof mounted antennas for the AN/TRC-214 ground-to-air command and control radio shelter June 1, 2026 for a field training exercise at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center in Michigan. Annual training allows Airmen to focus on readiness and proficiency items, future fighting concepts and maintaining a war-ready posture for members of the Air National Guard. Photo by Shane Hughes.
Ohio Airmen Turn Field Into High-Tech Command Center During Exercise
By Shane Hughes, | June 12, 2026
ALPENA, Mich. – More than 200 Airmen from the Ohio National Guard’s 269th Combat Communications Squadron out of Springfield, Ohio, and the 123rd Air Control Squadron out of Blue Ash, Ohio, integrated to transform a barren...
Master Sgt. Cailee Salerno demonstrated a proper chest seal application during the Health Applied Combat Medic Skills Course, Bangor, Maine, June 6, 2026. The course is designed by local medical care professionals, and enables students to proficiently execute critical life-saving techniques in a combat environment through hands-on learning and added sensory deprivation elements – a key factor for medical workers down range. Photo by Senior Master Sgt. Andrew Sinclair.
Maine Airmen Enhance Combat Life-Saving Skills
By Senior Master Sgt. Andrew Sinclair, | June 12, 2026
BANGOR, Maine – Airmen from the Maine National Guard’s 101st Air Refueling Wing Medical Group recently sharpened their tactical combat casualty care, or TCCC, skills during an extensive hands-on training with local emergency...
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