The Legislature Thursday elected the next leader of a Vermont National Guard that’s recently become a key tool in President Donald Trump’s foreign military agenda.
In a contested race between two high-ranking Guard members, lawmakers overwhelmingly chose U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Hank Harder to serve as adjutant general.
Vermont is the only state in which the Legislature elects the head of the Guard. Harder, whose two-year term begins on March 1, defeated U.S. Army Col. Brent Zeigler by a vote of 147-23.
Harder inherits leadership of a 3,000-member Army National Guard and 1,000-member Air National Guard, the latter of which recently participated in a federal mission that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Outgoing Adjutant General Gregory Knight confirmed Thursday that members of the 158th Fighter Wing have since been redeployed on another federal mission. The War Zone, a military news website, reported late last month that the unit, and its fleet of F-35 stealth fighters, are part a buildup of U.S. military forces in the Middle East. CNN reported Wednesday that the U.S. will be prepared to launch strikes on Iran by the weekend.
Knight said the 158th Fighter Wing was deployed under Title 10, a federal code that allows the president to take command of state guard units. He said that means he and Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who generally serves as commander of the National Guard, are no longer part of the chain of command.
“I’ve gotten no further details where they’re located, the duration of the mission, or when we can expect them to come off of those Title 10 orders so they can come home back to Vermont,” Knight said.
Scott said last week that he too is in the dark.
“It appears that they may be going to the Middle East, but I don’t know that for sure. But it sure looks that way,” Scott said during his weekly media briefing.
Asked whether he supports potential military strikes on Iran, Scott said, “That is … the prerogative of the president.”
“I would hate to see us involved in another war of any sort, so I would hope that this is just maybe saber rattling … to force a negotiation,” he said.
'In-demand force'
Knight told lawmakers last month that the Air Guard had only 11 days to prepare for its “short-notice” deployment in support of Operation Southern Spear, which culminated in Maduro’s physical removal from office.
“I would argue there is no other organization across the enterprise that could do that,” he said. “The Department of War … could have called a lot of other units. They asked for us by name.”
Knight said Thursday that he had no knowledge of what specific role the Air Guard played in the mission, though he said the primary role of F-35s is the suppression of enemy air defenses.
More: The VT Air National Guard's role in Trump's pressure campaign on Venezuela
“We’re an in-demand force,” Knight said.
The use of Vermont National Guard forces to advance Trump’s expanding foreign military agenda has drawn condemnation from state and federal lawmakers. All three members of Vermont’s congressional delegation called the federal actions in Venezuela “illegal,” suggesting Trump violated the U.S. Constitution by failing to secure authorization from Congress before committing an act of war against a foreign country.
Harder and Zeigler spent the past eight weeks campaigning vigorously in Montpelier, where they faced repeated questions about how they’d respond to illegal orders from the Pentagon.
In testimony before House and Senate committees, Harder vowed to “follow the letter of the law.”
“If you feel unclear or are questioning your orders, you need to go to your superior and say, ‘Hey, this doesn’t sound quite right,’” he said. “If it was still clear to me that I had a question whether it was a lawful or a legal order, I wouldn’t do it. … I would resign before I would ask my soldiers and airmen to do things like that, or go down that path.”
According to Knight, however, once the Guard is federalized under Title 10, the adjutant general wouldn’t have information about its orders, or the authority to stop them from deploying.
More: From Vermont to Venezuela: Who controls the deployment of the National Guard?
Vermont Public asked the governor’s office on Thursday whether Scott vets the legality of deployment orders issued to the Vermont National Guard.
“Once they are activated for international purposes under Title 10, the governor doesn’t have insight into what the orders are, so there’s no information to analyze to determine legality or lawfulness,” said Scott’s spokesperson, Amanda Wheeler.
Scott last year denied two requests from the Pentagon to voluntarily mobilize the Vermont National Guard in support of domestic immigration and law enforcement missions.
The continuity candidate
Harder, a graduate of the University of Vermont, has served in the Air Force for more than 30 years. According to Burlington Rep. Mary-Katherine Stone, “His resume reads like a master class in military versatility.”
Harder previously served as a command pilot who logged more than 300 combat hours during four tours in Iraq. He was vice-commander of the 158th Fighter Wing and has served as Knight’s top deputy for the past two years.
Chittenden County Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale said Harder will provide a bulwark “at a time when trust in our institutions is fragile.”
“Across the nation, Americans are asking who will safeguard our democratic values, who will keep our community safe,” she said. “For Vermont, that answer is clear — Brig. Gen. Hank Harder.”
Harder said that he plans to continue to follow strategic priorities established by Knight during his seven years in office, many of which center on workforce development and operational readiness for in-state, national and international missions.
“I’ll be ready day one,” he said.
Harder said there are currently about 700 vacant positions in the Army National Guard, and 100 vacancies in the Air National Guard.
“Vacancies can’t respond to a flood,” he said. “Vacancies can’t respond to a pandemic.”
