Top Air Guard Commanders and Airport Officials meet CancelF35 reporter

Top airport and Vermont Air National Guard Commanders were at the airport-sponsored event at Chamberlin School last night. CancelF35 was among the 30 neighbors and news media there to talk to them.

The conversations were all friendly and respectful.  

The same officials will be at the Winooski High School tonight, Thursday October 24, 2024 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Everyone is invited to meet them there tonight. Tell them about the hurt, pain, and suffering you and your family experience from the illegal 115-decibel F-35 training in a densely populated area. Tell them you think the FAA was right to ban noisy civilian aircraft so millions of people all over the world are no longer exposed to extreme aviation noise. Ask why 6,600 Vermonters should be an exception. Ask why you and your children should be in pain.

The Wing Commander

Wing Commander Col. Dan Finnigan declined to admit that anyone is hurt, injured, or suffering from repeated exposure to the 115-decibel F-35. Even though the Air Force itself described the injuries to children, including impaired cognitive development and hearing loss.

Charts prominently displayed at the event show that the supersonic F-35 jets take off and land more than 5,000 times each year from the runway amidst homes and schools. More than 6,000 Vermonters live in the 1-mile-wide by 5-mile-long oval-shaped extreme noise zone immediately surrounding the runway.

However, Col. Finnigan did say that he would review the “Complaint to the Inspector General” formally submitted by 657 Vermonters in October 2020. That complaint includes descriptions in their own words of the pain and suffering felt by dozens of local residents exposed to the F-35.

The 62-page complaint also describes the military discipline violated by locating such military operations in a densely populated area: Distinction and Unnecessary Suffering are among the military rules violated by training with the F-35 in a densely populated location.

The Inspector General of the Vermont Air National Guard never answered the complaint, although Air Force Instruction AFI90-301 mandates resolution and response within 150 days.

The Aviation Director

CancelF35 also met with several top airport officials, including Aviation Director Nic Longo. Safety for passengers and the neighboring community are the top jobs of airport officials. The FAA provides the airport and its owner, the City of Burlington, with the power to put a stop to any danger, including dangers the FAA itself is not authorized to regulate. Mr. Longo acknowledged that the BTV airport has used that authority.

The FAA does not itself have authority to regulate military aircraft. But the FAA did the next best thing in its grant assurances: it specifically authorized airport owners, like the City of Burlington, to set standards for safety, so long as the standards apply to all aircraft using the airport without discrimination.

Under the leadership of the Aviation Director, the City can adopt a noise standard for all aircraft based at BTV equal to the FAA aircraft noise standard. All civilian aircraft already meet that standard. Only one aircraft based at BTV does not, the F-35. The City can end the suffering by establishing the FAA standard for all aircraft.

As noted in the FAA Grant Assurances, the Federal Government has already agreed to meet whatever standard is in place “in common with other aircraft.” Consistent with the FAA grant assurances, the agreement between the City of Burlington and the US Air Force provides that the Vermont Air National Guard “shall have the use, in common with other users of the Airport, present and prospective, of the Jointly Used Flying Facilities.” That means the US Air Force also agrees that its use of the airport shall be consistent with what other users of the airport are allowed to do.

The danger is here. The need for action is clear.  The power is in place. Leadership by the airport officials responsible for safety is the best way to fix it.