A long-awaited decision that began in 2019 has been made by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington today, August 2, 2022. It is the consequential ruling the community had hoped for validating community complaints and Navy inactions in following the law. A press release from Citizen’s of Ebey’s Reserve (COER), member […]
By Andrew Cockburn April 8, 2022 It is now generally acknowledged that the F-35 fighter stands tall in the pantheon of U.S. weapons-buying disasters, a mélange of waste, deceit, and mindless incompetence. According to the latest report from the Pentagon’s Director of Test and Evaluation, itself a muted document, the plane has at least […]
By Nina Berman December 17 2021 THE SOUND of the U.S. military’s latest generation of warplanes is quite literally deafening. The vibration shakes your insides. Conversation stops. Stress floods your body. And just when you think it’s over, another jet, and another and another, roars above rooftops, until it feels as though the sky is […]
By MARK JOHNSON August 25, 2021 When the National Guard Bureau released the damning results of its investigation into the Vermont Natural Guard two weeks ago, news coverage focused on how poorly the Vermont unit had handled allegations of sexual assault and harassment, and how a “good old boy” network allowed those problems to flourish. […]
By Angela Evancie July 22, 2021 Brave Little State takes on a question about the complex, controversial decision to base the F-35 fighter jet in Vermont’s most populous county. Bobby Arnell lives in Winooski with his wife and 5-year-old daughter. Recently, he recorded some audio on his smartphone while an F-35 fighter jet flew over […]
by Winslow Wheeler & Dan Grazier April 07, 2021 Official support for the F-35 program has quickly eroded during the first three months of 2021. In the waning days of the Trump administration, Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller called it a “piece of s..t.” The Air Force chief of staff, General Charles Brown Jr., […]
By The Editorial Board March 12, 2021 Last week, the new head of the House Armed Services Committee, Representative Adam Smith, said in an interview that the F-35 fighter jet was a “rathole” draining money. He said the Pentagon should consider whether to “cut its losses.” That promptly set off another round of groaning about […]
By: Jake Johnson July 28, 2020 In a floor speech late Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell described the GOP’s newly released coronavirus stimulus package as a “carefully tailored” plan to provide financial relief to desperate Americans. But a look at the legislative text (pdf) released by Senate Republicans shows the HEALS Act is replete […]
By: Joe Gould July 29, 2020 WASHINGTON ― Senate Republicans’ proposed $1 trillion coronavirus relief package includes at least $7 billion for weapons programs, part of $29 billion for defense overall. The 177-page draft appropriations legislation unveiled Monday would include funding for military helicopters, aircraft, ships and missile defense systems. The bill also includes $11 […]
By Kevin McCallum April 24, 2020 The Vermont Air National Guard dramatically increased the number of F-35 flights from its South Burlington base in the first week of April, despite official claims that there had been “no change” in flight operations. The 158th Fighter Wing flew five times as many times during the week of […]