The 42nd Infantry Division (42ID) ("Rainbow") is a division of the United States Army National Guard. It was nicknamed the Rainbow Division because, during rapid mobilization for service in WW1, it was formed from 27 National Guard units from across the US. The division was engaged in four major operations between July 1918 and the armistice in November 1918, and demobilized in 1919. Since World War I, the 42nd Infantry Division has served in World War II and the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT).
The Vermont National Guard is composed of the Vermont Army National Guard and the Vermont Air National Guard. Together, they are collectively known as the Green Mountain Boys. Both units use the original Revolutionary War-era Flag of the Green Mountain Boys as their banner. In 2009, they had 2,600 members.
Ernest William Gibson Jr. was an American attorney, politician, and judge. He served briefly as an appointed United States Senator, as the 67th governor of Vermont, and as a federal judge.
William W. Wells, Jr. was a businessman, politician, and general in the Union Army during the American Civil War who received a Medal of Honor for gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg.
William Wirt Henry was a manufacturer and a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was a recipient of the brevet grade of brigadier general of volunteers and the Medal of Honor for gallantry in action.
Ebenezer J. Ormsbee was an American attorney and politician from Vermont. A Republican, he served as lieutenant governor from 1884 to 1886, and governor from 1886 to 1888.
The 50th Armored Division was a division of the Army National Guard from July 1946 until 1993.
The 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain) ("The Vermont Brigade") is an Army National Guard light infantry brigade headquartered in Vermont. It was reorganized from an armored brigade into an Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) as part of the United States Army's transformation for the 21st century. The 86th IBCT utilizes the Army Mountain Warfare School, co-located at Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, Vermont, to train in individual military mountaineering skills so the entire brigade can be skilled in such warfare. This large conventional unit level mountain warfare capability had been lost when the 10th Mountain Division deactivated after World War II. This left the 86th IBCT as the only mountain warfare unit in the U.S. military whose soldiers were trained in mountain warfare, with individual soldiers being graduates of Ranger School, the Special Forces Advanced Mountain Operations School, and the Army Mountain Warfare School instead of entire units that specialized in such tactics. "The Vermont Brigade" configured itself to be such a unit.
Leonard Fish Wing Sr., nicknamed "Red", was a Vermont political figure and a division commander in the United States Army during World War II.
James Stuart Holden was an American attorney and judge. He served as an associate justice and chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court and later as a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont.
The 86th Field Artillery Regiment is a inactive parent field artillery regiment of the United States Army, last represented in the Vermont Army National Guard by the 1st Battalion, 86th Field Artillery Regiment. Perpetuating the Vermont Light Artillery Batteries of the American Civil War and subsequent Vermont artillery units, the regiment was organized following World War II as the 206th Field Artillery Battalion in the Vermont National Guard. The 206th saw active service in Germany with the 43rd Infantry Division during the Korean War, and became the 124th Artillery, a Combat Arms Regimental System parent regiment, in 1959. Represented by the 1st Howitzer Battalion, 124th Artillery, the regiment was renumbered as the 86th Artillery in 1964 when the 1st Battalion became the brigade artillery battalion of the 86th Armored Brigade. The 1st Battalion served in that role with the brigade for much of the rest of its existence.
The 172nd Infantry Regiment is a Vermont Army National Guard infantry regiment which specializes in mountainous and cold weather operations. It falls under the command of the Vermont Army National Guard's 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain). Before the creation of the Infantry Brigade Combat Team in 2008, the regiment was recognized as the only conventional unit in the United States Army trained and equipped for mountain operations. The regiment draws heritage from the original 10th Mountain Division, which fought during World War II, both in the type of training they conduct and in the specialized equipment the unit maintains.
Major General (Retired) Bruce M. Lawlor is a retired United States Army officer. He is prominent as the first commander of Joint Task Force-Civil Support. In addition, he was one of five White House staff members who wrote the plan to create the Department of Homeland Security, and he was the first DHS Chief of Staff.
Major General (Vermont) Thomas E. Drew was the adjutant general of the State of Vermont. In this post he served as the senior uniformed military officer in the state, and was responsible for the organization, training and equipping of the 4,000 members of the Vermont Army and Air National Guard. As adjutant general, he also served as inspector general, quartermaster general and head of the State Military Department, including veterans affairs.
Gregory C. Knight is a United States Army officer. In 2019, he was selected to serve as Adjutant General of Vermont.
Tracey Poirier is an officer in the Army National Guard. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps and United States Army, she has served in the military since 1991, and has been the director of the joint staff for the Vermont National Guard since 2022. Poirier's command assignments included the 186th Brigade Support Battalion and 124th Regiment. She was promoted to brigadier general in July 2023, and her awards include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, and Army Achievement Medal.
Joseph F. Radigan was an American attorney and politician from Vermont. A Democrat, He is most notable for serving as United States Attorney for the District of Vermont from 1961 to 1969.
Reginald W. Buzzell was an American government official and military officer from Vermont. A longtime member of the Vermont Army National Guard, he was a veteran of the Pancho Villa Expedition, World War I and World War II and attained the rank of brigadier general.
John E. Woodward was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War, Moro Rebellion, Pancho Villa Expedition, and World War I, he served from 1892 to 1934 and attained the rank of brigadier general. Woodward was most notable for his command of the 113th Infantry Regiment, Camp Upton, 152d Depot Brigade, 24th Infantry Brigade, 151st Depot Brigade, and 12th Division.
The 172nd Cavalry Regiment is an armored cavalry regiment of the Vermont Army National Guard, with one battalion currently active. First organized in 1861, the regiment has seen combat in the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, and the War on Terror. Originally an infantry regiment, elements of the unit were consolidated with an antiaircraft unit in 1959 and converted into an armored regiment. In 1964, the remainder of the 172nd Infantry was consolidated with the 172nd Armor, as an armored regiment. In 2007, elements became an armored cavalry regiment. In 1982, a new infantry unit designated the 172nd Infantry Regiment was organized in the Vermont Army National Guard, but it is not lineally related to the previous 172nd Infantry/Cavalry, sharing the numerical designation only for historical purposes.
