Vermont Ballot Asks To Bring VT National Guard Troops Back from Iraq

The non-binding referendum landed on Town Meeting agendas through petition drives in each town, including 13 in Windham County. The question is meant to stir up discussion about the local effects of deployment, and encourage state and federal officials to study the issue.
"It's about getting people comfortable voicing their opposition to the war, and creating a situation where the governor and the whole state is forced to pay attention," says Ellen Kaye, who helped get the question on the Brattleboro ballot.
If voters show a strong support for the resolution, organizers plan to set up commissions to investigate the impact deployment has on local police and fire departments and human service agencies -- for starters.
Vermont has just under 50 percent of its Army National Guard troops deployed now, according to Lt. Veronica Saffo, spokeswoman for the state Guard. That's 1,350 Guard members on active duty, ranging from ages 18 to 57, she said. Seventy of them are women. They are in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and in Camp Shelby, Miss., training for Middle East missions.