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.  

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    Watch this 12-minute video to learn more about the damaging effects of F-35 fighter jet noise on children.

    produced by Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin, April 2023

    Media links on arrival of the first F-35s

    Why we’re opposed

    Download our detailed 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

    • Saying no to war: An essay
      From the May edition of the Isthmus newspaper. Catholic Workers initiated newcomers into the tradition and practice of civil disobedience at a recent weekend-long workshop in Madison. The goal: to resist war and the F-35 fighter jets coming to Truax. https://isthmus.com/news/community/saying-no-to-war/
    • 31st War Abolition Walk – Wednesday, May 24
      3:30 pm at Rep Pocan’s office — 4:00 pm walk to Sen Baldwin’s office — 2:30 pm possible visit to Sen Johnson’s office — details below. Hello War Abolitionist friends all! Do you remember the times, last year, when our calls for the end to the war in Ukraine were met with hopeless, “impossible with Putin”,…
    • WI vs WW3: May 6 Demonstration, 10:00 am, Wisconsin Capitol, N. Hamilton Street
      WI vs WW3 opposes current U.S. foreign policy towards Russia and China, which puts us firmly on the path to global conflict. A third world war pitting the US against Russia and/or China is expected to feature the use of nuclear weapons, which is well understood to mean the deaths of billions of people. We…
    • Air traffic and sound-meter readings in the Madison, Wisconsin area
      This is a privately-funded effort provided as a service to the general public. There are two components to the system: A system of sound monitoring stations reporting live outdoor ambient decibel readings at locations hosted by volunteers. An aircraft-tracking system based on publicly transmitted data from aircraft in the area. All information is updated once per second. While reasonable…
    • Retired Air Force Col Rosanne Greco talks about the F-35s April 15, 2023
       Transcript (PDF) Colonel Rosanne Greco, USAF (Ret.) sat down for a Zoom meeting on April 15, 2023 to discuss the Burlington, Vermont-area efforts to prevent the F-35 jet from being based in that area. The conversation included Tom Boswell and James Benkard of Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin, a non-profit organization dedicated to the…
    • black jet plane in mid air under blue sky during daytime
      First F-35 Fighter Jets arrive at Truax – media coverage
      There was great fanfare and patriotism as the extremely loud fighter jets arrived at Truax today. Here’s some news. Click the titles to read the full articles. From Channel 3000, April 25, 2023 | Jaymes Langrehr, Arman Rahman ‘One of the most exciting days in Fighter Wing history’: F-35 jets arrive at Truax Field “This…
    • The F-35s are coming: First jet will arrive at Truax Field on Tuesday
      Lucas Robinson | Wisconsin State Journal, April 24, 2023 Excerpt: The first of 20 F-35 fighter jets will arrive at Truax Field on Tuesday, a culmination of years of controversy and grassroots efforts to keep the aircraft out of the skies over Madison…An event not open to the general public, with military officials in attendance,…
    • 29th Madison Peace Walk – Friday April 28, 6:30 – 8 pm
      Fri Apr 28th, 6:30 – 8 pm  in Madison 61st week of the Russian invasion of Ukraine This Friday, we’ll have a war abolition walk in honor of Daniel Ellsberg and his enduring legacy against war and the nuclear arms race. Our walk will be part of Daniel Ellsberg Week, coordinated by Defuse Nuclear War. Here’s Daniel’s…
    • F35s = Child Abuse video documentary
      This 12-minute documentary presents the impacts that noise from F-35 fighter jets will have on children living in Madison, Wisconsin. These jets will be deployed to Truax Field in 2023. The film features interviews with Dr. Ann Behrmann with Physicians for Social Responsibility; Kate Lyman, a former teacher at Hawthorne Elementary School near Truax Field;…
    • War is not climate friendly
      Veterans For Peace Climate Crisis and Militarism Project is part of the world-wide movement to end the climate crisis and promote climate, environmental, racial, and economic justice.  Our emphasis focuses on how US militarism, the single largest institutional source of greenhouse gasses on the planet, fuels the climate crisis. The Watson Institute at Brown University…
    • Madison group marches to prevent shipment of F-35 jets to Truax Field
      April 9, 2023 | CHANNEL 3000 Watch the video of Saturday’s War Abolition Walk: https://www.channel3000.com/video/madison-group-marches-to-prevent-shipment-of-f-35-jets-to-truax-field/video_78e8a13d-a5ea-5a63-990e-77acb5f0db60.html
    • Vermont Air National Guard announces exercise responding to “a simulated” military strike on the base and runway at BTV
      Cancel the F-35 James Marc Leas | Substack.com, April 9, 2023 Vermont Air National Guard news release announced the exercise Read the article online EXCERPT: If you believe that the presence of the F-35 jets did not make the Burlington International Airport (BTV) into a high-value military target, your argument is not with CancelF-35.substack.com: It…