TAG's Corner
Colleagues,
October 1 marks the start of a new fiscal and training year for us. A new year means a fresh start. There is a year of training ahead for all of us, but I can’t emphasize enough the importance of recruiting and retention. To that end:
- We are paying people extra money to help us recruit. $1,000 dollars if you refer someone into our Air or Army National Guard. This is the Joint Enlistment Enhancement Program (JEEP). Visit the JEEP webpage, talk to a Recruiter, go to Facebook… the information is out there, and monetary awards are available.
- We are paying for college. You don’t need to be a Veteran. You don’t have to deploy. You need to serve in the Vermont National Guard, and we will pay for your Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, and for certificate producing programs – it is applicable to both public and private colleges and universities. Again, the information is out there – ask your Educational Services Officer.
- There are enlistment incentive bonuses. When you help refer someone to a Recruiter (VTARNG or VTANG), make sure they ask about the available bonuses for certain specialties.
- We are addressing issues in our Guard. I don’t want members in our Guard who violate our standards any more then you do. I know that people who make poor choices, or treat others poorly, has a negative impact on retention, and our unit morale. I also know that people want to hear and see the results of investigations. The fact is we can’t share this information – good or bad – with any degree of specificity. However, we are publishing the quarterly status of discipline, which is a redacted version of administrative action taken in instances where investigations have substantiated findings. I publish this to the force.
Have an idea to help retention? Tell me. I am listening, and have an open door policy. Talk to your recruiter. Talk to your chain of command. Call our public affairs office. There are options for you. Complaining without a recommendation or solution doesn’t help me or anyone to get answers, find facts or make change. Recruiting and retention is the most critical task we have in front of us. So long as we have vacancies in our Guard, we are at risk of losing force structure. That means full and part-time jobs, equipment, funding and capability. For every Soldier and Airmen in the Guard. I am asking for your help and rewarding you for helping me.
I am all in for our Guard, and have been since day one in this organization. It has made for a productive and rewarding life for me and so many others. It’s allowed me to stay in Vermont, provided an education, career opportunities, and to raise a family. Help me share this, and for those that continue to move the ball forward – thank you.
VTANG Fire Training
COVER STORY: Joining the Raid
Mountain Brigade assembling team for 2023 Austrian Edelweiss Raid
The 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain) conducted the first round of tryouts on Sept. 10 to compete in the biennial Edelweiss Raid hosted in Austria this February.
Held in the Tyrolian Alps, the Edelweiss Raid brings together 8-person teams from over 10 nations, to include NATO and NATO partner states, to compete in a rigorous military mountaineering competition. Teams must traverse 40 kilometers of high alpine, snow-covered terrain with 4,000 meters of elevation gain while completing a variety of mountain warfare tactical tasks within a two-day period.
“It is an incredible challenge,” said U.S. Army Maj. Nathan Fry, team-leader and 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment, 86th IBCT (MTN) executive officer from Hinesburg, Vermont. “Unlike other skimo races, the emphasis in the Raid is not on lightweight gear and Lycra suits—competitors race in military-issued skis with full combat equipment, rifles, rescue sleds and radios. Packs can weigh between 30 and 50 pounds.”
This round of the tryout consisted of a timed run up the toll-road of Mt. Mansfield, 4.3 miles of steep incline up 2,564 feet of elevation. Out of the 12 competitors, 1st Lt. Josh McDougal, A Company, 3-172 IN (MTN) from Dannemora, New York and Capt. Brad Patnaude, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 86th IBCT (MTN) from Williston, Vermont finished with the fastest times, coming in at 44:42 and 50:00 respectively.
Fry will ultimately assemble two teams of eight backed by 4 alternates based on performances over a series of tryouts this winter, as well as the experience and training of each competitor.
Fry led the first U.S. team to compete in the Raid in 2019. That first team consisted of Soldiers from the 86th IBCT (MTN) and the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School. They became the only first-year team to ever complete the race with all team members. They finished 13th of 23 teams.
“Western military mountaineering is really dominated by Germany France, and of course, Austria,” said Fry. “Our participation in 2019 was the first attempt to show our European allies that the US has a small but competent group of military mountaineers who are capable of partnering with them in the event of a mountain warfare operation.”
The Vermont Army National Guard operates the primary U.S. Mountain Warfare school, as well as the National Guard Bureau’s Biathlon program out of Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, where the Army’s only Mountain-designated Brigade is headquartered. The Edelweiss Raid fosters community among participating nations as they compete and share mountain warfare best practices and tactics.
Air Guard's 1st Female F-35 Pilot
Three years of training led to one very important day. Taking off over the mountains of Vermont, history is made at 20,000 feet. The 158th Fighter Wing has been no stranger to making history. In 2019, it was the first wing in the Air National Guard to receive the F-35A Lightning II.
As the only wing in the Guard to fly a fifth generation fighter, the Airmen have continuously made their mark including recently completing the first overseas Guard deployment of the F-35.
Now, the latest chapter of Green Mountain Boys history has been written.
“I saw that they were having interviews, I was really interested in a fighter slot and Vermont is just beautiful,” said 1st Lt. Kelsey Flannery, the first female F-35 pilot in the Air National Guard.
Vermont Guard honors MIAs, former POWs
The Vermont National Guard and Vermont State Guard held a ceremony Sept. 16 at Camp Johnson, Vermont, to honor former prisoners of war and those missing in action, including three former POWs from World War II and a former POW who was captured by North Korea in 1968.
Clyde Cassidy, William B. Busier, Richard H. Hamilton, and Ralph McClintock were recognized by Maj. Gen. Greg Knight, Vermont’s adjutant general, and an audience that included Vermont Guard Soldiers and Airmen as well as veterans from the local community.
“I’m honored to welcome our former POWs. Your stories are important and should never be forgotten,” Knight said. “I am absolutely humbled to be here and to know your stories. It’s an honor to know you. Humility is a staple of your generation, but gentlemen, please know: You are our heroes, you’re Vermont’s heroes, and you’re American heroes.”
As part of the recognition ceremony, Knight presented each of the former POWs with adjutant general coins, emblazoned with the seal of the adjutant general and the words, “Put the Vermonters Ahead.” Before presenting the coins, Knight recalled the history of the phrase. On the eve of the Battle of Gettysburg, Union Gen. John Sedgwick was told his Soldiers would be needed the next morning on the battlefield.
State tuition benefit opens career pathways
Staff Sgt. Joseph Poley is expanding his career options thanks to a law passed in May that provides Guardsmen with up to $16,000 in tuition benefits for Vermont state colleges.
Poley, a paralegal NCO with the Vermont National Guard’s Staff Judge Advocate office, said he learned about the new state tuition benefit while discussing financial aid options with Capt. Axel Larson, the Vermont National Guard’s education service officer.
“I was seeing if I had any federal tuition assistance left to get some certificates in cybersecurity, but then I learned about the new program, where I can get my second bachelor’s paid for by the Guard,” said Poley, who earned his first Bachelor of Science degree in sustainable services from Lyndon State College. “I learned more about the program after a yellow ribbon briefing I attended.”
Vermont National Guard takes steps to prevent interpersonal violence
The Vermont National Guard is moving forward with a program to closely analyze and improve its climate, in line with Department of Defense initiatives to revamp the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program.
The Vermont Guard’s Integrated Prevention Workforce will analyze data available through Sexual Assault Response Coordinators, the Equal Employment Opportunity office, the State Equal Employment Manager, and other agencies to examine risk factors and protective factors related to sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, and workplace violence, said Maj. Scott Detweiler, who will be the workforce program manager.
“We’ll first define what the program looks like and how it operates,” Detweiler said. “Our purpose is to analyze data available to us, assess where our risk factors and protective factors are, examine how we can influence those, and assess the effectiveness of that influence. We’ll be applying a public health model to these areas in a way the Department of Defense hasn’t done before.”
Vermont National Guard scores high following review of sexual assault program
The Vermont National Guard Sexual Assault Prevention & Response Program has received a favorable assessment from a National Guard Bureau (NGB) Site Assessment Team.
The Team traveled to Vermont from Sept. 12-15 to examine Vermont National Guard policies, case management, prevention efforts and survivor support.
“Based on the recommendations of the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Independent Review Commission accepted in September 2021, the NGB Sexual Assault Prevention & Response (SAPR) program is visiting each state to review their current policies and practices,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Aaron Cox, NGB SAPR assessment team leader. “Our review found that the Vermont National Guard’s program is on-point.”
VT State Legislators visit their National Guard
Maj. Gen. Greg Knight, Vermont’s adjutant general, hosted 12 Vermont legislators during a tour of the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, Vermont, on Sept. 20, 2022. Legislators received a brief from Range Control, a tour of the new Army Mountain Warfare School, and the National Guard Biathlon program.
“There is so much the Vermont Guard offers and we need to tell that story,” said Knight. “I love bringing people around the range because more often than not, visitors are completely unaware of what we have to offer.” Ethan Allen Firing Range covers more than 11,000 acres and hosts multiple ranges and training locations. The new Army Mountain Warfare School facility, built on a $30 million federal military construction project appropriation, was one of the highlights. While still under construction, the new facility opened many eyes of the distinguished visitors.
Honoring Those Lost to Suicide
“Twenty-two a day” is a phrase many veterans use to talk about suicide awareness within the veteran community. It’s a number John Brutzman, the Vermont National Guard’s substance abuse prevention coordinator, is working to decrease.
Brutzman, a native of Montclair, New Jersey, also serves as a suicide prevention coordinator. He’s asking Soldiers to take time on World Suicide Prevention Day to learn the warning signs that someone might be considering suicide and to know what they can do to help.
“The Army breaks records every year in suicide,” Brutzman said. “We’ve lost more service members to suicide than to the War on Terror.”
One measure Brutzman has taken to raise awareness is visible in front of the Fallen Heroes Memorial on Camp Johnson. This weekend, 22 flags will line the walkway leading to the memorial, symbolizing the 22 veterans per day who die from suicide.
Vermont National Guard partners with GlobalFoundries for PaYS Program
Maj. Gen. Greg Knight, the Adjutant General for the Vermont National Guard, signed an agreement to enter the Partnership for Your Success (PaYS) program with GlobalFoundries.
Lindsay Kurrle, Secretary for the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, and Ken McAvey, General Manager for Fab 9 at GlobalFoundries in Essex, joined Maj. Gen. Knight in the ceremonial signing.
“This is a collaborative effort between the Guard, the state, and local employers to develop our workforce,” said Knight. “We all have a similar goal in hiring new people and getting young people into Vermont. Pairing with the largest private employer in Vermont is a huge step in our continued development of this program.”
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