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Category: 158th Fighter Wing

Staff Sgt. Noah Lukan, a Cyber Communications specialist assigned to the 148th Communications Squadron, 148th Fighter Wing, Minnesota Air National Guard, participated in a cold-water immersion as part of the Air National Guard's cold weather operations course at Camp Ripley Training Center, Minn., Feb. 7, 2025. Students participated in a six-day, five-night Field Training Exercise where they traveled on foot in subzero temperatures, using land navigational skills, to build camps featuring either a 10-man Arctic tent or thermal shelters made from materials found in nature. Students were comprised of mostly Security Forces specialists, but also included a Maintenance Group Commander, Physician Assistant, Cyber Communications Specialist, and a Public Affairs Specialist. The course taught service members to conduct mission-essential tasking in extreme cold environments.

Feb. 11, 2025

Air National Guard Conducts Arctic Training in Minnesota

CAMP RIPLEY, Minn. — 70 Air National Guard airmen gathered at Camp Ripley Training Center, Minn., from Jan. 27 to Feb. 8, 2025, to train and conduct mission-essential tasks in extremely cold temperatures, during the Air National Guard’s Cold Weather Operations Course (CWOC).

Airmen assigned to the 158th Fighter Wing take off in an aircraft that will bring them to their deployed location, from the Burlington International Airport.

Jan. 13, 2025

Vermont Air National Guard Deploys to Japan

More than 200 Airmen, along with equipment and F-35A Lighting II aircraft from the Vermont Air National Guard recently deployed to Kadena Air Base, Japan, as part of a planned rotation to enhance regional security and strengthen interoperability with joint and allied forces.

Photo of U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Hayden Lessor, from the Low Observable Maintenance Shop, Vermont Air National Guard, standing for a photo with his family while attending the Joining Forces event at the White House in Washington, D.C.

Jan. 8, 2025

VTANG Airman Represents Vermont at White House for Joining Forces

It’s not every day a member of the Vermont Air National Guard walks the halls of the White House, let alone shares a moment with the First Lady of the United States. For Tech. Sgt. Hayden Lessor of the 158th Fighter Wing, that moment became reality when he represented Vermont and the VTANG at the annual Joining Forces event.

Photo of U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Analie Choquette, a Transportation Movement Operations Specialist assigned to the 158th Fighter Wing, preparing her horse, Prada, for a ride at a barn in Orange, Vermont, Nov. 17, 2024.

Nov. 26, 2024

TMO Airman Not Horsing Around

In the world of the U.S. Air Force’s F-35 Lightning II, precision, focus, and attention to detail are imperative to ensuring the safety of the jets, their operators, and the accuracy of the aircraft’s performance. For Senior Airman Analie Choquette, a Traffic Management Operations Specialist with the 158th Fighter Wing, these are not just attributions to the F-35—they serve her during her off-duty time as well.

U.S. Air Force Capt. Dayton Brown (right), the base civil engineer, and Mr. Robert Letourneau, the base engineering technician, walk the grounds of the solar array expansion at the Vermont Air National Guard Base

Nov. 16, 2024

158th Fighter Wing Expands Largest Solar Array in Air National Guard

The Vermont Air National Guard began the third and final phase of a photovoltaic power project, an ambitious solar energy initiative aimed at bolstering energy resilience, reducing carbon emissions, and enhancing emergency readiness.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Mathew Lehman, Staff Sgt. Jana Somero, and Senior Master Sgt. Stephen Berthiaume, all members of the 158th Fighter Wing, stand in front the sign for Camp Lemonnier

Oct. 29, 2024

Honoring Our Deployed Airmen on National Day of the Deployed

More than 50 Airmen from the 158th Fighter Wing are deploying this fall to support ongoing missions in the United States Central Command and United States Africa Command theaters.

A photo of Kristina Von Trapp, granddaughter of Maria Von Trapp; Capt. Kelsey "Ice" Flannery, an F-35 pilot with the Vermont Air National Guard's 158th Fighter Wing; Klaudia Tanner, Minister of Defense of Austria; Victoria Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Austria; Capt. Melanie “MACH” Kluesner, F-35 Demo Team pilot; Command Chief Master Sgt. Jillian Rolla, Vermont state command chief; meeting at one of the 158th's F-35A Lightning IIs on display during Airpower, the largest air show in Europe, Hinterstoisser Air Base, Zetlweg, Austria, Sept. 6, 2024.

Oct. 3, 2024

Vermont Returns to Austria for AIRPOWER24 and Maple Tiger

With four F-35A Lightning IIs flying through the Austrian mountains, the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing returned to Austria for a second year of training with the Austrian and Swiss air forces.

An F-35 Lightning II assigned to the 158th Fighter Wing

Sept. 10, 2024

Airpower for Great Power Competition

The term great power competition is increasingly being used to describe the current global strategic landscape facing the United States and its allies. This paper examines the implications of that landscape for airpower.

An F-35A Lightning II pilot assigned to the 134th Fighter Squadron, Vermont Air National Guard, prepares to depart during a routine night training mission

Sept. 9, 2024

158FW Night Flying Operations

The Vermont Air National Guard will conduct night flying operations from Tuesday, September 10, to Thursday, September 12, and from Tuesday, September 17 to Wednesday, September 18 with one afternoon and one evening takeoff period per day. Flights are scheduled to conclude by 9:30 p.m.

F-35A Lightning II’s assigned to the 134th Fighter Squadron, 158th Fighter Wing, Vermont Air National Guard line up prior to takeoff at the South Burlington Air National Guard Base, South Burlington, Vermont on March 2, 2024. The VTANG conducted air operations so that its pilots and ground crew can remain ready and proficient. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Patrick Crosley)

Sept. 2, 2024

VTANG Trains in Austria

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. — Airmen and F-35 Lightning II aircraft from the Vermont Air National Guard will depart for Austria in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Sept. 4, to participate in the Airpower Air Show and a multinational training exercise the following week.

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.

Green Mountain Guard Newsletter Archive

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...
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