Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett has made her long-awaited basing decision on the controversial new F-35 aircraft, and the Madison business community is very happy.
Barrett’s decision formally approves the 115th Fighter Wing and Truax Field as the next Air National Guard F-35 operational “bed-down” location and ensures the local presence of the 115th Fighter Wing and the estimated $100 million in annual economic benefits that come with it. The squadron of F-35A fighter jets are scheduled to arrive in Wisconsin in 2023.
The decision also comes after several years of studies and debate that divided the community.
Predictably, supporters commended the basing decision, including pro-business groups such as the Badger Air Community Council (BACC), Together Truax, and the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce.
Marvin Siegert, chairman of the BACC Board of Directors, referred to the basing decision as well-deserved recognition for the 115th Fighter Wing. “We are excited that our friends and neighbors who serve in the Wisconsin Air National Guard have received this mission and will be able to continue the 72-year legacy of the 115th Fighter Wing in Madison for decades to come,” he says. “We are very grateful for the overwhelming community engagement and support in this very lengthy process.”
Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce President Zach Brandon also praised the decision, which he called much-needed positive news. “From generating $100 million in annual economic impact to their extraordinary work responding to the COVID-19 outbreak, time and again we have seen firsthand the tremendous value the 1,200 Airmen of the 115th Fighter Wing bring to our community,” he states. “We look forward to Greater Madison continuing to be their home for decades to come.”
While proponents of the Air Force’s decision cited jobs and new construction, opponents voiced concerns about noise in nearby neighborhoods, and air and water pollution. On March 31, the Madison Common Council voted 13–5 in favor of a resolution to oppose the basing of the jets Truax Field, which drew a strong rebuke from the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce and other segments of the business community.
In opposing the F-35s, the resolution cites noise and other environmental impacts, and asserted that the basing of the next generation jets at Truax Field, near Dane County Regional Airport on Madison’s east side, could reduce the city’s stock of affordable housing.
Madison resident Brad Geyer, who lives near Truax Field, has protested the basing of the jets along with neighbors. His disappointment is tied to concerns that the new jets will be significantly noisier than the current F-16 aircraft.
“I don’t think they listened to the people,” he told WKOW-TV in Madison. “I think they listened to the money.”
Yet more than 5,000 individuals registered their support on the Together Truax website, and a bipartisan support came from members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation and the Wisconsin Legislature, which adopted a supportive resolution with near unanimous support. Dane County communities surrounding the flight path also lend their support, including the city of Sun Prairie and the villages of Windsor, DeForest, and Waunakee.
There has been an uninterrupted Air Force mission at Truax Field for 72 years, and the F-35A will be the 10th different aircraft to be operated out of Madison. In all, 1,200 airmen and women serve there.
The basing of the jets may or may not be over from a legal standpoint, as State Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison) cited the possibility of lawsuits to block it.
Chris “Desi” Arenz, executive director of the BACC and former fighter pilot at the 115th Fighter Wing, called the decision something to celebrate. “The 115th Fighter Wing has a 72-year history of being an active outstanding community partner,” he states, “and now that the record of decision has been signed, we can move forward as a community to support the members of the Guard, support members of our community who live near the airport, and move past the rhetoric and misinformation of the last six months.”
During the debate, backers countered charges that the F-35 basing will make areas around the airport uninhabitable and that homes will have to be torn down and people will be forced to move. They argued that the term “incompatible use” contained in a preliminary environmental impact study does not mean nonlivable conditions and that residential neighborhoods throughout the country lie within airport high noise areas or zones.
They also note that the EIS does not account for mitigation efforts that the 115th Fighter Wing has historically employed as part of its partnership with Dane County Regional Airport.
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