“Bringing the F-35 to Vermont secures our
future for decades, and our country needs this
airplane,” Col. David Smith, the commander of
the 158th Fighter Wing, the new home to the
F-35s, said after the planes arrived.
But for some members of the community, the
arrival of noisier aircraft marks the failure of
yearslong efforts to keep the Air Force from
delivering the planes to an airport that sits
amid residential neighborhoods and industrial
complexes in the middle of Vermont’s most
populous county.
Rosanne Greco, the former chair of the South
Burlington City Council and a retired Air Force
colonel, said she supported basing the plane
in her home city until she learned by reading
the Air Force’s environmental impact statement
about how noisy the F-35 is and what she feels
are the dangers of having a new, unproven
weapon system at a suburban airport.
“All I had to do was read what the Air Force said
about the impact it would have,” Greco said.
“The evidence was overwhelming it would have
a very negative effect on close to 7,000 people”
who live near the airport.
Smith said prior to arrival that the Air National
Guard understands the concerns. The Guard has
modified traffic patterns the planes will use and
checked the takeoff times to minimize noise
disruptions, he said.
As for safety, he said, more than 400 F-35s have
been delivered so far, and the planes have
accumulated more than 200,000 flying hours.
“It’s really important to us to do everything we
can to mitigate the impact on the community,”
he said.