Troops taking part in the war with Iran are “writing history” and showcasing their “wartime readiness,” the acting commander of the Air National Guard told his forces.
A letter to National Guard troops, dated March 5, was sent out by the National Guard Bureau and signed by Maj. Gen. Duke Pirak, the acting director of the Air National Guard, and Chief Master Sgt. Joshua Moore, command chief for the Air National Guard.
“In the opening hours and days of OPERATION EPIC FURY, we have already demonstrated our formidable wartime readiness,” reads the National Guard Bureau letter. “Our people are both leading the fight and preparing reinforcements for the battles ahead. Our drills, our exercises, and our inspections have all been in preparation for this moment. We are writing history.”
Letters from senior leaders to forces under their command are common in the military, particularly at the outset of a major operation.
Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein first reported on the memo. On Monday, the National Guard confirmed its authenticity to Task & Purpose, but directed questions about the operation to the Office of the Secretary of Defense and Central Command.
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National Guard units from multiple states are mobilized and taking part in the operation.
According to the letter, thousands of National Guard members have “already mobilized and deployed in support of the Joint Force.”
Some were on deployments to the Middle East that started last year, while others, such as the F-35s flown by the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing, were moved over in the last month as part of the build-up of forces in the Middle East.
Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, identified the Vermont and Virginia Air National Guard, as well as the Wisconsin Army National Guard, last week. Members of the Kansas Air National Guard’s 190th Air Refueling Wing and New Hampshire’s 157th Air Refueling Wing deployed over the last month as well.
The message to Air National Guard troops followed a Feb. 28 letter from Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, who wrote that the operation would “change the course of human history.” That letter, given to forces the same day the U.S. launched the joint attack with Israel against Iran, said that the military was moving from “deterrence into active combat.”
The war, now in its second week, has seen U.S. forces hit more than 3,000 Iranian targets, and Iran and its partners have targeted American troops in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iraq. Seven Americans have been killed as a result of the war.
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