Madison almost certainly will get new F-35 jets at Wisconsin Air National Guard unit, despite noise concerns

The Wisconsin Air National Guard fighter jet unit based in Madison is one important step closer to switching out its aging fleet of F-16s for the new F-35.

Despite criticism from residents worried about noisier jets taking off and landing near their homes and schools, the Air Force's final environmental impact statement, released Wednesday, lists the 115th Fighter Wing at Truax Field as one of its two preferred locations to get F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

This makes it all but certain the military's most expensive aircraft will be based in Wisconsin — quite a coup for the 115th Fighter Wing, which made it through a long list of units wanting the newest jet.

And though the military has never said it, others in the community believe the base — which employs 1,200 people — could close if it does not get the next generation of fighter planes.

But there's been a growing chorus of complaints about how residents will be affected by planes noisier than F-16s.

The criticism grew last summer when the Air Force acknowledged in its preliminary report that noise from F-35s could render more than 1,000 homes "incompatible for residential use."

The final report naming Madison in the Air Force's top two Air National Guard bases to get the new F-35A "is a big milestone," Lt. Col. Charlie Merkel said Thursday. The other base is in Alabama.

It's up to Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett to make the final decision, which members of the 115th are hoping will happen in April.

If the 115th Fighter Wing is ultimately chosen by the Air Force secretary, "the next major milestone is the aircraft actually showing up at our installation," said Merkel.

That would likely happen in April 2023, when the first of the F-35s begin to arrive. All 18 planes are expected to be in Madison by May 2024.The fighter wing, which has been based on the east side of Dane County Regional Airport since shortly after World War II, currently flies 18 F-16 planes built in the 1980s.

If the F-35 planes come to Truax, Merkel said, the unit's F-16s would be sent to other locations starting in early 2022. By October of that year, no fighter jets would be at the Madison airport. That means the 115th Fighter Wing would be without planes for about six months.

The 115th pilots would spend the time training on the F-35 at bases in Arizona and Florida and maintenance workers learning how to service the new aircraft. Truax Field will not be an F-35 training facility.

However, it's possible the 115th Fighter Wing would continue to operate an "Alert" mission requiring planes, pilots and crews to be ready to fly at a moment's notice, similar to the military flights on Sept. 11, 2001, when jets were scrambled within minutes following the terror attacks.

The final environmental impact study released this week reported that the time spent in the airspace by fighter jets from Truax Field could rise 28% and the number of missions flown annually by the 115th could possibly rise from 2,400 in F-16s to 3,061 in F-35s. But Merkel pointed out that is only if both the "Alert" mission and the F-35s are flying at the same time.

Last fall, Madison's City Council asked the Air Force to potentially reconsider Truax Field as a preferred site for the F-35, and 15 Dane County supervisors signed a letter opposing the fighter jet.

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway has been critical of the F-35 because of noise and environmental concerns. A spokeswoman for the mayor directed a Journal Sentinel reporter to the mayor's comments on her blog, saying that's all she had to say on the subject.

State Rep. Chris Taylor, whose district includes some of the neighborhoods affected by the noise from fighter jets, has been a critic of the F-35 coming to Madison. 

"Why on earth do we want to introduce what would be the loudest military jet ever flown in our sky over schools and homes of communities of color?" Taylor said in a phone interview before the final report was released.

The F-35 is louder than F-16 planes. The Air Force determined that F-16s at Truax generate noise levels of 95 to 110 decibels, depending on the point they're flying over, while F-35s generate 97 to 116 decibels.

In comparison, a lawn mower is about 90 decibels and loud rock concerts reach 120 decibels.

Taylor visited Burlington, Vermont, last fall to talk to residents and officials living next to the first Air National Guard base to swap out F-16s for F-35s. Like Madison, Burlington's airport is located next to neighborhoods.

"We're being told 'Oh, they won't be that louder,' or 'there won't be that many more flights.' Well, there's going to be a lot more noise and a lot more flights," said Taylor.

Merkel said the F-35 will be slightly louder than the planes flying out of the base now, but "if you currently hear the F-16 and it doesn't bother you, I don't think the F-35 will bother you," he said. "If someone hears an F-16 and finds it unpleasant, then they'll find the F-35 loud."

Scot Ross, a Democratic strategist and former executive director of liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, bought a condo on Carpenter Street on Madison's east side in 2006 because it was in a neighborhood he could afford. He works from home and said he must mute conference calls when F-16s fly over.

Ross lives next door to a facility for people with disabilities and some of the rental duplexes across the street advertise free heat for people who sign a one-year lease.

"It's more economical to live here because we're in the flight path, but that doesn't mean we should be taken advantage of because we live here," said Ross. "Nobody is saying get rid of the planes, but there's no guarantee we will be helped with this incredible burden."

The Air Force does not have funds for noise mitigation, but officials in Madison can petition the FAA for money to replace windows and possibly insulation in homes affected by loud planes.

There is also plenty of support for the F-35.

The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce has been a vocal supporter of the F-35 because the Air National Guard wing makes an $100 million annual economic impact on the community and contributes 1,200 jobs, including both part-time and full-time positions.

Chamber president Zach Brandon pointed out that the 115th is using old planes that at some point will reach their limit of flying hours.

"We've already seen around the country where other bases did not receive replacement aircraft and ended up closing," said Brandon. "If we say we don't want the F-35s, what do you think they'll replace it with? We have not heard a viable answer to that question."

The Badger Air Community Council rallied support for the F-35 and the fighter wing by encouraging people to write letters and email comments in favor of the plane.

The council's executive director, Chris Arenz, a former F-16 pilot who spent two decades in the 115th, said while much of the criticism is centered over noise and quality of life for people living near Truax Field, some is from people who don't think fighter jets taking off and landing at Madison's airport is the sound of freedom.

"There's a whole other group of opponents who are anti-military, anti-war. It's an opportunity for them to vocalize their general disdain for what they call the military industrial complex," said Arenz.

Most training missions by the 115th Fighter Wing are north of Madison at Volk Field and the nearby Hardwood Range, a five-minute F-16 flight. That was one of the selling points for the Air Force on the 115th Fighter Wing — the short distance pilots travel to their primary training area means less fuel.

Also, the 128th Air Refueling Wing in Milwaukee is frequently tapped to provide fuel for training missions and, because of its proximity, saves gas by flying fewer miles to service the 115th's aircraft.

The unit also provides bomb disposal, firefighting, rescue and hazmat response at Madison's airport, said Lt. Col. Dan Statz, who along with Merkel is part of the fighter wing's F-35 Unit Conversion Office.

The 115th Fighter Wing has come under scrutiny following allegations from a master sergeant in the unit's security forces squadron that he knew of at least six incidents of sexual assault or harassment against female members that were largely ignored by high-ranking officers. Master Sgt. Jay Ellis' complaints led to two federal investigations, and in December, Adjutant General Donald Dunbar resigned at Gov. Tony Evers' request.

"We know that the leadership at the Air National Guard, the 115th Fighter Wing, covered up incidents of sexual harassment and did not go through proper channels," said Taylor. "There's a real lack of trust among my community and the Air National Guard."

In response, Statz said he couldn't comment on the sexual assault and harassment investigations or Dunbar's resignation.

"But we do take a lot of pride that we are good neighbors of the community," Statz said. "Many of our members live in the community and are longtime residents of Madison and Dane County. We take it seriously how we're perceived."