Situation: The Vermont National Guard is made up of a number of different units with diverse missions. During the war, not only did the units find themselves employed in different capabilities, but in different situations around the world. The following information is used to describe how these situations would have played out should world war three have happened in either V1 or V2 rules.
Vermont National Guard Organization (pre war):
Vermont STARC HQ (includes public affairs, state medical support, the biathlon team, Adjutant General and staff (100 men 10 vehicles)
Subunits
86th Armored Brigade (see below)
Vermont Troop Command (see below)
Vermont Military Academy (see below)
Vermont Army Mountain Warfare School (see below)
Ethan Allen Firing Range Control and staff (see below)
Camp Johnson Logistics and Full time support (see below)
Vermont Air National Guard (see below)
Norwich University (a military academy since the 1800s) ROTC, Castleton State University ROTC , University of Vermont ROTC (none of these programs are officially Vermont National Guard, however most of the facility are retired military officers, the state details excess officers as support and instructors and most of the students are dual members of ROTC and the Vermont National Guard (that are not eligible for deployment. Most of the Vermont National Guard officers are either Vermont Military Academy OCS graduates or Norwich University ROTC graduates)
86th Armored Brigade HQ (200 men, 30 vehicles)
Subunits:
1/172 Armored Battalion (800 men 56 M1s, 8 M901s, 8 M109/4.2” mortars, 120 vehicles)
2/172 Armored Battalion (800 men 56 M1s, 8 M901s, 8 M109/4.2” mortars, 120 vehicles)
86th Artillery Battalion (400 men 24 M109A3s 40 vehicles)
172nd Field Support Battalion (500 men, 120 vehicles)
Other Brigade units are from states other than Vermont
Vermont Troop Command HQ (controlling headquarters for small units) (30 men 5 vehicles)
Subunits
3/172 Infantry Battalion (Mountain) (500 men, 20 vehicles)
C Company, 3/126 Aviation (200 men, 20 blackhawks, 15 vehicles)
45th Engineer Company (75 men, 25 vehicles)
131st Engineer Company (120 men, 25 vehicles)
40th Army Band (30 men 5 vehicles)
Vermont Military Academy HQ and staff (20men)
Company H, 1st OCS Battalion (5 men)
Company E, 1st Infantry Training Brigade (15men 3 vehicles)
Company B, 14th General Studies Battalion (20 men)
Vermont Army Mountain Warfare School (25 men 5 vehicles)
Ethan Allen Firing Range
Range Control Staff (20 men 10 vehicles)
Medical Support (5 men 1 vehicle)
UTES Maintainece shop support (10 men)
Camp Johnson Full time support and staff
CSMS State support maintance shop (10 men)
Administrative offices, warehouse and support (30 men)
Post security (10 men)
Vermont Air National Guard HQ (50 men 10 vehicles)
158th Fighter Wing (total 600 men)
134th Fighter Squadron
158th Operations, Support, and Medical Groups
Vermont Army National Guard timeline:
1945 – 172nd Infantry Regiment returns from the war with Japan as a component of the 43rd Infantry Division (The Division commander was General Leonard Wing senior, a former Officer in the 2/172 Infantry) Also, the Vermont State Police are formed by Major General Merrit Edison, medal of honor winner for his service during WW2 with the USMC in the pacific.
1960s – The 86th Infantry Brigade is converted into an Armored Brigade under the command of Brigadier General Leonard Wing Jr, an armor officer that served in World War 2. The 86th Armored Brigade is transferred from the 43rd Infantry Division to the 50th Armored Division. General Wing becomes the 50th Armored Division Commander, then later assistant Vermont Adjutant General. He retires in 1973.
1970s – The army restructures its armor brigades and one battalion 3/172 is closed. The Brigade receives M48s
1980s – General Donald Edwards, a Norwich University Graduate, Vietnam Veteran, and former active duty officer is elected state Adjutant General in 1981. He begins implementing a build up. The army expands under President Regan with political campaigning from General Edwards; 3/172 is opened as a “mountain” battalion and the Army Mountain Warfare School is opened; the biathlon team begins competing in the Olympics . General Edwards essential creates a “speciality mountain / sports / infantry” environment. The Mountain School is teaching summer and winter “mountain” classes, as well as specialty course such as “the assault climber” course. General Edwards oversees the transition from M48A5s to M60A3s for the 86th Armored Brigade. He retains some of the tanks for future memorials, as well as some of the other older support vehicles. General Edwards also secures funds for several large state run maintance facilities and permanent staff.
1990s – In 1993 General Edwards secured M1 tanks for the 86th IBCT; he retains several of the M60A3s as war memorials. 1995 General Edwards secured funds for the new Vermont Military Academy building as well as expands the staff for the 1st Infantry Training Brigade. The staff now teaches 11B MOSQ, 11B BNCOC and 11B ANCOC all in 2 week phases.
1997 – The 86th Armored Brigade is activated as part of the 50th Armored Division. All of its equipment and personal are deployed to Germany. To have enough personnel, all of the inactive national guard soldiers are also recalled and deployed. The Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing is activated and deployed to Europe. Company C, 3/126 Aviation is activated and deployed with its parent unit to Korea.
1998 – With the activation of 1st Army, all of its subordinate units are activated. The 3/172 Infantry Battalion is activated and is used for security duty for 1st US Army and disaster relief missions in the Army HQ immediate area. The 131st Engineer Company is activated and forms part of a Corp level engineer battalion in 1st Army. Due to political pressure from the Govenor of Vermont and General Edwards, the 40th Army band and the 45th Engineer Company are activated but remain under state control. The decision is partly political and partly practical as the 45th is perpetually understrength, the 40th band has no mission and the states need local forces to maintain order.
1999 – With Vermonts limited population, riots and looting is fairly limited compared to other states. General Edwards is heavy handed (he was known to lock down state controlled roads and had numerous political battles with Burlington leaders over the years). General Edwards deploys the 40th Band and 45th Engineer to the Highways and turns around refugees that cannot show they can support themselves.
With numerous bridges, rivers and mountains, at first its easy to control access, but as the issues in the cities become increasing worse, General Edwards needs more soldiers and units. With pressure on the Govenor, General Edwards begins a “state” draft. Able bodied men are sent to the Vermont Military Academy and trained with instructors from the 1st Infantry training brigade and the Vermont Army Mountain Warfare school on infantry tactics. The 40 instructors and staff are able to run a basic training course every eight weeks that turns out 200 students. Drawing on his Vietnam War experience, he has the staff select the top 10 recruits to attend the OCS battalion 12 week long course to become officers and the next best 30 recruits attend the General Studies battalion courses for 8 weeks to become NCOs. Also, the Norwich University Campus has several hundred M16s and M14s as well as a large number of cadets that were in officer training but not deployed. The state’s warehouses are full of older equiptment such as uniforms, helmets and web gear. The armories of the schools and state level units are all full of M16 rifles and the state has a small ammo dump at Camp Johnson.
General Edwards then uses his staff to shift through the state’s retired reserve list and finds all of the national guard veterans who are receiving entitlements and activates them. (I personally witnessed an master sergeant who was retired for 4 years activated for service in Afghanistan so I know it can be done). He also activates that state guard. These veterans, as well as the personal who were declined for deployment with the 86th Brigade become the senior leadership for 2 new Vermont National Guard battalions, as the state has roughly enough rifles and gear for 1,000 or so new soldiers.
Discipline in the battalions is fairly tight as the battalion staffs are full of retired colonels, the company commanders are fairly young retired majors from the college ROTC, and most of the platoon sergeants are military school trained 20 year old Lts from Norwich. Many of the state guard and retired soldiers are former tankers, having served in the 60s – 80s. These older soldiers are paired with some younger ones to form tank crews. The following vehicles are recovered from lawns where they were memorials or from the bone yard behind armories: M48A5s 4, M60A3s 8, M113s 4, M42s 2, 75mm pack howitzers 2. The M48s and M60s are not just paper tigers.
The state has TWO full maintance shops that can MAKE parts for tanks and have spares (especially for the M60s) in inventory. There is a hydroelectric dam just 1 mile from Camp Johnson and the state shop providing power for the machines to work. Also, Camp Johnson has a small ammo dump and the 86th Armored Brigade uses M1s with 105mm cannons. So there is a limited amount of ammunition remaining in stock that will work with the main guns on the M48s and M60s, as well as .50 for the M2 machine guns.
2000 – Vermont is essentially a dictatorship. The governor is nothing more than a figurehead as General Edwards controls the military. The state police and Vermont national guard are algamated into one force. The “1st Vermont Battalion” with 500 men is controlling the northern half of the state and the “2nd Vermont Battalion” with 500 men is controlling the southern half of the state. Each platoon has one or two state troopers with it as a law enforcement specialist who acts as an investigator for need be for crimes; serious offenses are sent to battalion HQ for “trial”.
Most of the countryside is occasionally patrolled, but the cities and towns have regular patrols of National Guard, typically with either a state trooper or local law enforcement officer. The Interstates and Highways are controlled by 40th band in the North, or by the 2nd Battalion in the south. The 45th Engineer Company has been re-enforced to a battalion by using the state highway department’s personal and equipment. Important bridges are maintained and the 45th is constructing permanent fortifications to keep refugees out of the state. The “3rd Vermont Armored Company” and “4th Vermont Armored Company” both formed around the remaining tanks and are used as a reserve at different locations around the state. They are based at armories that contain shops designed to work on tanks so maintance is easy to upkeep and the tanks are stored inside, out of the elements unless needed.
Rumors of the military state have made as far south as the 1st Army HQ, and when that headquarters disintegrated, the remaining 150 soldiers of the 3/172 Infantry (mountain) began the trek home to Vermont from New York by foot. The “state” farms outside the prisons are still active, as well as many dairy farms including ones at the university’s, and many Morgan horse farms have been used to raise horses for agriculture. As Vermont did not have a single military target worth hitting with a nuclear device, the only major threat to the populations were marauders and refugee influxes, both of which were prevented by General Edwards hard handed ways. Vermont even has a nuclear power plant (Vermont Yankee) and some remaining staff that is currently off line but will be restarted if enough industry in Brattlboro is repaired to justify it.
So that’s just a really rough draft with some ideas I just typed up as I went along. I guess I could war game out a few things differently, but it really all comes down to leadership. If you have a 38 year military veteran of Vietnam, like General Edwards, who isn’t afraid to piss people off and has the know – how , you could do a lot.
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