An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | April 10, 2013

After 30 years, a Vermont mountain infantry Soldier is reluctant to leave

By Army Sgt. Ashley Hayes 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team

JERICHO, Vt. - His smile widens as he recollects his most fond memory; one that journeys all the way to the top of the Italian Alps. The official destination of his first flight and first time out of the country. The opportunity to travel to Italy and work with the Alpini troops was a fantastic experience and set the tone for 28 more years of dedicated service to his country.

This is how Staff Sgt. David T. Rondeau, a Mountain Infantry Soldier with Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain), described his first over-seas mission. Rondeau, a logger, has spent all of his years of service with one unit.

Throughout the last 30 years, Rondeau has demonstrated loyalty, developed a rich history, and considers his unit part of his family.

Right from the beginning, Rondeau knew Alpha Company was a perfect match for him because it was the only mountain infantry unit in the state. “It’s a special company, it’s an elite unit,” said Rondeau. “It’s a little hard for me to leave. I don’t want to leave. It’s not just a Guard unit, it’s been my home for 30 years.”

Rondeau described the unit as having strong camaraderie and as the best unit in the world.

Many of his military colleagues recognize his loyalty. One of those Soldiers is Command Sgt. Maj. Forrest Glodgett, the state of Vermont command sergeant major. Glodgett met Rondeau in 1986 when he was a squad leader in Alpha Company.

“He is the epitome of a mountain infantry Soldier,” said Glodgett. “You couldn’t ask for a better soldier, because he’s there when you want him to be and when he needs to be. You wish that all your Soldiers had loyalty like that.”

Rondeau’s lengthy service has given him the opportunity to create part of the Vermont National Guard’s history. Rondeau was among the first class to go through the Army Mountain Warfare School.

“They were still writing the book at that time,” Rondeau said.

For two years after attending the summer and winter phases, Rondeau worked at the school as an assistant instructor.

Not only was Rondeau part of the foundation of the Mountain School, but he was also the first soldier fresh out of basic training to join Alpha company, and was an integral part of the unit’s growth. Rondeau remembered helping train some of the men who had joined the unit because they were from different backgrounds.

“They weren’t infantry, they didn’t know how to deal with taking apart an M16,” said Rondeau. “I was actually training them as a private.”

The more that is known about Rondeau’s service with the Vermont National Guard, the more history is unraveled.

“They are losing such a piece of history, because he just saw it from the beginning,” said Glodgett.

Since Rondeau has spent many years with one unit, he considers it to be part of his family.

“They made me who I am, that’s why I stayed so long,” said Rondeau. “I’d do it all again. I can’t think of anything else I would have done different.”

Despite the tough aspects of infantry life, Rondeau had nothing but good things to say about his experiences.

“A lot of people will complain of bad stuff,” said Rondeau. “There are so many good times and adventure that it overshadows the bad times. The only bad thing now is that I have to leave.”

Rondeau’s advice to younger soldiers who may soon be taking over his position was a statement that reflected his experiences as a Soldier.

“I would tell them to experience everything they could as far as what the unit has to offer as far as schools, like the mountain school itself, the training,” said Rondeau. “Don’t just come to drill and sit back; get involved. Push for more training, push to go places, that’s the biggest thing. I thank the Guard for everything, especially this unit, for everything I’ve gone through in the past 30 years.”

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...