Members of the Vermont Air National Guard are set to deploy to Europe in early May, a Guard spokesperson confirmed Friday.
Maj. J. Scott Detweiler said the Guard members will serve under the U.S. European Command and help “enhance NATO’s collective defense” as well as support the alliance’s “air policing mission” in Europe.
The U.S. European Command is based in Germany and is one of the military’s 11 unified combatant commands throughout the world and in space.
NATO says air policing is a “peacetime mission” whereby fighter aircraft and crews are on call to react to potential violations of the treaty organization’s airspace.
Detweiler said plans for the May deployment aren’t directly related to the war in Ukraine. Rather, he said the deployment is part of a series of standard rotations in Europe continuing U.S. commitment to training and operating alongside its allies there.
“It’s more about reassurance to our European allies than it is about Russia and Ukraine specifically,” Detweiler said.
The Vermont Air National Guard sent more than 70 members of its 158th Fighter Wing overseas starting in Fall 2020 to commands in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and four years earlier, deployed 300 members to Iraq and Syria.
In response to questions, Detweiler said many details about the deployment this spring remain in the works, including how many Guard members will be sent to Europe and for how long.
He said the Guard plans to publish more information ahead of the deployment.