Greco, Bourassa arrested at Leahy office F-35 protest
Madeline Clark
September 12, 2019
Retired Air Force Col. and former South Burlington City Council Chair Rosanne Greco, as well as retired Lt. Col. Roger Bourassa, were arrested by Burlington Police Monday evening following a sit-in at U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy’s Office. Their demonstration joins a movement against the basing of F-35 jets at Burlington International Airport. The planes are expected to arrive this month.
Greco and Bourassa entered Leahy’s Burlington office in the late afternoon on Monday, Sept. 9. They carried a list of six demands they hoped the senator would sign, directing the U.S. Air Force to delay the arrival of the F-35 until all conditions are met.
The conditions included delaying the basing until:
• the F-35 has at least 1,000,000 flight hours –comparable to the number the F-16 fighter jets had when they arrived in Vermont.
• the Air Force, FAA and Burlington City officials conduct a public hearing to answer questions and elaborate on several statements.
• funding is secured to purchase all 2,963 homes in the F-35 65 day/night average noise decibel level zone and moving all households who wish to relocate to comparable homes.
• a public hearing on the health impacts of noise on children and adults and other risks associated with the F-35 is held – with qualified health experts.
• the U.S. Department of Defense provides detailed information on the nuclear role of the F-35.
• investigations have been completed into the falsification of data and other improprieties associated with the F-35 basing selection process for Burlington, Vermont.
