Members of the Vermont Air National Guard were part of the U.S. government’s attacks on Iran this weekend, federal officials confirmed today.
At a press conference at the Pentagon this morning, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine commended the Vermont Air National Guard for deploying in back-to-back missions to Venezuela — where it participated in the military operation that ended with the capture of the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro — and the Middle East.
“In the case of the Vermont Air National Guard and the 158th Fighter Wing, they were mobilized for Operation Absolute Resolve and then were tasked to take their F-35As across the Atlantic, instead of going home, to be prepared to support this operation,” Caine said.
It’s not clear what the Guard’s role in the war on Iran has been. A spokesperson for the Guard confirmed that the Guard was deployed to Iran under Title 10 — the federal code that allows the president to take control of state guards. He directed other questions about the mission — dubbed “Operation Epic Fury" — to U.S. Central Command.
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Spokespeople for United States Central Command and the Vermont congressional delegation did not respond immediately to requests for more information, though all three members of the delegation released statements this weekend condemning the federal government for starting a war without consulting Congress.
It’s unclear how long the Vermont Guard’s deployment to the Middle East will last. President Donald Trump said today the mission could continue for four to five weeks, and that he plans to send more troops to the region. Airstrikes by the U.S. and Israel have targeted missile sites, other military assets and senior Iranian officials, including the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed. The Iranian Red Crescent Society says strikes have killed more than 500 people, including children at a girl’s school in southern Iran on Saturday.
