This story by Chris Mays was first published in the Brattleboro Reformer on Aug. 30, 2026.
A letter from 27 Vermont veterans and Guard family members urges Gov. Phil Scott and legislators to support the Defend the Guard Act and expresses “deep concern about the deployment of Vermont National Guard members into foreign combat without Congress first debating and authorizing those military actions.”
“The Constitution is clear that Congress — not the President acting alone — possesses the authority to decide whether the nation enters war,” the letter states. “When Congress debates and votes on military action, it does so as the representative body of the American people after public deliberation and consideration of the risks, costs and objectives involved. Those constitutional safeguards exist for a reason. They help ensure that the decision to place Americans in harm’s way receives the scrutiny such a grave decision deserves.”
The Vermont Defend the Guard Act, the letter states, “prohibits deployment of the Vermont National Guard to overseas combat absent congressional authorization for the conflict. It does not prevent the Vermont National Guard from responding to floods, natural disasters, emergencies, civil support missions under Title 32 or training exercises under Title 10, among other lawful duties. Nor does it interfere with the Guard’s ability to defend our nation when Congress has properly authorized war.”
The legislation was introduced in a majority of states and passed legislative chambers in Arizona, Idaho, New Hampshire and Virginia, according to the letter.
“The effort has attracted support from veterans, military families, civil liberties advocates, constitutional conservatives, libertarians and progressives who share a belief that Congress should fulfill its constitutional responsibility before Americans are sent into combat,” the letter states.
The letter calls for a public legislative hearing. With turnover in the Legislature and changes in committees, Rep. Ian Goodnow, D-Windham-9, said at a Select Board meeting earlier this month, “I would anticipate this legislation being introduced again, even by maybe more than one rep or senator, and it will get its day in court.”
A bill introduced last year would require the governor to review orders placing Vermont National Guard units into federal active duty for military conflicts for compliance with the U.S. Constitution, according to the letter.
“The letter comes as approximately 200 members of the Vermont Air National Guard remain deployed to the U.S. Central Command region after being sent on consecutive missions, first to the Caribbean in connection with the U.S. military operation in Venezuela and then to the Middle East amid the war with Iran,” a news release states.
Referencing the deployments of the Vermont Guard for combat in Venezuela and Iran, the letter states, “Regardless of our views on those conflicts themselves, many Vermonters were troubled that Congress did not publicly debate or vote on these military operations before Guard members were placed in harm’s way.”
“As a combat-wounded veteran of the Vietnam War, I’d like to paraphrase my fellow Vietnam veteran, John Kerry: How do you ask a man or a woman to be the first, or the last to die for a mistake?” Sgt. E-5 Charles F. Monette, 1st Cavalry Division (retired), of Brattleboro, who signed the letter, said in the news release. “Let’s allow the men and women of Congress to deliberate, to debate, and to decide when and why and how to wage war. I would think the rationale for sending our men and women to war would be lessened. Suffering on all sides would be diminished.”
Isaac Evans-Frantz, a member of the Brattleboro Select Board and the director of Action Corps, said the town recently received news that Brattleboro Fire Chief Jay Symonds, a member of the Army National Guard in New York, will be on leave for a year of military service “amid the undeclared war against Iran.”
“Deployments like this have a real impact on Vermont’s small communities,” Evans-Frantz told the Reformer. “I am grateful for Chief Symonds’ service and pray for his safe return to his family and our town.”
Guard members, their families and Vermont communities are in “a difficult position,” Evans-Frantz said.
“We need to do everything we can to protect Guard members and reclaim the Guard for the American people,” he said. “Ensuring adherence to the U.S. Constitution can help ensure that any decision for military deployment occurs only after a vote by Congress. It is the least we can do to respect our service members — our fire chiefs, police officers and all the members of the Guard — who put their lives on the line every day for our local communities and our country.”
Deployment “takes a toll on a family,” retired Lt. Col. Jane Sbardella of Dummerston, who signed the letter, said in the news release.
“We don’t want our sacrifice wasted unless total mobilization is warranted,” Sbardella said. “It is critical now to protect our National Guard in Vermont.”
