An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
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.

Vermont National Guard Logo News
Articles
News | Sept. 11, 2022

Mountain Brigade begins assembly of team to compete in Austrian Edelweiss Raid 2023

By Maj. J. Scott Detweiler

The 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain) conducted the first round of tryouts on Sept. 10 to compete in the biennial Edelweiss Raid hosted in Austria this February.

Held in the Tyrolian Alps, the Edelweiss Raid brings together 8-person teams from over 10 nations, to include NATO and NATO partner states, to compete in a rigorous military mountaineering competition. Teams must traverse 40 kilometers of high alpine, snow-covered terrain with 4,000 meters of elevation gain while completing a variety of mountain warfare tactical tasks within a two-day period.

“It is an incredible challenge,” said U.S. Army Maj. Nathan Fry, team-leader and 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment, 86th IBCT (MTN) executive officer from Hinesburg, Vermont. “Unlike other skimo races, the emphasis in the Raid is not on lightweight gear and Lycra suits—competitors race in military-issued skis with full combat equipment, rifles, rescue sleds and radios. Packs can weigh between 30 and 50 pounds.”

This round of the tryout consisted of a timed run up the toll-road of Mt. Mansfield, 4.3 miles of steep incline up 2,564 feet of elevation. Out of the 12 competitors, 1st Lt. Josh McDougal, A Company, 3-172 IN (MTN) from Dannemora, New York and Capt. Brad Patnaude, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 86th IBCT (MTN) from Williston, Vermont finished with the fastest times, coming in at 44:42 and 50:00 respectively.

Fry will ultimately assemble two teams of eight backed by 4 alternates based on performances over a series of tryouts this winter, as well as the experience and training of each competitor.

Fry led the first U.S. team to compete in the Raid in 2019. That first team consisted of Soldiers from the 86th IBCT (MTN) and the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School. They became the only first-year team to ever complete the race with all team members. They finished 13th of 23 teams.

“Western military mountaineering is really dominated by Germany France, and of course, Austria,” said Fry. “Our participation in 2019 was the first attempt to show our European allies that the US has a small but competent group of military mountaineers who are capable of partnering with them in the event of a mountain warfare operation.”

The Vermont Army National Guard operates the primary U.S. Army Mountain Warfare school, as well as the National Guard Bureau’s Biathlon program out of Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, where the Army’s only Mountain-designated Brigade is headquartered. The Edelweiss Raid fosters community among participating nations as they compete and share mountain warfare best practices and tactics.

National Guard News
Sgt. 1st Class Tiffany Alligood is the readiness noncommissioned officer and a combat medic with the Kansas Army National Guard’s 1077th Ground Ambulance Company at the Lenexa armory. As a combat medic, she has seen her share of emergency situations during deployments and has assisted at motor vehicle accidents and treated minor injuries in the community. However, on Feb. 8 she faced a situation much closer to home.
Kansas National Guard Combat Medic Puts Her Training to Use
By Steve Larson, | Feb. 28, 2023
Sgt. 1st Class Tiffany Alligood is the readiness noncommissioned officer and a combat medic with the Kansas Army National Guard's 1077th Ground Ambulance Company at the Lenexa armory. As a combat medic, she has seen her share...

U.S. Army Spc. Barry Lindenoll, an infantryman assigned to Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment, traverses a cable during the French Desert Commando Course in Djibouti Jan. 29, 2023. Participants who successfully completed the training received the prestigious desert commando badge.
NY Guard Soldiers Complete French Desert Commando Course
By Staff Sgt. Alexander Rector, | Feb. 27, 2023
CAMP LEMONNIER, DJIBOUTI – Thirty-one Army National Guard Soldiers and one Air Force Airman assigned to Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa completed the arduous French Desert Commando Course Feb. 3.Twenty-nine of the...

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Matthew Willard, right, with the 157 Logistics Readiness Squadron, Pease Air National Guard Base, New Hampshire, is instructed how to perform a hot-pit refuel of an F-16C+ Fighting Falcon by Tech. Sgt. Charles A. Zingrone Jr., 177th Logistics Readiness Squadron Fuels Management Flight fuels information service center section chief, during Integrated Combat Turnaround training Feb. 17, 2023, at the 177th Fighter Wing, Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey.
177th Fighter Wing Hosts Integrated Combat Turnaround Training
By Senior Airman Hunter Hires, | Feb. 27, 2023
ATLANTIC CITY AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.J. - The 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard, part of Air Combat Command, hosted Integrated Combat Turnaround training for members of Air Mobility Command Feb...

Maj. Gen. Paul Knapp, third from left, Wisconsin’s adjutant general, and Capt. Mark Gerasimov, Knapp’s aide de camp, second from right, with deployed members of the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 128th Air Refueling Wing at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam Feb. 3, 2023. The deployed Airmen are supporting the 506th Expeditionary Air Refueling Group, which provides the aerial refueling and airlift capabilities that support critical U.S. Indo-Pacific Command missions.
Wisconsin Air Guard Meeting Deployment Challenges in Guam
By Vaughn R. Larson, | Feb. 27, 2023
MADISON, Wis. - More than 100 members of the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 128th Air Refueling Wing have been deployed to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam since December, supporting the 506th Expeditionary Air Refueling...

An advance team of Soldiers and Airmen arrive in the Arctic to prepare for Guerrier Nordique. The Artctic Circle exercise in March 2023 will include Soldiers from the Vermont, Utah, Connecticut and New Hampshire National Guard, the New York Air National Guard, the National Guard Bureau, the 11th Airborne Division, and the 34th and 35th Canadian Brigade Group in Quebec province.
Vermont Army Guard Leads Training Exercise in Arctic Circle
By Capt. Mikel Arcovitch, | Feb. 27, 2023
COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Vermont Army National Guard will participate in the winter training exercise Guerrier Nordique in Resolute Bay, Nunavut, Canada, March 4-20.The Vermont Soldiers will work with the 109th and 105th Airlift...