What Every Candidate Should Know About the F-35

From the US Air Force Environmental Impact Statement:

1. The F-35 is at least 4 times louder than the F-16. (BR4-18 and C-6 or C-9)

2. The F-35 will put 2944 homes, 6675 people, 5 schools and 6 churches in a zone “generally not considered suitable for residential use” including more than half of Winooski. (C-14)

3. Homes exposed to the increased noise from the F-35 (compared to the F-16) may lose between 11% and 42% of their value. (BR-4-18 and C-47)

4. Projected “Class A Mishaps” (the crash rate) for the F-35 is 11 times higher than those of the F-16 during years 2-5. (BR4-46 and BR4-47)

5. HUD, FHA, and VA loans are not assured for homes in the F-35 noise zone. In addition, homeowners may be required to disclose that their homes have been designated as “not suitable for residential use” to potential homebuyers. (C-47)

6. The other military bases being considered for the F-35 have virtually unchanged or greatly reduced noise impacts compared to their present aircraft. Burlington is the only base for which the noise impact of the F-35 is large: up to 90% greater impacts than present aircraft.

7. The F-35 will expose the children at Chamberlin Elementary School in South Burlington to levels of noise many times louder than what is considered acceptable for children in school. (C-21 and C-6 or C-9)

8. The excessive noise of the F-35 is “disproportionately” directed at our poorer and immigrant communities. (BR4-77)

9. The $53 million figure often stated as the payroll of the Vermont ANG is not supported by the data. The Air Force says that with the F-35, the total Vermont ANG payroll is only $20 million; less than 1% of the $5.9 billion total non-farm income of Chittenden County. (BR-4-71 and BR-4-73)

10. Of the 1130 personnel at the Vermont ANG, 730 train one weekend a month and “hold full-time jobs outside the Vermont ANG.” Those jobs outside the Vermont ANG are not at risk. 333 jobs are full-time military and their membership in the military is not at risk. Nothing in the EIS says that even the 67 who are full-time civilians have their jobs at risk. (BR-4-71)

Other Important Issues:

-Inaccurate data was submitted for the military’s initial screening process to determine the best location for the F-35. More than 1,500 homes that currently exist in the “generally not considered suitable for residential use” area were not identified. As a result BTV scored higher than it should have. The correct data may have disqualified Burlington.

-The South Burlington City Council, School Board, and Planning Commission along with the Winooski School Board have all voted to oppose the F-35.

-The F-35 is described by its maker, Lockheed Martin, as a first-day-of-the-war, long range high altitude stealth bomber that carries 18,000 pounds of bombs. The F-35 is not a patrol/air defense fighter.

-The F-35 program is going to cost taxpayers more than $1.5 trillion dollars over its 30 year lifetime. -Neither the Air Force nor the Vermont ANG states that the National Guard Base will close or downsize if Burlington does not get the F-35.

-The EIS mentions no plans by the Air Force, the Vermont ANG or the airport to compensate homeowners for loss of home value or to compensate affected cities and the Vermont Education Fund for lost tax revenues from the lower property values that may result from the F-35.

-The EIS mentions no plans by the Air Force, the Vermont ANG or the airport to mitigate the noise impacts of the F-35 and the FAA says that no noise mitigation methods actually work.

Distributed by Stop The F-35 Coalition

19 Church St. No. 10, Burl 05401

http://stopthef35.com/