Articles

May 19, 2026

From Armor Officer to Educator: Retired Lt. Col. Steven Gagner reflects on service

For retired Lt. Col. Steven Gagner, leadership has never been confined to a battlefield, classroom or boardroom. Instead, it has been a lifelong pursuit shaped by service, education and a commitment to helping others grow.

May 2, 2026

Engineers Build for the Future While Honoring the Past at Centennial Alliance 2026

Marking a century of military training and innovation, leaders of the Vermont Army National Guard and Ethan Allen Firing Range, directed an ambitious effort to blend history, modernization, and hands-on engineer training through Task Force Centennial Alliance 2026.

May 2, 2026

Legacy of the Ethan Allen Firing Range - Centennial Alliance

Established in 1926 as a modest training ground for Vermont’s Citizen-Soldiers, the Ethan Allen Firing Range has grown into one of the premier military training sites in the northeastern United States, marking a century of readiness, resilience and evolution with the completion of Centennial Alliance 2026 on April 24, 2026.

May 2, 2026

181st Engineers Participate in Centennial Alliance

Soldiers assigned to the 181st Engineer Vertical Construction Company, Massachusetts National Guard put their skills to work at Range 6-3 on the Ethan Allen Firing Range, constructing a pole barn as part of exercise Centennial Alliance 2026.

May 1, 2026

Remembering the Crew of 52-1571

Charles W. Diggle III and Bertrand White were young officers with the Vermont Air National Guard, earning their place in the demanding profession of Air Force pilots, where precision is routine, and risk is never far away.

May 1, 2026

HQDA Safety Streamer for the 15th Civil Support Team

The 15th Civil Support Team (Weapons of Mass Destruction) of the Vermont Army National Guard was presented the Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA) Safety Streamer at the Army Aviation Support Facility, in South Burlington, Vermont, on May 1st, 2026, during a formal ceremony attended by Major General Henry "Hank" Harder Jr., The Adjutant General of the Vermont National Guard, and Brigadier General Matthew M. Brown, Director of the Joint Staff.

April 20, 2026

Centennial Alliance: 100 Years of The Ethan Allen Firing Range

Centennial Alliance: Engineers from multiple Vermont National Guard units completed a series of major infrastructure improvement projects at The Ethan Allen Firing Range, marking the installation’s 100th anniversary and a significant modernization effort to enhance training capabilities.

April 17, 2026

Finance in the Field

In the middle of a fortified U.S. Army convoy through the Kenyan jungle, an airman with $140,000 cash prepares to make a payment to a contractor for an urgent airfield repair. With known threats in the area, the fear of being ambushed was high, but this transaction was required to repair the damaged flightline.

March 20, 2026

Disarming Danger: VTANG EOD's Dual Mission

When a suspicious bazooka round turns up in a Vermont garage or a decades-old artillery round is uncovered at a construction site overseas, Master Sgt. Andrew Borgens and his team are often the ones called to respond. Borgens serves as the 158th Explosive Ordnance Disposal flight chief with the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing, where he leads Airmen charged with protecting people and property from explosive hazards. “The easiest definition would be that we’re in charge of protection of personnel and property when it comes to explosive hazards,” Borgens said.

March 8, 2026

Maj. Gen. Henry Harder Jr. takes command of Vermont National Guard

Maj. Gen. Henry Harder Jr. took command of the Vermont National Guard, relieving Maj. Gen. Greg Knight, at the 158th Fighter Wing in South Burlington, Vt., on March 7.

The official logo of the Vermont National Guard.

TAG's State of the Guard 2026

Note: the above YouTube video link may not work on all government computers. 

National Guard News
Members of the Maryland National Guard discuss exercise control and scenario development as a part of the white cell part during a multinational cyber defense exercise in Estonia, May 2026. The white cell monitors exercise activity, guides training objectives and dynamically adjusts scenarios to create a realistic training environment for participating cyber operators from allied and partner forces. Immediate Response 2026 brings together U.S. and NATO allied and partner forces in a virtual cyber range focused on collaborative defensive cyber operations to strengthen network security and interoperability. The exercise is part of Sword 26, U.S. Army Europe and Africa's premier annual exercise series taking place from late April through May 2026 across eight countries in the High North and Baltic regions. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Elise Moore.
Maryland Guard, Estonian Partners Strengthen Cyber Readiness
By Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Ames, | May 27, 2026
TALLINN, Estonia – More than 40 Maryland National Guard members participated in Immediate Response 2026, a comprehensive cyber exercise, with their Estonian counterparts at Foundation Cyber Range 14, or CR14, May 16-23.The...

Members of the 104th Fighter Wing actively participate in a Major Aircraft Response Exercise, or MARE, May 12-14, 2026, at Barnes Air National Guard Base, Westfield, Massachusetts. The exercise incorporated personnel accountability, antiterrorism procedures, Force Protection Condition actions, active shooter response and Continuity of Operations drills, which provided a comprehensive test of the wing’s ability to respond to real-world threats and maintain mission continuity under pressure. Photo by Airman 1st Class Ellen Ozkaptan.
Massachusetts Airmen Sharpen Readiness During Major Aircraft Response Exercise
By Airman 1st Class Ellen Ozkaptan, | May 26, 2026
BARNES AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Mass. – The Massachusetts National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing strengthened its crisis response capabilities during a Major Aircraft Response Exercise, or MARE, held May 11–14, testing Airmen...

Jane Horton poses next to Ty Dillon's No. 10 Chevrolet before the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina, May 24, 2026. Dillon's race car carried the name of Horton's husband, Army Spc. Christopher David Horton, a sniper assigned to the Oklahoma Army National Guard's 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, who was killed Sept. 9, 2011, in Afghanistan. Courtesy photo.
National Guard Gold Star Spouse Turns Grief Into Advocacy
By Army Maj. Wes Shinego, | May 26, 2026
CONCORD, N.C. – The loudest place in American sports knew when to be quiet.At Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina, the Coca-Cola 600 was everything it is supposed to be: horsepower, heat, noise and 600 miles of...