By Oona Mackesey-Green
Northside News
Oct. 30, as an early snowfall blanketed the sidewalks and cars outside East Madison Community Center (EMCC), about 60 people gathered indoors to share both dinner and testimony about the proposed siting of F-35s at Truax Field Air National Guard Base. The meeting was hosted by Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin (Safe Skies) and the Northside Planning Council (NPC) partially in response to the public hearing that took place at the Alliant Energy Center a month and a half earlier and miles away from the neighborhoods that would be most impacted by the arrival of F-35s at Truax Field.
A delegation including Northside District 18 Alder Rebecca Kemble and State Rep. Chris Taylor, as well as community leaders, had just returned from a trip to Burlington, Vt. where F-35s have been placed at a local Air Base despite organizing efforts by Burlington residents.
While the meeting at EMCC closed with updates from Kemble and Taylor, the first hour of testimony was filled with residents expressing frustration with the F-35 placement process, worries about the potential impact of the F-35s and disappointment with the lack of response from progressive officials to resident concerns.
Testimony also included comments about the effect of the F-16s currently placed at Truax Field; an 11-year-old took the microphone to speak about the noise as they fly overhead — “My sister gets scared and covers her ears, and it wakes up my baby brother.”
The meeting followed months of local organizing against the F-35s due to concerns ranging from the impact of increased noise on health and housing, particularly on low-income communities, to environmental pollution and objections to the jets as military weapons. While organizing has focused on encouraging residents to submit public comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement from the Air National Guard, the meeting marked a shift in tactics. The deadline to submit comments was just days later, on Nov. 1, and the reports from Burlington served as a sobering reminder that the decision to place F-35s at Truax could be made regardless of the testimony being shared that night.
As the meeting closed, talk turned to next steps. Attendees were encouraged to contact Sen. Tammy Baldwin with their concerns; Sen. Baldwin has supported the F-35 placement at Truax and hasn’t issued statements following recent months of outcry. But for some, the impetus to act lay closer to home.
“I feel this community is coming together like this —” said one community member as they raised a fist into the air. “I am very proud.”
At press time, a Black Friday Capitol Protest Nov. 29 from 12-1:30 pm and a Badger Game Sign Action near the Stadium Nov. 22 from 1-3 pm were planned to show opposition to the F-35s. Additional information about these events is available on the Facebook page @nof35sinMadison.
Updates regarding organizing against the F-35s are available from Safe Skies at safeskiescleanwaterwi.org/ and the Northside Planning Council at northsideplanningcouncil.org/f35s.