Vermont F-35s spent 9 months deployed across two hemispheres

Pilots and crews of the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing returned home Sunday from a deployment that began before last Christmas and sent the unit into combat in two hemispheres.

The extended stint away from home for the F-35 unit included a rare back-to-back redeployment from one combat theater to another, first in operations in the Caribbean and South America and then directly to the Middle East.

The final deployed members of the wing arrived home Sunday in Burlington. An earlier group returned in early August, according to photos released by the 158th. Guard officials said that local leaders had had little say on when the wing might return, and instead focused on the families of airmen deployed.

“For months, our Airmen remained focused on the mission while their families carried on at home,” said Col. Michael Blair, the 158th Fighter Wing commander. “Their professionalism and resilience throughout this deployment have been remarkable.”

The wing left Burlington in December for Puerto Rico, where its jets flew missions out of José Aponte de la Torre Airport, Ceiba, in support of U.S. Southern Command’s operations in the Caribbean. Local media reported that the unit flew missions into Venezuela.

The wing, which flies under the nickname of The Green Mountain Boys, shifted to Central Command over the summer, flying missions during the ongoing war with Iran.

The Vermont unit was the first Air National Guard unit in the nation to begin flying the F-35A. The extended deployment with back-to-back combat tours roughly matches the time away from home for sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, a tour that has drawn scrutiny for the toll taken on the crew.

However, the Vermont unit, according to local media, has been able to swap out personnel throughout the deployment. A Guard spokesperson told Vermont Public Radio in August that over 200 members were deployed.

As the Iran war has stretched into its seventh month, the military has extended several units’ deployments, such as the 158th Fighter Wing’s and the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln. Most recently, the Army confirmed that it was extending the deployment of more than 2,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division into 2027, after sending them to the region in March. Other moves have been rotating in new forces to relieve troops after longer-than-average deployments, such as the USS George Washington deploying to replace the Lincoln. Air & Space Forces Magazine reported that the Ohio Air National Guard’s 180th Fighter Wing is deploying F-16s to replace some fighter units leaving the CENTCOM area of responsibility.

A Guard spokesperson said Sunday that most members of the 158th live and work in Vermont and the surrounding region, but some commute to the unit from across the country — a fairly common arrangement for pilots in many Air National Guard flying units who fly for airlines in full- time civilian jobs. 

“This deployment asked a great deal of our Airmen and of those who stood behind them,” said Army Maj. Gen. Henry Harder Jr., adjutant general of Vermont. “We are incredibly proud of what they represent, but today, more than anything, we are grateful to welcome them home.”