By Aidan Quigley May 27, 2020 The Vermont National Guard is continuing F-35 flights after one of the stealth aircraft crashed in Florida earlier this month. The F-35 fighter jet crashed at the Eglin Air Force Base May 19 during a routine training flight, according to an Air Force statement. The pilot ejected from the […]
By Steven Klafka and Rosanne Greco May 8, 2020 The alarming coronavirus pandemic is a reminder that we must be less wasteful and much wiser in how we spend taxpayer money. The enormous human and economic toll of this pandemic has been exacerbated by our failure to invest in societal needs like our health care […]
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 […]
By Aidan Quigley April 13, 2020 The Burlington City Council is asking Gov. Phil Scott and the state’s congressional delegation to attempt to stop the Vermont Air National Guard’s F-35 training flights during the coronavirus pandemic. The resolution, passed in an 11-1 vote, asks the governor and congressional delegation “to do everything within their power […]
By Courtney Lamdin April 10, 2020 The Burlington City Council on Monday will consider a resolution asking the governor to suspend the Vermont National Guard’s F-35 training flights and reassign Guard members to coronavirus response efforts. Introduced by Councilor Perri Freeman (P-Central District), the resolution calls on Gov. Phil Scott to direct “all 4,000 members” […]
By Aidan Quigley April 9, 2020 The Burlington International Airport is facing a loss of between $20 million and $30 million in revenues due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus, a figure that far exceeds the amount the airport is expecting to receive from the federal relief package. While the number of flights and passengers […]
By Kevin McCallum April 3, 2020 Commercial air traffic at Burlington International Airport has taken a nosedive, but across the runway, the Vermont Air National Guard continues to send its new F-35s roaring into the skies daily. The juxtaposition of the recent plunge in civilian air traffic with an increase in the number of F-35s […]
By Elizabeth Gribkoff Mar 31, 2020 PFAS contamination has been found in groundwater and surface water — including a stretch of the Winooski River — near the Vermont Air National Guard base in South Burlington. The findings come in a draft report released last week by the Guard on the extent of the contamination by […]
Below is the full pdf response to complaint regarding GBIC involvement in the 2018 Burlington ballot item on F-35 basing:
By Jasper Craven Feb 16, 2020 On Jan. 5, Col. David Shevchik Jr. took command of the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing. A native Vermonter, Shevchik replaced Col. David Smith, who retired after more than 30 years in the organization. Shevchik was born in Springfield and grew up in Essex. He graduated from […]