CODEPINK Blocked Shift Change at Madison Air Base yesterday to protest planned F-35 arrival this spring

Tonight: a Burlington city committee will hear a report about BTV aviation emissions. Members of the public are invited to join the meeting to call for stopping the 22-gallon-per-minute F-35 flights

The news release below, issued by Code Pink, mentions the action at the Burlington City Council meeting last night at which speakers called for grounding the F-35.

A further Burlington action is planned for tonight, March 28, at the city’s Transportation, Energy, and Utilities Committee (TEUC) meeting at 5pm. The airport director will present a report on BTV’s aviation emissions. Readers of CancelF35.substack.com are invited to attend on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84603122855 or in person, 645 Pine St. Burlington (in the front conference room), and speak at public forum. Call for prohibiting the F-35 training flights at BTV!

The F-35 converts 22 gallons of jet fuel into greenhouse gases during each minute of flight.

The last F-16 departed from BTV in March 2019 and only a few F-35 jets had arrived at BTV by the end of 2019. F-35 training flights sharply increased beginning in April 2020.

The only aviation emissions data in the aviation director’s report is for 2019—so he effectively presents aviation emissions for the one year when BTV had only a small contribution to greenhouse gas emissions from military jets.

Our back-of-the-envelope calculations show the current 2023 F-35 greenhouse gas emissions with 8 flights morning and afternoon 21 days a month about equal to the total emissions of all the airport’s scheduled passenger airline flights at BTV put together. Which means the airport could cut its aviation greenhouse gas emissions nearly in half by grounding the F-35.

MADISON – A nonviolent resistance action successfully blocked the shift change this morning at Truax ANG Base this morning, March 27, 2023. More than 40 activists, including CODEPINK took part in protesting the F-35 fighter jets, which are scheduled to come to Truax Field in Madison this spring.  These jets were opposed by the MMSD School Board and the Madison City Council.  Activists are calling on the Governor to change the mission of Truax ANG base to a peaceful one.  Today in Burlington, VT, the other F-35 base, activists are also demonstrating at their city council meeting. After activists successfully blocked the shift change at Truax, they headed to the capitol with an 18 foot banner that reads “Ground the F35”.

The group’s statement is below.

"We demand no F-35s here in Madison and no F-35s anywhere in the world. We primarily oppose this fighter jet as a weapon of war and recognize the harm it has caused and is intended to cause all over the globe.” Danaka Katovich National Co-Director of CODEPINK. 

 "We call for grounding the F-35 fighter jets, gun control at the Pentagon, and war abolition: an end to the organized mass murder called war." - Janet Parker, Madison for a World BEYOND War.

“We want the Governor to meet with a delegation of Safe Skies representatives in order to discuss the F-35 project and to propose a solution that will meet the needs and concerns of Madison residents and our local public official allies.  We want the Governor to negotiate with the Air Force to create a new mission for the Air National Guard at Truax Field.” - Safe Skies organizer Tom

The actions happening in Madison and Burlington are a part of an international campaign to end and ground the F-35 program. Over 200 organizations from across the globe have signed on to a letter calling for an cancellation of the F-35 program, an end to F-35 training in residential areas like South Burlington, Vermont and Madison, Wisconsin, and a reinvestment of the project’s funds to life affirming programs. We are making these demands based on the harm caused abroad, cost of the program to the taxpayer, inefficiencies and failures, the environmental impact of F-35s, and the effects training has on local communities. 

Write or call your public servants and demand an immediate halt to F-35 training in cities.

Governor Phil Scott 802-828-3333 Chief of Staff <Jason.Gibbs@vermont.gov>

Vermont National Guard's Complaint Line: 802-660-5379 (Note: the Vermont Guard told a reporter that it received over 1400 noise complaints. But the Guard won’t release what people said).

Submit your report & complaint to the still active Fall 2021-Continuing Now online F-35 Report & Complaint Form: https://tinyurl.com/5d89ckj9

See all the graphs and in-your-own words statements on the F-35 Spring-Summer 2021 Report & Complaint Form (513 responses): https://tinyurl.com/3svacfvx.

See links to the graphs and in-your-own words statements on all four versions of the F-35 Report & Complaint Form since Spring 2020, with a total of 1670 responses from 658 different people plus 77 more so far on the form that remains active now.

Senator Bernie Sanders 800-339-9834 <Senator@sanders.senate.gov>

Senator Peter Welch 888-605-7270 Chief of Staff <patrick.satalin@mail.house.gov>

Rep. Becca Balint <RepBeccaBalint@mail.house.gov>

Burlington City Council <citycouncil@burlingtonvt.gov>

Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger <mayor@burlingtonvt.gov>

Winooski Mayor Kristine Lott <klott@winooskivt.org>

S. Burlington City Council Chair Helen Riehle <hriehle@sburl.com>

Williston Selectboard Chair Terry Macaig <macaig@msn.com>

VT Senate President Philip Baruth <Philip.Baruth@uvm.edu>

VT House Speaker Jill Krowinski <jkrowinski@leg.state.vt.us>

Attorney General Charity Clark <Charity.Clark@vermont.gov>

States Attorney Sarah George <Sarah.fair.george@gmail.com>

Vermont’s Federal Prosecutor <usavt.contactus1@usdoj.gov>

Adjutant General Brig Gen Gregory C Knight <gregory.c.knight.mil@mail.mil>

Major J Scott Detweiler <john.s.detweiler.mil@mail.mil>

Wing Commander Col Dan Finnegan <daniel.finnegan@mail.mil>

Vermont National Guard Inspector General Lt. Col. Edward J Soychak <edward.soychak@us.af.mil>

US Air Force Inspector General Lt. Col. Pamela D. Koppelmann <pamela.d.koppelmann.mil@mail.mil>

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall <Frank.Kendall@us.af.mil>