An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Articles
News | Jan. 19, 2021

172nd LED tests skills prior to deployment

By Don Branum Vermont National Guard Public Affairs

The 172nd Law Enforcement Detachment concluded more than a year of training with an evaluation at the Camp Ethan Allen Training Site Jan. 15-16.

Soldiers with the detachment are slated to deploy to support U.S. Army Europe and Africa, where they will conduct customs, traffic enforcement, investigation and force protection duties, said Capt. Shawn Slaney, the detachment commander.

An Observer, Controller and Trainers team from 1st Army’s 2-315th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 174th Infantry Brigade, evaluated the detachment’s Soldiers on a number of scenarios they might encounter during their deployment, including traffic stops, criminal investigations, and interpersonal disputes.

“I would like to say they did exceptionally,” said Staff Sgt. Alicia Foy, one of the evaluators. “Their Soldiers were motivated the entire time we were conducting the classroom instruction, and when they performed the law enforcement exercise, their performance continued to impress.”

The detachment first learned about its deployment tasking in January 2020, said Staff Sgt. Zakery Hunt, the detachment readiness and training NCO. He attended a conference in which 1st Army outlined what tasks the detachment would need to master for the deployment.

The 172nd was reorganized from combat support to law enforcement in 2019, Slaney said. Since then, the unit has received certification on multiple law enforcement-related tasks, including crash reconstruction, drug recognition, speed detection using radar and lidar, and standard field sobriety testing, or SFST.

“I’ve heard of units conducting SFST training from certified instructors, but I’ve never heard of a National Guard law enforcement detachment attaining national certifications for all their Soldiers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,” Slaney said.

Staff Sgt. Skyler Genest, the deputy provost marshal, was instrumental in the detachment’s training efforts. “He personally organized the resources that allowed our Soldiers to attain the NHTSA certification,” Slaney said. Genest is also the chief of the Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery.

Slaney added that partnership with local and state law enforcement agencies helped make these certifications possible.

“We relied heavily on networking with civilian law enforcement,” Slaney said. “We couldn’t have done this without them.”

During the evaluation focused on interpersonal disputes, Soldiers displayed their use of conflict de-escalation methods, using the lowest level of force necessary to defuse the situation.

“We implement interpersonal communication skills into every training event,” Slaney said. “The lowest level, and what I believe is the most important, is officer presence and verbalization, responding to a call in a professional manner and using humility.”

The tools and certifications Soldiers have received during their predeployment training could also help them find careers in civilian law enforcement if they’re not already employed in those fields, Slaney explained.

The detachment’s next step is a full master essential task list evaluation at Fort Bliss, Texas.

“We told them many times that they were one of the best units that we’ve trained in the Northeastern Region we work in,” Foy said. “We are confident they’re prepared for their deployment.”

The official logo of the Vermont National Guard.

TAG's State of the Guard - April 2025

The above YouTube video link may not work on all government computers. Read the transcript of MG Gregory Knight's full State of the Guard here.

National Guard News
Pennsylvania Air National Guardsmen with the 258th Combat Airfield Operations Squadron out of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, pose for a photo at Palau’s International Airport with the local liaison officer during Exercise Resolute Force Pacific 2025 Aug.13, 2025. The 258th Combat Airfield Operations Squadron is a geographically separated unit of the 171st Air Refueling Wing and serves an essential mission by providing air traffic control services both stateside and overseas to civil, military, and even presidential aircraft while also maintaining mobile readiness to deploy. (U.S. Air National Guard Photo)
Pennsylvania Air Guard Guides Skies at Exercise Resolute Force Pacific 2025
By Shawn Monk, | Sept. 3, 2025
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - Four Airmen from the Pennsylvania Air National Guard’s 258th Combat Airfield Operations Squadron, based in Johnstown, recently traveled thousands of miles to take control of the skies over the Pacific island...

Soldiers of the 1-189th GSAB Conduct personnel recovery training at Fort Harrison, Montana.
Montana Army Guard Executes Multi-Agency Rescue in Beartooth Mountains
By Master Sgt. Michael Touchette, | Sept. 3, 2025
HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Army National Guard recently completed a high-altitude search and rescue mission to recover a missing 71-year-old hiker in the Stillwater Plateau region of the Beartooth Mountains.The operation...

U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Michael Binninger, operations Sgt. Maj., 117th Engineer Brigade, South Carolina Army National Guard, and wife, Susan Binninger, pose for a picture, Columbia, South Carolina, 2022.
South Carolina Guard Member Assists Woman Choking
By Maj. Karla Evans, | Sept. 2, 2025
ANDERSON, S.C. – What began as a routine lunch Aug. 28 at the Anderson Metro Diner quickly transformed into a life-saving event thanks to the quick thinking and decisive action of Sgt. Maj. Michael Binninger.Binninger and a...