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F-16 Noise Survey ~ Share Your Opinion ~

Published on: October 4, 2020October 4, 2020 by safeskiescleanwaterwi_z1pqdc

Safe Skies Clean Water is sponsoring an F-16 fighter jet noise survey. Your survey responses will be compiled and shared with you, the public, and officials from Madison, Dane County Board, County Airport and Truax Field. We hope the survey will have a high participation rate so that we can conclusively show to our community leaders, the […]

OUR DEMANDS

Stop base expansion

  • No construction to modify or expand Truax until existing PFAS and other contamination originating from the base is cleaned up and there are guarantees that no more will be created.

No increased noise or pollution

  • No increase in noise levels, frequency of flights, or greenhouse gas emissions.

No disruption of communities

  • No relocation or other disruption of communities surrounding the base.

No financial burden

  • No financial burden on residents of Madison or Dane County..

No support for nuclear war

  • Truax shall not provide support or encouragement for any equipment or mission that might include the proliferation, transport or use of nuclear weapons.

Continue to contact public officials, write letters to the editor, call in to radio shows and share your views with others. Here are some facts, sources and topics: TALKING POINTS

  • Barbara M. Barrett, Secretary of the Air Force: 1670 Air Force Pentagon, Washington, DC 20330-1670
  • US Senator Tammy Baldwin: Contact Info or call (608) 264-5338 - Madison or (202) 224-5653 - DC - Ask her to WITHDRAW her support for F-35s at Truax.
  • US Senator Ron Johnson: Email or call (608) 240-9629 - Madison or (202) 224-5323 - DC
  • US Congressman Mark Pocan: Submit online comment if you are in his district or call 608-258-9800 - Madison or 202-225-2906 - DC
  • Governor Tony Evers, Phone: (608) 266-1212, EversInfo@wisconsin.gov
  • Dane County Executive Joe Parisi: (608) 266-4114, parisi@countyofdane.com
  • Madison Common Council: Email all alders or find specific alders here
  • Dane County Supervisors: Find supervisors here



Open each item to learn more 
Environmental and health concerns
  • The Air Force has not yet provided funds to study or clean-up the PFAS from fire-fighting foam and other chemicals that have already been used. The Air Force base is a major source of these chemicals, which have leached into the soil at the base, contributing to the shut down of Well 15 by the city.
  • The F-35s use a toxic "stealth coating" to evade radar that is a paint that must be reapplied whenever it chips off. When this coating is combusted it is deadly toxic and is hazardous while being applied.
  • Jets are manufactured with military grade composite materials which pose hazards in the event of a crash. See Air Force study.
  • Noise levels at take-off and landing are at a level dangerous to children and vulnerable adults. Studies have shown effects to internal organs and to learning. Madison-Dane County Public Health Dept analysis, World Health Organization. Also see Understanding the 3dB rule
  • No analysis has been done for numerous hazardous air pollutants regulated by the EPA/DNR.
  • Air and water quality near the base will be compromised.
  • The fossil fuels used by the F-35s are diametrically at odds with the professed desire of local leaders to address climate change and create a sustainable community. U.S. Department of Defense is the single largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world, with the largest portion of Pentagon fuel consumption being for military jets. See Pentagon Fuel Use, Climate Change, and the Costs of War
  • We acknowledge Madison’s city leaders plan and work to advocate for a clean and sustainable way of life in Madison. We ask that Madison leaders continue to work tirelessly to design a model green Wisconsin city, and work tirelessly to protect our schools, children and communities. https://www.cityofmadison.com/sustainability/sustainPlan.cfm
Safety
  • Tests of the F-35 have been plagued with numerous mechanical failures and maintenance issues.
  • There have been 5 crashes between 2014 and 2018 at air bases in Florida, Idaho and South Carolina.
  • Recently, an F-35 crashed in Japan, killing an experienced pilot. The cause: "spatial disorientation". What else could go wrong?
  • We could become a target of attacks to disable our first-strike capacity.  The F-35 has been designated part of the Department of Defense Strategic Nuclear Triad – first-strike fighter jets designed to carry nuclear warheads.
Community Impact
  • The Air Force itself admits in their EIS that the noise near the airport will be so bad that it will be “incompatible” for many low-income people who reside there. This is a matter of environmental and racial justice, as it would disproportionately affect minorities and people with low incomes. More than 1,000 Madison homes would be ‘incompatible for residential use’ with F-35 jets
  • Property values in neighborhoods on the flight path will likely be affected due to the noise levels.
  • Our Air National Guard can focus on protecting citizens, responding to natural disasters and other missions. We see no need to expand the base's mission to include first strike capability.
  • Frequent deafening jet noise is already reported by residents on Madison’s East Side. Teaching staff at area schools including East High School, Hawthorne Elementary, Lowell Elementary and Goodman Community Center, Lake View Elementary and Richardson School report that teaching and learning is interrupted by the F-16 flights. The F-35s will be louder than the commercial planes and the existing F-16s.
Cost and Economics
  • The military has not allocated funding to clean up the existing contamination at Truax, let alone state who will be responsible for future pollution and contamination.
  • The F-35 project nationwide is projected to cost 1.6 TRILLION DOLLARS. Cost overruns are common. Each plane costs nearly $100 million to build, and each flight costs $42,000. As a society we cannot justify that when we have domestic needs that are not being met. Most of Lockheed Martin’s revenues come from F-35 related income.  Around one third of the Pentagon budget goes to five corporations — Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and General Dynamics..." The Secretary of Defense was formerly a lobbyist for Raytheon, which makes multiple components for the F-35 jet. 
  • The number of new jobs created is estimated to be 64. The economic benefits to our community are minimal and do not outweigh the costs in any case. Dane County taxpayers pay $201.33 million per year for the F-35 program, which will provide no more than $5 million per year in jobs.
  • Truax Air National Guard Base will continue as usual if the F-35s are not located here, as stated by the Air Force in the Environmental Impact Statement. In addition, Air Force officials have confirmed that there are no future plans for closing the base.
  • Madison and Dane County show excellent economic growth in other areas and do not need what is offered by this expansion.
  • Studies have shows that Investment in clean energy, public education, and health care creates up to twice as many jobs as similar spending on the military.
Moral issues - first strike and nuclear capability
  • NOTE: We are told that Truax will not be home to any nuclear capable F-35 jets, nor will Truax be storing any nuclear weapons. If this changes in the future, we may not be notified. However, all F-35's in the future are expected to be nuclear capable. See National Interest Oct 2, 2019.
  • The Department of Defense designated the F-35 as a part of its strategic nuclear bomber force in the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review.  The F-35 is meant to be a first strike bomber - not a defense vehicle. 
  • Each F-35 jet can carry two nuclear warheads up to four times more powerful than the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which caused hundreds of thousands of deaths.
  • Even the smallest nuclear warheads, the B61-12 ,would cause complete devastation to structures and kill everyone in the primary target area. They are particularly dangerous because leaders have expressed willingness to use them.
  • Radiation extends further out and causes radiation sickness, injury and death on the periphery. Wind conditions can further spread radiation.
  • The U.S. is the only country that has used nuclear weapons, completely destroying the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. Japanese people are still struggling with the aftermath, nearly 75 years later.
  • Do we want to be complicit in the use of nuclear weapons anywhere?
We Don't Need the F-35
  • Lockheed Martin claims that “The F-16 can fly and fight to 2070 and beyond” and that “the F-16 remains the world’s most successful, combat-proven multirole fighter.”
  • The Air National Guard has a range of domestic support missions, including disaster relief both regionally and nationally, firefighting and water assistance, and help with civilian aircraft issues. Cybersecurity and anti-terrorism work are also critical issues that could be addressed or augmented by the ANG.
  • Investment in clean energy, public education, and health care creates up to twice as many jobs as similar spending on the military. (watson.brown.edu)
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Upcoming Events

  • Water is Life Event: Apr 3 @ 12 -3 pm City-County Bldg, Madison

    Agua es vida, para todos los seres del mundo Water is life, for all beings of the world Join together in an act of care for our water and environmental justice for our community. Saturday April 3rd 2021,  12 – 3 pm City-County Building, 210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Madison The wells and waterways in Madison are contaminated with toxic PFAS chemicals. Our elected officials must act to clean and protect our water, blocking construction of F-35 fighter jet facilities at Truax Field which would add more deadly PFAS to our water. Come leave a glass, jar, or bucket of local lake, river, spring, or tap water on the steps of the City-County Building.  Attach a message telling where it’s from, why it matters to you, and why we must protect our water. Facebook Event link to share

  • Peace Action WI is hosting Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin for a panel discussion April 14

    The F-35 Can’t Help US Thrive or Even Keep US Alive (in a Pandemic) Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at 7 PM CT  Madison peace activists, environmental groups and community members have been fighting for several years against bringing the F-35 to Wisconsin. The National Guard Bureau plans to bring a squadron of 18 F-35A Joint Strike Fighter Stealth jets (+ two back-up aircraft) to the Madison airport. The jets will make life unbearable for a large number of Madison and other Wisconsin residents with excruciating noise levels, four times louder than the current F-16 aircraft.  F-35 engine emissions will bring thousands of tons of deadly pollution, while the airbase has already been polluting local water with dangerous PFAS contaminants for a half century.  The jets will emit almost 50,00 tons of global warming-causing carbon dioxide at a cost of $44,000 per flight-hour. The F-35 is the most expensive weapon in history, with a projected lifetime cost of $1.7 trillion.  These three people will participate in the forum: Rosanne Greco, retired Air Force Colonel who spent 30 years in active service and specialized in strategic intelligence, nuclear weapons and arms control. She worked at the Pentagon for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and negotiated the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with the Soviets in Geneva, Switzerland. She also worked with the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon and Strategic Air Command (SAC) at Offutt Air Base in Omaha, Nebraska.  Greco is the former chair of the South Burlington City Council and has been fighting for over seven years to prevent the basing of the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter Jets at the ANG base in that city as a leader of the Save Our Skies Vermont Coalition. Eugenia Highland Granados is the director of the Restorative Justice Department at the YWCA in downtown Madison. Granados has a Masters in Life Sciences Communication, focusing in centering the voices and stories of youth of color expressed through art and culture within social justice movements. Granados believes in the power of Restorative Justice and the circle process to collectively heal from the harm and trauma of punishment, resist and dismantle white supremacy culture, share truth through stories, and transform hearts and communities. She is a key leader of the Eken Park Resistance, a neighborhood-based organization challenging the racism, militarism and environmental injustice of the F-35 basing project. Tom Boswell has been a community organizer and peace activist since his days as an undergraduate at Marquette University during the Vietnam War. He was active with the Mobilization for Survival and Pledge of Resistance in Milwaukee, while also working as a neighborhood organizer. He is the founding organizer for the Safe Skies Clean Water Coalition, which has been fighting to prevent the basing of a squadron of F-35s at Truax Field in Madison for the past two years. Watch for a link to register at peaceactionwi.org or check back here.


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