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Category: Austria

U.S. Soldiers assigned to 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain), 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), Vermont National Guard, operating High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle turrets armed with two M2A1 .50 Cal machine guns and two M240 machine guns fire rounds during a combined arms live-fire night exercise as a part of Immediate Response 25.

June 4, 2025

Vermont Guard Soldiers prove lethality along NATO allies at Immediate Response 25

KRIVOLAK, North Macedonia — U.S. Soldiers assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain), 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), Vermont National Guard participated in a combined arms live-fire exercise, May 29-31, 2025, during Immediate Response 25.

U.S. Soldiers with the 572nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), Vermont National Guard, and Austrian Land Forces assemble brazier charges used to breach wire barriers as part of Immediate Response 25 during DEFENDER 25

June 1, 2025

Vermont National Guard cross-train U.S. infantrymen and Austrian Land Force personnel on various demolition techniques

KRIVOLAK, North Macedonia — U.S. Soldiers assigned to Bravo Company, 572nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), Vermont National Guard cross-train U.S. infantrymen and Austrian Land Force personnel on various demolition techniques, June 1-3, 2025, during Immediate Response 25, a large-scale, joint exercise with NATO Allies and Partners at the Krivolak Training Area, Krivolak, North Macedonia, taking place May 26 to June 9, as part of DEFENDER 25, the U.S. Army’s premier large-scale deployment exercise in Europe.

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.

Army Maj. Gen. Gregory Knight, Vermont's adjutant general, right, and Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief, National Guard Bureau, speak with joint Austrian Armed Forces leaders, at the Federal Ministry of Defence of Austria in Vienna

Jan. 25, 2024

Vermont National Guard and Austria forge ahead with new initiatives in the State Partnership Program

VIENNA, Austria — In a significant demonstration of support for the strengthening relationship between the Vermont National Guard and Austria, Gen. Daniel Hokanson, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, joined Maj. Gen. Gregory Knight, The Adjutant General of the Vermont National Guard, and Brig. Gen. Tracy Poirier, Director of the Joint Staff, in key meetings with the Austrian Bundesheer leadership.

Photo of a Eurofighter Typhoons from the Austrian Air Force's Airspace Surveillance Wing, land at Hinterstoisser Air Base from the first ever training sortie between Vermont and Austria since signing their State Partnership Program agreement, Zeltweg, Austria, June 17, 2023.

Aug. 23, 2023

158th Fighter Wing Makes History in Austria

Vienna, Austria — The Vermont Air National Guard made history as they arrived in Austria to celebrate the one year anniversary of their State Partnership Program agreement, which saw U.S. F-35s land in Austria for the first time on June 16, 2023.

Austrian Ambassador to the U.S. Petra Schneebauer (center) hosted (from left) Maj. Gen. Gregory Knight, U.S. Ambassador to Austria Victoria Kennedy, Vermont Secretary of Commerce Lindsay Kurrle and Austrian Defense Attache Maj. Gen. Norbert Huber during the SelectUSA Investment Summit. (Photo by Lina Linortner)

May 2, 2023

Austrian Ambassador Hosts Vermont Delegation at Investment Summit

Colchester, Vt. — Austrian Ambassador to the United States Petra Schneebauer hosted U.S. partners including U.S. Ambassador to Austria Victoria Kennedy, the Adjutant General of Vermont Maj. Gen. Gregory Knight and Vermont Secretary of Commerce Lindsay Kurrle during this year’s SelectUSA Investment Summit.

Chief Warrant Officer 4 Phil Vietje, an aviation instructor with C Company, 3-126th Aviation (Air Ambulance), Vermont Army National Guard, shows Austrian Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner around a UH-72 Lakota helicopter at the VTARNG Army Aviation Support Facility in South Burlington, Vermont, on May 12, 2022. The Vermont National Guard and Austrian Defence Ministry signed a State Partnership Program agreement May 11, 2022, to strengthen interagency cooperation and mutually improve in cyber defense, information operations, military mountaineering, humanitarian and disaster assistance response, and other areas. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Don Branum)

May 20, 2022

Vermont Guard demonstrates rotary-wing capabilities for Austrian delegation

CAMP JOHNSON, Vermont — On May 12, a day after representatives from the Vermont National Guard and the Republic of Austria formally entered into a State Partner Program, Austrian Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner and staff were provided with rotary-wing flight demonstrations at Camp Johnson, the Vermont National Guard Joint Force Headquarters in Colchester, Vermont.

Leaders from Vermont, the Vermont National Guard, and the Republic of Austria gathered in Montpelier for a signing ceremony officially beginning a partnership between the Vermont National Guard and the Republic of Austria through National Guard Bureau's State Partnership Program, Wednesday, May 11, 2022. The Republic of Austria is the third partner nation with the Vermont National Guard through the State Partnership Program. Vermont also works and trains with North Macedonia and Senegal.

May 11, 2022

Vermont National Guard, Austria formally recognize partnership

MONTPELIER, Vermont — Representatives from the Vermont National Guard and the Republic of Austria formally entered into a partnership May 11 at 2 p.m. Though work between the Austrian military and the Vermont National Guard is not new, the ceremony marked the formal beginning under the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steve Gagner, commander, Army Mountain Warfare School, 124th Regiment (Regional Training Institute), Vermont National Guard, escorts an Austrian military delegation through the AMWS at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Jericho, Vermont, Feb. 14, 2022. Austria is scheduled to be Vermont’s newest state partner under the State Partnership Program.

March 1, 2022

Vermont National Guard hosts Austrian delegation

COLCHESTER, Vt. — The Vermont National Guard hosted Austrian military members at numerous National Guard sites Feb. 14-15 as part of the State Partnership Program.

Oct. 26, 2021

State Partnership Program helps Guard build enduring relationships

ARLINGTON, Virginia — With the recent additions of the Vermont National Guard partnership with Austria and New Hampshire National Guard with Cabo Verde, the State Partnership Program now includes just under half the world’s nations.

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
Staff Sgt. Alexander Spradling, an instructor with the 1-117th Military Police Battalion’s Multifunction Company prepares to launch an RQ-28A, a small, unmanned aircraft during the Small Unmanned Aircraft System, or SUAS, Master Trainer pilot course at Tullahoma’s Volunteer Training Site, June 23, 2026. Unlike the Army’s basic operator course, the Master Trainer Course prepares experienced operators to certify future SUAS pilots, manage unit training programs and advise commanders on unmanned aircraft system employment. Facilitated by Tennessee’s 117th Regional Training Institute, this is the first course of its kind in the Army National Guard. Photo by 1st Lt. Bailey Breving.
Tennessee Guard Hosts First Drone Trainer Course
By Tennessee National Guard | July 2, 2026
SMYRNA, Tenn. – Twelve Tennessee Army National Guard Soldiers became the first graduates of Tennessee’s new Small Unmanned Aircraft System, or SUAS, Master Trainer course led by the 1-117th Military Police Battalion at...
Airmen assigned to the 120th Airlift Wing, Montana Air National Guard, participate in Operation War Hog Breakout during a Combat Readiness Inspection in Great Falls and Helena, Montana, 2026. The four-day inspection evaluated the wing's ability to survive, operate and accomplish mission-essential tasks in a simulated deployed environment while preparing Airmen for future federal and state missions. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Reid.
Montana Guard Completes Combat Readiness Inspection
By Senior Master Sgt. Devin Doskey, | July 2, 2026
GREAT FALLS, Mont. – Airmen assigned to the 120th Airlift Wing, Montana Air National Guard, concluded Operation War Hog Breakout, a four-day Combat Readiness Inspection that evaluated the wing's ability to execute...
The West Virginia Army National Guard Fixed Wing Army Aviation Training Site receives the 2025 Lt. Gen. Allen M. Burdett Jr. Army Aviation Flight Safety Award during an award ceremony on June 29, 2026. The award, sponsored by the Order of Daedalians, is presented annually to the Army aviation training unit deemed to have the most effective aircraft accident prevention program. Photo by Maj. Cibeles Ramirez-Rodriguez.
Army National Guard Wins National Aviation Safety Award
By Maj. Cibeles Ramirez-Rodriguez, | July 2, 2026
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – The Army National Guard’s Fixed Wing Army Aviation Training Site, or FWAATS, operated by the West Virginia Army National Guard, received the 2025 Lt. Gen. Allen M. Burdett Jr. Army Aviation Flight Safety...
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