TAG's Corner
Colleagues,
As we put 2022 and the holiday season to rest, I’d like you to take a moment and reflect on what you’ve accomplished as we all get started on our New Year’s resolutions.
We had many Soldiers and Airmen return from deployment in 2022 and that reunion is an amazing thing. It is one of the most genuine moments you can experience as a military member. Doing your job, coming home, and seeing your loved ones again. There are very few moments more precious than that feeling. It’s one to enjoy and we want to capture that moment forever, it doesn’t come without cost.
That time away, the hours of work, and the dedication to our mission that you all show, is what makes that moment so prized. It is not a moment we want all the time, but it is still a moment to reflect on and keep sacred. Even with the start of the New Year, take that moment and enjoy it.
We are moving right into a busy year as well. We have our usual training we’ll need to complete, but along with that, numerous milestones to celebrate.
This year, 2023, marks 15 years of State Partnership with Senegal. We’ll be participating in another Medical Readiness Exercise there this year as well other events. It is also 30 years of State Partnership with North Macedonia, one of the original State Partnership Programs. Another milestone is the 40 years of operations as the Army Mountain Warfare School. Vermont is THE Army’s place to train when we want service members to learn military mountaineering. Finally, we are also celebrating 50 years of the National Guard Biathlon in Vermont later this Fall.
That is just a few of the many accolades we have the honor celebrate this upcoming year and we get to celebrate due to the tremendous work our Soldiers and Airmen put forth. As always, you’re doing an incredible job, help grow our team through recruiting, and push forward this year by remembering all the great things you’ve previously accomplished.
All the best. - MG Knight
COVER Photo: Santa's Convoy
VTANG: Year In Review
Multi-Capable Airmen
A C-17 Globemaster III and Airmen from the New York Air National Guard's 105th Airlift Wing arrived at the South Burlington Air National Guard Base to train the 158th Fighter Wing in C-17 operations on Dec. 4,
Flying up from Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York in the lower Hudson Valley, the C-17 crew trained the Green Mountain Boys as part of the multi-capable Airmen concept. This has Airmen being trained in basic tasks that are outside of their career field, in order to make them more versatile and fulfill more mission requirements when needed.
“We invited them here to open discussions about how F-35s and C-17 units will fight together in the future,” said Capt. Kyle Mercer, director of operations for the 158th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. “With the Agile Combat Employment concept we need to be light, quick and mobile. So, the Stewart crew came up here to talk with us about the C-17 mission that will support ACE in the future with moving cargo and people around.”
The F-35 is designed to integrate with a variety of U.S. and foreign aircraft. The 158th Fighter Wing routinely trains with other Air Force units to strengthen and maintain relationships to ensure an Air Force goal of working together as seamlessly in the sky as on the ground.
From Conversion to Combat: A 158th Fighter Wing Journey
State Partnership Program: Senegalese President Macky Sall Visits with TAG
Maj. Gen. Gregory Knight, adjutant general of Vermont, and a delegation of the Vermont National Guard met with the President of Senegal and the African Union in Washington D.C. on December 12.
President Macky Sall, attending the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, sat down with Knight to discuss the almost 15-year partnership between Vermont and Senegal.
“The partnership with Senegal is as strong as ever. It was truly an honor to sit down and chat with President Sall about all the great things we have done together, and all the great things on the horizon,” said Knight. “There is so much we can offer each other.”
President Sall celebrated the support from the Vermont National Guard over the course of the partnership. He specifically identified efforts in developing a Tactical Training Center in Thies and domestic emergency management response to include the Physical Security and Stockpile Management program.
The president also stated his optimism for increased multilateral opportunities with the VTNG’s other partner countries, North Macedonia and Austria.
Bravo Battery Cases Their Colors
Kitchen Spoons and Combat Boots
The Kitchen Spoons & Combat Boots webinars were developed by Family Programs to provide Service Members and their families with informational content based on identified gaps in services.
From Kitchen Spoons to Combat Boots, these webinars help balance life on the home front, during military service, and everything in between. The Kitchen Spoons & Combat Boots webinar series meets monthly, the first Wednesday from 7:00PM-8:00PM. By providing virtual opportunities for education, you have the capability to access the webinar wherever it’s convenient for you.
The Dec. 7th topic was New Year's Resolutions.
Adjutant General Receives Association of Broadcasters Award
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Greg Knight, Vermont Adjutant General, was honored with the “Friend of Broadcasters Award” at the Vermont Association of Broadcasters (VAB) Hall of Fame Awards Banquet in Burlington Vermont, December 3rd. Knight is the fourth recipient of the award since its inception nearly 30 years ago.
VAB is a non-profit trade association that represents commercial and non-commercial radio and television stations in Vermont. Their mission is to keep the radio and television industry “vibrant, vital, and strong” in the state. VAB and the Vermont National Guard’s mutually beneficial relationship goes back many years.
The Vermont National Guard public affairs office works closely with local media and VAB to communicate a variety of events and information. Of recent note, communication was crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic, where the VTNG helped the state communicate testing and vaccine clinic times and locations, food distribution points and windows for pick-up, and any other pertinent information for the public. The VAB has also helped the VTNG to communicate other robust topics such deployments, public facility tours, and becoming the first Air National Guard Wing to fly the F-35A Lightning II.
“The media played a crucial role in communicating our efforts to the public. They did a great job, because all of our vaccine clinics, testing sites, and food distribution points were well attended. It was because of our relationship that we were able to make this happen,” added Knight.