Not good: Burlington earned a spot on the Nuclear Target Map

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says Burlington is one of the places targeted for nuclear missile attack

An updated version of this article that expands on several points, along with a podcast voice over, is here.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) data shows the Burlington area targeted in a full-scale nuclear exchange. It was the F-16 jets. Now it’s the twenty F-35 jets that make the Burlington International Airport (BTV) a prime military target for Russian and Chinese nuclear-tipped missiles.

The maps below, based on the FEMA data, identify military, civilian and infrastructure targets. They also show that Burlington would be 150 miles from the next-nearest nuclear ground-zero blast, fireball, and mushroom cloud if those F-35 jets were properly located remote from Vermont’s densely populated areas.

Magnified Version:

Air Policing

In case the departure of the last F-16 in April 2019 caused the Russians to stop targeting BTV, the ocean transit, forward deployment, and “air policing” of Russia’s borders in Eastern Europe conducted by 8 Vermont Air National Guard F-35 jets from May through August 2022 put Russian strategic planners on notice to resume targeting the airport with their nuclear missiles.

The F-35 was designed for delivering nuclear bombs

The US Government officially designates the F-35 as part of the nuclear “Triad,” along with land-based and submarine-based missiles in the 2018 and 2022 Nuclear Posture Review. If they are not already, each F-35 can be quickly upgraded to be capable of delivering a pair of B61-12 nuclear bombs.

Human Shielding

Particularly now, as the US is ramping up its proxy war to “weaken Russia,” tens of thousands of Vermonters living, working, or going to school within blast or fallout range of the airport are human shielding those nuclear-capable F-35 jets.

The military’s most fundamental regulations require separation of military forces from populated areas. The training with the F-35 jets in the densely populated cities surrounding BTV violates express terms in DoD Directive 2311.01.

Shielding the F-35 jets with cities full of civilians is a war crime. Human shielding also violates federal law 10 U.S. Code § 950t(9). The crime is particularly heinous as the offense is being committed in the context of and associated with a proxy war with a nuclear-armed adversary.

The Perpetrators

The Governor is the perpetrator in chief, along with the Adjutant General and Wing Commander. They are the ones who order the daily F-35 training flights of the Vermont Air National Guard in an illegal location: a city location where commanders blatantly violate military regulations and US law.

Vermont has authority over its National Guard training

Because the US Constitution and federal law reserve full authority to the states to conduct national guard training, the federal government cannot force the civilian-damaging training to continue. But the same constitution and federal law require the states to conduct their national guard training according to the federal regulations that protect civilians from military operations.

State law delegates power to local governments

Fortunately for Vermonters, we need not wait for election of a different governor who would obey the law, exercise state authority to enforce the federal regulations, and halt the F-35 training in Vermont cities. Vermont state law 24 VSA 2291(4) delegates authority to cities, towns, and villages to regulate the operation and use of vehicles of every kind to protect the public health, safety, welfare, and convenience of the people.

That means local governments all have state-delegated authority to adopt ordinances prohibiting Vermont National Guard F-35 training flights that hurt or injure, or even just inconvenience their residents.

Burlington is the airport owner

As airport proprietor, the City of Burlington has even more authority. FAA grant assurances expressly allow airport proprietors to set standards that apply to all aircraft. The City can adopt an ordinance that prohibits using civilians as human shields. And an ordinance that sets a reasonable CO2 emission per passenger-mile standard. And it can adopt a noise ordinance for military training, too.

Local governments can regulate the noise, too

Furthermore, as the FAA lacks authority to regulate the noise of military aircraft, Burlington can adopt an ordinance that covers that gap. For example, it can require state-national guard military training aircraft at the city’s airport in a densely populated area to meet the same noise standard the FAA applies for civilian aircraft. South Burlington, Winooski, and other local governments can adopt noise ordinances that regulate the noise of the military training, too.

Time for local governments to take action

Now is the time for members of the public to press their local governments in Burlington, South Burlington, Winooski, Williston, Essex, Richmond, Shelburne, Colchester, and Charlotte to take action to abolish human shielding and protect the health, safety, welfare, and convenience of the people. Passage of ordinances that, in multiple ways, force a halt to the training with the F-35 in any populated area, as required by the military’s own regulations.

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 active online F-35 Fall 2021-Summer 2022 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 will remain active through summer 2022.

Senator Patrick Leahy 800-642-3193 Chief of Staff <john_tracy@leahy.senate.gov>

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

Congressman Peter Welch 888-605-7270 Chief of Staff <patrick.satalin@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 Becca Balint <bbalint@leg.state.vt.us>

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

Attorney General TJ Donavan <DonovanTJ@gmail.com>

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 David Shevchik david.w.shevchik@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>