House reads resolution honoring Major General Gregory Knight

The Vermont House of Representatives paused its morning session to read House Concurrent Resolution 196, honoring U.S. Army Major General Gregory Knight for 43 years of military and public service. The resolution recited Knight’s service record and directed the secretary of state to send a copy to Knight and the Vermont National Guard.

The resolution, read aloud to the chamber, summarized Knight’s career: a six-year enlistment beginning in 1983 with the U.S. Coast Guard; four years as a Burlington police officer; seven years as chief lift liquor investigator at the former Department of Liquor Control; seven years enlisted with the Vermont Air National Guard as a security forces specialist; commissioning after officer candidate school in 1997; several years as a Vermont Army National Guard officer and the start of full-time Active Guard Reserve duty in 2000; a one-year deployment to Ramadi, Iraq, beginning in June 2005 as a battle captain for Task Force SABRE; advanced education including a master’s degree from the U.S. Naval War College; and military honors including a Bronze Star. The reading noted the General Assembly elected him Vermont Adjutant and Inspector General in 2019 and highlighted his seven-year tenure, including the 2021 addition of Austria to the State Partnership Program.

Members offered remarks following the reading. The Member from Vergennes said, "I first met major general Greg Knight in January 2019," and described him as "committed to duty," "detail oriented," and "a true leader," adding that Knight had been "an unexpected mentor and a lifelong friend." The Member from Dover praised Knight for building "a culture of accountability" and said soldiers and airmen have benefited from the standards set during his tenure. The Member from Berkshire thanked Knight on behalf of colleagues and asked that he and his guests be welcomed to the State House.

Major General Knight did not speak during the reading recorded in the transcript. The Member from Burlington announced a reception "after the fall of the gavel in the Cedar Creek Room to honor you." The presiding officer recessed the House until the fall of the gavel at 3:30 p.m. and reminded members to return at 10:15 a.m. to meet the Senate for a joint assembly at 10:30 a.m.

The resolution’s text and the members’ remarks in the transcript provide the basis for the biography and acknowledgments recorded here; the transcript does not record a formal roll-call vote on the resolution in this session’s excerpt.