WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), alongside Vermont Congressional Delegation colleagues U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Representative Becca Balint (VT-AL), raised the alarm that recordkeeping issues at the Department of Defense (DOD) have created unnecessary financial hardship and administrative burdens for the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158^th Fighter Wing while deployed under federal active-duty mobilization, first in the Caribbean and then immediately to the Middle East. The Delegation also requested a briefing on the actions DOD is taking to promptly address these issues, including making any regulatory or internal process changes needed to avoid this issue for future National Guard deployments. 

In their letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Delegation called on the Department to urgently correct any errors so that military personnel records accurately reflect servicemembers’ duty status, and to ensure that associated benefits are delivered in a timely manner so Guardsmen and their families can remain focused on their missions. The Vermont Air National Guard’s 158^th Fighter Wing was deployed under extremely difficult circumstances, and their families have experienced significant financial strain and emotional hardship after being left in the dark regarding their return to the United States. 

The Delegation highlighted the Vermont Fighter Wing’s critical skills that were requested by name during an unprecedented deployment: “The Vermont Air National Guard’s 158^th Fighter Wing was the first National Guard unit to transition directly across multiple named operations without a change in duty status, from Operation Southern Spear to Operations Absolute Resolve, Spartan Shield, and Epic Fury…Our Guardsmen have demonstrated remarkable professionalism under demanding and rapidly evolving circumstances. It is imperative that military personnel records accurately reflect duty status, and that associated benefits are delivered in a timely manner so that these Guardsmen and their families can remain focused on their mission and not return home to a bureaucratic headache.” 

The Delegation outlined how the National Guard’s unique deployment across multiple named operations without a change in duty status exposed significant gaps in the DOD’s deployment attribution and personnel, accounting, and orders-management systems: “The rapid transition between operations supported with different funding authorities led to Guardsmen serving under one mission while physically executing another. These discrepancies have resulted in inconsistent mission attribution, inaccurate deployment histories, pay and entitlement calculation errors, combat zone tax exemption eligibility issues, disparities in Basic Allowance for Housing adjustments, and other administrative record problems. If not corrected promptly, these military record discrepancies could affect eligibility for VA benefits, including Post 9/11 Bill and other service-connected benefits. Additional impacts may not be fully understood until members return to Vermont.”  

“As Congress continues to debate the FY27 NDAA, we respectfully request your urgent assistance to ensure that the 158th Fighter Wing’s deployment documentation is corrected without delay, including proper operational duty location records, activation and deployment dates, and associated pay and tax treatment,” the Delegation continued. “We also request a briefing on the actions the Department is taking to promptly address these issues, including making any regulatory or internal process changes needed to avoid this issue for future National Guard deployments. We request a response no later than Friday, July 24.” 

Read and download the Delegation’s full letter to Secretary Hegseth. 

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