SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Vermont Air National Guard is canceling a series of July Fourth flyovers in Vermont and Maine because the pilots and support personnel are preparing for another overseas deployment.

In a letter to the seven Vermont communities and one in Maine that had been expecting flyovers, Air Guard Col. Phil Murdock said the real-world mission had to take precedence.

“Our time, energy and resources must be dedicated to preparing for deployment,” said Murdock, commander of the 158th Fighter Wing.

Air National Guard units can expect deployments every 18 months or so. The Vermont Guard’s last deployment was in March 2006.

“We’re rapidly approaching our time,” said Air Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Lloyd Goodrow. “Nothing concrete yet, but our time in the box is coming around soon.”

In the Vermont Air Guard’s first deployment since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in June 2004, 350 personnel were based in Qatar while the pilots flew missions over Iraq.

In the more recent mission 400 personnel served in Iraq. There’s no word on where the Vermonters will be sent for the next deployment. The communities that had been expecting flyovers are Alburgh, Danville, Hartland, Jeffersonville, Morrisville, Peacham and St. Albans, as well as Winslow, Maine, Goodrow said.