Our mission is to stop the harm that the basing of F-35 fighter jets at Truax Field, Madison will inflict. In addition, we work to stop the negligent pollution of our waters and force the clean-up of existing contamination of the water supply emanating from the base.  

Follow us on Facebook•  Sign up for announcements  •  Supporting Organizations

Upcoming Events

  • Day of Action to Defuse Nuclear War Oct 14 – Madison
    Friday, Oct 14! Halt plans to bring nuclear-capable F-35 war planes to Madison ~ act for our climate ~ tell Congress to prevent nuclear war. Defuse Nuclear War is a national campaign to prevent nuclear war in this perilous time.   In Madison, we’re planning a 6-mile walk to speak out against…
  • Peace Horizons – A gathering to reimagine peace October 23
    Sunday October 23, 2022 Primrose Retreat Center 1261 County Rd. U, Verona, WI 53593 Time:  3:30 pm – 7:30 pm Facebook event link Gather and share food, music, our work and ideas connected with reimagining peace and justice. Build new connections, strengthen the belief that peace is possible, and share how…

With a focus on the current terrible dangers of nuclear war and the imperative of taking action to reduce them, the Defuse Nuclear War live stream marks the 40th anniversary of when a million people gathered in Central Park for nuclear disarmament on June 12, 1982. This online event serves as a catalyst for grassroots organizing.

Why we’re opposed

Download our brochure here

The F-35s are expected to be four times louder than the current F-16s. There would be an initial 47% increase in military operations and 27% long-term. The level of noise can have a detrimental effect on a variety of people including those with PTSD, autism, mental illness and other neurological and sensory vulnerabilities. Children will especially be affected.

The number of households within the 65 dB contour zone would increase by 1,019 and the number of people exposed would increase by 2,215. One hundred and thirty-two households and 292 people would be located in the 75dB contour zone where housing is “incompatible.”

Some noise abatement funds may be available through the FAA after a lengthy review process which would not begin until about two years after “beddown” begins and flights are stabilized. The initial increase in flights is due to having both F-16s and F-35s at the base.

There will be a significant disproportionate impact to low-income and minority populations as well as children, according to the Environmental Impact Statement produced by the Air Force.

Medical studies have shown that noise has a far reaching impact that can lead to stress, sleep disturbance, high blood pressure, heart disease and strokes. Children will be particularly impacted by increased noise levels, producing cognitive impairment, negative effects on reading and memory, and post-traumatic stress. Children in the Truax area are already struggling prior to starting school, according to a 2018 Madison neighborhood study, with less than half considered “kindergarten ready.” In a city struggling to overcome persistent racial disparities, flying an outrageously noisy fighter jet over elementary schools is likely to intensify the equity injustice.

The U.S. Department of Defense is the world’s largest institutional user of petroleum, and therefore the single largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world, with the largest portion of Pentagon fuel consumption being for military jets. (Brown University study) And in 1997 the US negotiating team won a blanket military exemption under the Kyoto climate accord; thus military emissions do not need to be reported to the United Nations. Learn more

Negative impacts of noise on children Include cognitive impairment, reading, memory and post-traumatic stress. Each jet will emit seven tons of CO2 for every hour in flight. The F-35s will also emit other harmful chemicals and fine and large particulates, making breathing difficult for everyone, but particularly children. Learn more

Because of the nature of the plane’s composition and its stealth coating, a crash of the F-35 in or near Madison would emit toxic fumes for miles, and putting out an F-35 fire would require many times more PFAS-containing fire-fighting foam.

Pilots at Truax will be training to fly the F-35A fighter jet, a plane designated as a key part of the US strategic nuclear force in the Pentagon’s 2018 Nuclear Posture Review.

All F-35s will eventually be capable of carrying two B61-12 variable capacity nuclear warheads, up to four times more powerful than the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Truax would not initially have nuclear weapons onsite but, if the planes were given a nuclear mission, the military is not required to disclose this to the public.

The F-35 is the most expensive weapons system in history and will cost US taxpayers $1.7 trillion over the life of the project. The cost of each F-35A to taxpayers is $110.3 million, according to the Center for Defense Information, and and the cost to taxpayers of the Truax squadron will be $2,206,000,000. Each hour of flight is about $40,000 per plane.

A portion of the cost for Truax to accommodate the F-35s will be borne by state and local taxpayers. This includes the clean-up of existing contaminants at the base and noise mitigation and housing for residents who need to be relocated. Dane County is responsible for all noise abatement, not the military. Costs could reach tens of millions to relocate people and to soundproof homes in the impacted areas. There will be no funding for abatement of the homes of the 60,000 people immediately outside of the 75 dB zone. And there is no way to mitigate noise outdoors.

Many military experts contend that fighter jets would be useless in a nuclear war and other jets are better suited for conventional warfare.

Our current security threats come from pandemics, cyber attacks and terrorism, none of which the F-35 can counter. The Air Force states the F-35 project will bring “no significant impacts to socioeconomics” and only provide “up to” 64 jobs for Lockheed Martin and regular Air Force personnel. The F-35 is a “job killer” when compared to jobs that can be created in education, clean energy, health care and infrastructure for the same investment. Trading in fighter jets for a new Air National Guard mission, such as medical and disaster relief, will provide more jobs and align more closely with Madison’s progressive values.

War spending created fewer jobs than similar spending investment in clean energy, public education, and health care. Learn more

Legal Actions

Air Force & Truax Information

Air Force Record of Decision
Final Environmental Impact Statement
Truax Construction Timeline

Take the F-16 Noise Survey (See results) …

Decorate your home for the winter with these beautiful 2-sided yard signs, now back in stock!

Please continue to contact public officials, write letters to the editor, call in to radio shows and share your views with others!

TALKING POINTS  •  CONTACT INFORMATION • WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR

  • Peace Horizons – A gathering to reimagine peace October 23
    Sunday October 23, 2022 Primrose Retreat Center 1261 County Rd. U, Verona, WI 53593 Time:  3:30 pm – 7:30 pm Facebook event link Gather and share food, music, our work and ideas connected with reimagining peace and justice. Build new connections, strengthen the belief that peace is possible, and share how we get there. Let’s…
  • Day of Action to Defuse Nuclear War Oct 14 – Madison
    Friday, Oct 14! Halt plans to bring nuclear-capable F-35 war planes to Madison ~ act for our climate ~ tell Congress to prevent nuclear war. Defuse Nuclear War is a national campaign to prevent nuclear war in this perilous time.   In Madison, we’re planning a 6-mile walk to speak out against nukes and war, meeting…
  • War Abolition Walk – Friday 9/30, 5:30 pm in Madison
    In Russia this week, thousands of brave conscientious objectors are standing up against war.  Can we join them to speak out against war and the grave nuclear threat? This Friday, Sept 30 at 5:30 pm – War Abolition Walk, our usual route. – Start at Yahara Place Park (where the Yahara flows into Lake Monona,…
  • Turn airport into housing for people — Steven Klafka
    Madison.com | September 15, 2022 | Letter to the Editor The State Journal’s Aug. 21 editorial, “Madison needs more housing, not a stale debate over F-35s,” supported more development near the county airport. Rather than exposing more children to airport pollution, shouldn’t we give them a healthy and desirable place to live? It’s timely the airport…
  • Madison activists picket for peace in Ukraine
    MADISON, Wis. — Peace activists spent part of Monday evening picketing for peace as the war in Ukraine rages on. Channel 3000 | View online Members of the Madison Working Group on Peace in Ukraine demonstrated near UW Hospital on University Avenue, calling for an immediate ceasefire and diplomacy between Russia and Ukraine. Some demonstrators…
  • Military Jet Flyovers: Government records show NFL teams have received millions from the Department of Defense.
    In the wake of the F-16 flyovers over Camp Randall yesterday, we are wondering who is paying for this. Here’s some interesting information. The sound of a fighter jet flying overhead is unforgettable. For decades, the U.S. military has been showing off its engines during military flyovers at sporting events, parades, celebrations, and of course,…
  • Ukraine Peace Picket Monday Sept 12, Madison
    We’ll be walking in a picket line this Monday! Sept 12, 4:30 – 5:30 as part of a global week of action to end the war in Ukraine.  Healthcare Not Warfare!  Please join our commute hour peace picket on University Avenue (at intersection with University Bay Drive) near the UW Hospital. Bring signs and banners. And contact…
  • Leading climate action trackers are ignoring the military contribution to climate change.
    Pressure from campaigners, researchers and journalists has been instrumental in driving climate action by states and large corporations. Climate action tracking websites and reports play a vital role in informing this process but as Ellie Kinney writes, the leading climate tracking sites are silent on military emissions. Read more blog posts Data is key to…
  • Hot potato: PFAS contamination lingers at burn pits as city, county, National Guard contest responsibility
    Chris Hubbuch | Wisconsin State Journal, September 3, 2022 Read online More than four years after the state Department of Natural Resources warned of toxic “forever” chemicals at former firefighter training sites near the Madison airport, city, county and state officials have yet to begin cleanup amid disputes over who is responsible. In June 2018,…
  • Madison Peace Walk September 2
    Begins at 5:30 pm September 2, 2022 Founder’s Classroom – outside class space, Goodman Community Center 28th week of the Russian invasion of Ukraine Please join us again this Friday for a streaming of an edited version of a webinar organized by the DSA International Committee titled “The War in Ukraine:  Impacts and Perspectives:  Women,…
  • EPA Proposes Designating Certain PFAS Chemicals as Hazardous Substances Under Superfund to Protect People’s Health
    August 6, 2022 EPA Press Office | Read online WASHINGTON (August 26, 2022) –  Following through on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to tackle environmental injustice and improve public health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking a significant action under Administrator Regan’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap to protect people and communities from the health risks posed by certain PFAS, also…
  • Judge rejects Navy environmental review of Whidbey Island Growler jet expansion
    Read online: Seattle Times, Judge rejects Navy environmental review of Whidbey Island Growler jet expansion, Aug. 3, 2022 “The Navy has an important job. But that does not relieve the federal government of its obligation to follow the law and take a hard look at the public health and environmental impacts of its programs,” state…