Many of the members of the Vermont Air National Guard who headed to Puerto Rico less than two months ago to support the U.S. attack on Venezuela have since been redeployed — possibly to the Middle East as part of President Donald Trump’s campaign to pressure Iran.
The 158th Air Wing was initially mobilized in mid-December to reposition its F-35 fighter jets from South Burlington to the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station on Puerto Rico. The move was part of the buildup of U.S. forces referred to as Operation Southern Spear, which involved attacks on alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean and the January 3 strike on Venezuela that included the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
With those operations winding down, many of the men and women in the Vermont Guard have since been reassigned to the Middle East, possibly to an air base in Jordan in preparation for action against Iran, according to media accounts, publicly available flight data and a family member of a Vermont guardsman.
According to a January 29 story in The War Zone, Vermont Guard F-35s departed Puerto Rico and landed in Portugal as part of a likely move to the Middle East. Publicly available data show numerous transport aircraft flights from both the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station and Vermont headed across the Atlantic over the last week and half, supporting that assessment.
Reports on web sites The War Zone and The Aviationist suggest that Vermont F-35s and their support aircraft are participating in what Trump has declared is a “massive armanda” heading toward Iran.
The War Zone reported January 29 that F-35s from the Vermont Guard were spotted landing at Lajes Air Base in the Azores, a refueling spot for military aircraft in the North Atlantic. The website The Aviationist made similar observations on January 30. The sites often referenced the work of a popular flight tracker who posts on X, formerly Twitter, as Armchair Admiral.
The prolific flight tracker uses publicly available information to document military flights. In late January and early February, the tracker noted a sharp uptick in heavy transport and refueling aircraft crossing the Atlantic to Europe and the Middle East.
In several cases, the flights were directly linked to the Vermont Guard.
On January, multiple flight tracking sites reported that refueling aircraft were “dragging,” or accompanying, six Vermont Guard F-35A fighters from Puerto Rico.
Multiple flights were also logged February 5 and 6 by the massive C-17 transport aircraft from Puerto Rico to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, one of the largest bases that allows U.S. operations in the region.
Flights include a C-17 heading from Vermont to Jordan on February 2, and 12 C-17 flights flights from Puerto Rico to Jordan or “related destinations” between February 2 and 6.
Lt. Col. Meghan Smith, a Guard spokesperson, said on Friday she had no information to share about any redeployment.
One family member of a Vermont Guard member deployed to Puerto Rico expressed frustration about how little information they were receiving. The person received word that their family member was leaving Puerto Rico, but wasn’t told for where. After reading media and social media reports of the F-35 redeployments to the Middle East, the person now believes Vermont Guard members are in Jordan.
“We know they moved, but we are not allowed to know where, and contact is way more difficult with our loved ones,” said the family member. “The secrecy concerning both deployments has been stunning.”
Even Vermont’s federal delegation was unaware of the redeployment.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), both of whom opposed the Venezuela military action, told reporters on Friday they hadn’t heard anything about the shift of Vermonters to the Middle East.
During a press conference that focused most on $100 million in federal funds headed for the state, they reiterated their support for the Guard and condemned Trump’s use of military force.
“What the president is doing is absolutely abusing his authority as an executive to use military action without consulting with Congress,” Welch said.
Sanders said all Americas know “that it is Congress that determines whether or not this country goes to war,” not the president.
“We are going to do our best with War Powers Resolution Act to try to control this president from getting us into unnecessary wars,” he said.
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