Vermont’s Air National Guard will deploy, but officials are mum on the destination.
The 158th Fighter Wing received a federal mobilization order, according to Joseph Brooks, a Vermont National Guard spokesperson, but he declined to say when and where.
The deployment, which is reportedly expected this month, was first publicized by Seven Days.
Lt. Col. Meghan Smith, another guard spokesperson, said the Vermont Guard does not have the exact departure timeline. She referred all further questions to the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, which referred questions back to the Vermont National Guard.
Gov. Phil Scott has twice this year chosen not to deputize the Vermont National Guard for federal initiatives, first to help with clerical immigration enforcement work and later as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to crack down on crime in Washington, D.C.
But in this instance, Scott said at his weekly press conference Wednesday that the authorization did not require his approval.
“It’s going to be under federal control. So everything, from my understanding, is coming out of either the National Guard or the Pentagon at this point,” Scott said of the deployment. He did not provide additional details on the upcoming mobilization.
In the early days of the war in Ukraine, the Vermont Air National Guard deployed to Europe. At the time, officials said the mission was in support of NATO but not in direct response to the war.
Earlier this year, the Vermont Air National Guard deployed on a scheduled rotation to Japan.
The Trump administration has recently deployed National Guard troops to American cities like Washington, D.C., and Memphis. The new use of troops on U.S. soil has drawn criticism from local leaders and received mixed reactions from the courts as lawsuits proceed on the legality of Trump’s orders.
Reports from across the country detail the recent deployment of Air National Guard members to countries like Djibouti and Italy.
Vermont’s Air National Guard utilizes F-35A fighter jets, which the Guard describes as the “most advanced and capable weapon system in the U.S. Air Force.” The 158th Fighter Wing has about 1,000 members.
Shaun Robinson contributed reporting.
