Members of the Vermont National Guard returned home from a deployment to the Middle East Sunday. As WAMC's Pat Bradley reports, the state's U.S. Senators say the guard should not have been sent to the war zone in the first place.
The Vermont Air National Guard was deployed to Puerto Rico in December to support federal actions in Venezuela. It was then immediately sent to the Middle East to participate in the war in Iran. After an eight-month deployment, members of the force returned home over the Labor Day weekend.
Democratic Senator Peter Welch says he learned of their return from a newspaper report.
“We don’t get heads up about that generally. But I’m really relieved that they’re home. This has been a very long deployment. It’s also in very harsh conditions. Our soldiers out there did not have the re-supply that is normally available and should be available. And it was a long deployment and it was really, really tough on the families.”
Vermont’s Congressional delegation has opposed the war in Iran. Welch is pragmatic, noting the return of the airmen doesn’t necessarily mean the federal government is winding down hostilities.
“We’ve got to end this war. It makes no sense. I’m really relieved that our guard are coming home but it doesn’t indicate the president is changing his policy. You know, we need our Republican colleagues to stand up to the president. We voted against this war on the Democratic side. And we have to have a Senate, Republicans and Democrats, that are willing to do their job and not defer to the President.”
Independent U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders praised the guard members while also criticizing the war.
“These guys were taken from their homes very abruptly, in a sense, and have served overseas with courage. As I think you know, I believe this war is unconstitutional. It’s illegal. Thousands of people have already died. It’s had a terrible impact on our economy, on the world’s economy. So I hope we can end this war as quickly as possible.”
This was the longest-ever deployment for the Vermont National Guard.
