A youngster peers at a pair of F-35 jets at an Open House held by the Vermont Air National Guard at the airbase in South Burlington on Sunday, September 11, 2022. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Updated at 5:32 p.m. The Vermont Air National Guard is positioned to assist with the war in the Mi ddle East, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a press briefing Monday.  Caine said that the Vermont Air National Guard was part of a forces buildup in the region over the past month. After the buildup of forces, the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday.  Caine did not provide specific details about what role the Vermont Air National Guard is playing in the war. Vermont National Guard officials confirmed Caine’s account, but declined to answer additional questions.   U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., said Tuesday in an emailed statement that she was aware members had been deployed to the region. “The Trump administration needs to answer for putting them in harm’s way without Congressional authorization and against the will of the American people,” she wrote.  At least six American service members had been killed in the war as of Monday, according to The New York Times. The Associated Press reported Monday that the joint US-Israeli operation has killed at least 555 people in Iran, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society.  Caine said he expects more American casualties.  “This is not a single overnight operation,” Caine said. “The military objectives that CENTCOM and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases, will be difficult and gritty work. “We expect to take additional losses, and as always, we will work to minimize U.S. losses. But as the secretary said, this is major combat operations.” Members of Vermont’s congressional delegation condemned the United States’ attacks on Iran over the weekend. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called the war “illegal” and “unconstitutional.” Along with Vermont’s other congressional delegates, he called for Congress to reconvene and vote on a war powers resolution that would direct Trump to withdraw from hostilities with Iran unless Congress authorizes those hostilities.  Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., also criticized the attacks as illegal and urged Congress to pass the resolution.  “It’s true that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leads a brutal and oppressive regime, and I support the Iranian people bravely protesting to bring change,” she said in a press release, “but this attack is not a plan for peace. It has put our troops in harm’s way, thrown the entire region into conflict, and violates our Constitution and Congressional authority.”  Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., condemned the war on the Senate floor Monday night, urging Congress to pass the war powers resolution. “Will this United States Senate allow a single man to plunge this nation into war, when it is our constitutional responsibility to make a decision as to whether to send our men and women into combat?” Welch asked his fellow senators.  The Senate is expected to vote on the resolution on Wednesday, according to a press release from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., one of the co-sponsors of the resolution. During Monday’s press briefing, Caine said members of the guard “were tasked to take their F-35As across the Atlantic instead of going home” after their deployment to the Caribbean as part of the U.S. operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.  Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont Air National Guard supporting war in Iran. ...read more read less