Vermont Air National Guard -- SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - Eight Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) F-35 jets will arrive at the 158th Fighter Wing on Monday, October 25 and depart on Wednesday, October 27.
“We’re excited to host our NATO allies from the RNLAF in Vermont,” said Col Nathan Graber, 158th Operations Group Commander. “We won’t be training with them locally, but always welcome the opportunity to support our international partners.”
Vermont is an appropriate layover location for the RNLAF as they continue west.
“We’re deploying to Edwards AFB with our Dutch F-35s in order to reach the Initial Operational Capable (IOC) status. It’s our F-35 IOC graduation event. Because of the huge distance between the Netherlands and the United States of America, we needed an intermediate stop for crew rest. We consider ourselves lucky that our NATO allies in Vermont are able to host us and support this important event,” said Lt Col Guido Schols, RNLAF 322 Squadron Commander.
The RNLAF will have a layover in Vermont again as they transition back across the U.S. to the Netherlands next month. They will not train with the 158th Fighter Wing during their transition home.
For additional information about the VTANG F-35, please visit www.vtguard.com/F-35.