Residents of Burlington, Vt., on March 7 will vote on whether the Burlington City Council should use “lawful means to keep the Vermont Air National Guard at home.” The point of ballot question No. 6 is to “to prevent” the ANG’s 158th Fighter Wing, housed at the Burlington Airport, from being sent overseas “to drop bombs in wars of aggression against other nations.” Local and federal elected officials have gone on record against the question. A statement from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D) and Sen. Jim Jeffords (I) notes their opposition to the war in Iraq, but says they support the Vermont ANG. Passage of the ballot question, the statement reads, would be “harmful to both the airport and the Vermont Guard.”
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.