Vermont National Guard tells legislature recruiting shortfalls threaten force structure, urges review of House Bill 43

Major General Greg Knight, Vermont's adjutant general, told the Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development on Feb. 11, 2025, that recruiting shortfalls risk reducing the National Guard's force structure and asked the committee to help advance House Bill 43 and other recruiting initiatives.

Knight said the Guard currently faces roughly 700 vacancies and that modernization will reduce unit structures, and added, “If I don't fix recruiting, we don't fix recruiting, we are very likely going to lose force structure.” He told the committee he has prepared an information paper and asked members to seek review of the pension-tax proposal in Senate Finance and House Ways and Means.

The request is part of a broader pitch linking Guard service to Vermont's workforce needs. Knight described the Guard's role in overseas deployments and domestic response, saying Vermont's Air National Guard—about 275 airmen—recently deployed to the Indo-Pacific and is practicing “agile combat employment,” and that Army units will train in North Macedonia…