Nonviolent Resisters Successfully Blocked Shift Change at Truax Air National Guard Base to Oppose F-35 Fighter Jets & War

By Madison for a World BEYOND War, March 29, 2023

A nonviolent resistance action successfully blocked the shift change Monday morning at Truax ANG Base, March 27, 2023. More than 40 activists, including Iowa County parish priest Father Jim Murphy, took part in protesting the F-35 fighter jets, which are scheduled to come to Truax Field in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S., this spring.  These jets were opposed by the MMSD School Board and the Madison City Council.  Activists are calling on the Governor to change the mission of Truax ANG base to a peaceful one.  The same day in Burlington, VT, the other F-35 base, activists were also demonstrating.

Here’s a statement and some of the videos and news links:

 “We call for grounding the F-35 fighter jets, gun control at the Pentagon, and war abolition: an end to the organized mass murder called war.”
– Janet Parker, Madison for a World BEYOND War.

F-35 FIGHTER BRINGS THE WAR HOME TO WISCONSIN! WE SAY NO!

We come here today, March 27, 2023 to say: ground the F-35 fighter jet and abolish war! The F-35 fighter jet is a threat to the planet. It should not be based in Madison or anywhere.

Under state law, the Air National Guard provides protection of life and property and preserves peace, order and public safety, but the ANG at Truax violates that mandate. ANG bases in several states provide emergency relief during floods, earthquakes and forest fires; search and rescue operations; medical missions. Fighter jets can’t “preserve peace, order and public safety.” They are worthless in a natural disaster.  They are not effective for search and rescue. They can’t help maintain vital public services. The F-35 is only an instrument of war and more than ever before, the ANG at Truax will threaten the lives of civilians abroad and degrade the quality of life in Madison.

The F-35, wherever it is deployed, will degrade the environment, intensify climate chaos, intensify the horrors of present wars and precipitate new ones. Due to the expansion of NATO and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the threat of nuclear annihilation has never been so grave as now. Placing the F-35 at Truax will make Madison a target in any nuclear confrontation with Russia.  But in reality, nowhere on earth will be safe.

We urgently call on the governor of Wisconsin, on the Adjutant General of the Wisconsin National Guard, on the commander of Truax Field, on the state’s legislature and congressional delegation to change the mission of Truax. We call upon world leaders to disarm and abolish war and on the world’s people to join us in this demand.

This weekend, Madison hosted the 20th Catholic Worker Midwest Faith and Resistance Gathering this past weekend, to prepare for nonviolent resistance actions in Madison on Monday, March 27 to oppose war and F-35 fighter jets.

Madison Veterans for Peace, Safe Skies Clean Water Wisconsin, Madison for a World BEYOND War are local hosts.  Madison activists are joined by Catholic Workers who converged from Missouri, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Maryland and Wisconsin.  CODEPINK: Women for Peace are partners in the action also.

Catholic Worker was formed in the depths of the Great Depression, 1933, when Dorothy Day and a few others hawked The Catholic Worker in New York’s Union Square. Today there are 187 Catholic Worker communities committed to non-violence, voluntary poverty, prayer and hospitality. They continue to protest injustice, war, racism, and violence of all forms.

Report and video by ABC affiliate.

Video by Channel 3000.

Report at Catholic Worker.

Audio from WORT.

Report from Wisonsin Radio Network.

The Progressive: “F Stands for Failure”.

@codepinkalert #GroundTheF35! We were out with fellow peace activists in Madison this morning to shut down Truax Airfield, where F-35 training is set to begin in a few months despite local opposition. This warplane is horrible for the environment, horrible for communities here in Wisconsin, and horrible for peace. We need investments in the people and planet, not nuclear war! #antiwar #wisconsin #freepalestine #socialism #peace #f35 #military #nationalguard #activism #antiimperialism #politics #democrat #fypシ ♬ original sound – CODEPINK

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