MONTPELIER — Henry “Hank” Harder was elected to serve as the next leader of the Vermont National Guard on Thursday by the state House and Senate.
Harder is a retired Air National Guard general who now, in his new role of adjutant general, will oversee both the state’s Air Guard and its Army National Guard. The Shelburne resident has also served since 2024 as Deputy Adjutant General under the man he’s replacing, Maj. Gen. Gregory Knight.
Knight’s decision to retire after seven years on the job created an open race for his successor. Harder overwhelmingly beat out one other candidate in Thursday’s election — Army National Guard Col. Roger “Brent” Zeigler — by 147 votes to 23.
Harder will serve a two-year term starting in March.
The adjutant general is responsible for managing the Vermont force’s 2,700 members and keeping state military records. Vermont is the only state in the country where the head of its National Guard is elected by lawmakers rather than appointed by the state’s governor.
The election comes as Vermont’s Air Guard has been under close scrutiny in recent months for its deployment under federal orders to the Caribbean and, more recently, to the Middle East. The guard’s F-35 aircrafts were involved in the operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., has said previously.
This story will be updated.
