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 | May 23, 2024

VTANG Brings Lightning to the Storm

By TSgt Richard Mekkri

During the course of three weeks, more than 175 Airmen and a dozen F-35 Lighting IIs from Vermont’s 158th Fighter Wing joined Airmen, Marines, Soldiers, and Sailors from across the country to participate in the Weapons System Evaluation Program (WSEP) and Checkered Flag exercises at Tyndall Air Base, Florida.

“We are participating in two exercises concurrently,” said Senior Master Sgt. Douglas Lamay, 158th Fighter Wing Fabrication Element Supervisor, and maintenance group non-commissioned officer in charge of the exercises for the VTANG. “The purpose of (the WSEP) mission is to give our pilots an opportunity to fire live missiles at air-to-air targets which is not a common opportunity for our pilots.”

Lamay said that the WSEP team uses data collected from the missile shoots to help identify and improve weapons systems and to evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons systems. After the WSEP portion, the teams pivot to the second part of their training.

“The afternoon go is for Checkered Flag,” said Lamay. “Which is a large-force exercise involving 4th and 5th gen. aircraft from the Guard, Air Force, Navy and Marines. This is a capstone event that allows our pilots and our maintenance teams to integrate with other units in a training environment that simulates a combat environment.”

According to host station, Tyndall, Checkered Flag consists of multiple large-force exercises, or LFEs. During these events, 60-70 fighter jets take to the skies. Half play as "blue air" which means they act as US and allied forces with an objective to defend and the remainder serve as "red air," representing real world threats such as near-peer adversaries.

“This is the first time our pilots are actually going to see a missile come off of their aircraft,” said Captain Alex Nielsen, a pilot assigned to the 134th Fighter Squadron, Vermont Air National Guard and project officer for Checkered Flag and WESP. “We’re here so they get that real-world experience, building confidence so that the first time they (fire their weapons) isn’t in a combat situation.”

All participants had multiple opportunities to test their abilities during weather conditions that were unlike what they typically experience in Vermont.

“The weather certainly is a factor,” said Nielsen. “The weather in combat will be a factor as well. We are lucky in Vermont to not have the same level of thunderstorms, a tornado warning and evacuation warnings.”



The exercises are taking place on and around an installation still in development after category-5 Hurricane Michael devastated the area in 2018. Lamay said that the challenges have not sidetracked the Airmen from meeting their goals.

“Due to the construction, the base and work area have a deployed-location-feel that is helping our first-term Airman get a feel for what it could be like while deployed,” said Lamay. “The integration with 4th and 5th generation assets from Air Force components and sister services simulate a joint environment and the wing’s focus on deploy-ability, survivability and interoperability all have applications in these training scenarios.”

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
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...