Vermont Air National Guard troops learned over the weekend that they will be ordered on a federal mission sometime this month, but no additional details are being released.
Guard members were informed of this while they were on base in South Burlington for training over the weekend, according to Lt. Col. Meghan Smith, a spokesperson.
“We were federally mobilized, but we can’t talk about the location or the duration,” Smith said. The Guard is committed to being transparent, Smith said, but in this case, they are “not authorized to share this information yet.”
The Vermont Air National Guard has about 1,000 full-time and part-time members, most of whom are assigned to fly, maintain and support 20 F-35s. Smith would not say how many people are expected to be mobilized.
“We’re not allowed to comment on numbers or equipment or timeline or location,” she said.
The Air Guard’s last overseas deployment was earlier this year when 200 members and several F-35s headed to Kadena Air Base in Japan as part of a planned rotation. They returned in April.
The news comes as President Donald Trump continues to rattle his saber at Venezuela’s leader, President Nicolas Maduro. Trump has dispatched warships to the region, and the U.S. has been striking boats that the administration claims are linked to drug trafficking. The Miami Herald reported on Tuesday that two U.S. F-18 fighters circled over the Gulf of Venezuela near Maracaibo for about 40 minutes, escalating tensions between the two countries.
The president also has ordered troops to American cities including Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Chicago. Many have characterized that as an abuse of power.
Vermont Army National Guard spokesperson Joe Brooks declined to confirm the date of the mobilization but said it will be soon.
“They were notified that they are likely going to deploy within a short turnaround time, so sometime here in December,” Brooks said. He acknowledged that the short notice is unusual for an Air Guard deployment.
Vermont Air Guard Adjutant General Greg Knight was in North Macedonia and unavailable to discuss the deployment, Brooks said.
Gov. Phil Scott’s spokesperson, Amanda Wheeler, referred questions to the Pentagon.
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