5 thoughts on “Complaint Filed Against Vermont Guard”

1. As promised, the full text of the press release:

   A complaint (below) was filed today with Vermont’s Division of Liquor Control, the FAA, and Inspectors General of the Department of Defense, the Air Force, and the National Guard.
   The complaint calls for independent and impartial investigation of senior officers and pilots of the Vermont National Guard, Vermont’s federal delegation, the mayor of Burlington, and state political leaders and their staffs under oath without favor to anyone to determine the truth. And if the investigation confirms reports of misuse of alcohol, a barrage of harassment of female Guard members, retaliation, cooking the books, and harm to civilians, to (1) prosecute those responsible and (2) permanently revoke authorization for the Vermont Air National Guard to fly aircraft in Vermont.
   Submitted by South Burlington attorney James Marc Leas, the complaint is based on information described in the 7-part series of articles by Jasper Craven on VTDigger called “The flying fraternity,” an interview with Craven on VPR, and admissions by Adjutant General Steven Cray and Governor Phil Scott at a news conference on December 6. The information in VTDigger is from internal documents and interviews with 24 members and former members of the Vermont National Guard. This complaint also refers to regulations in Air Force Instruction 11-202 Vol. 3 and in the 1,236 page US Department of Defense Law of War Manual.

   “The heavy drinking culture and severe alcohol-impairment is inseparable from the intermingling of the military jets with a densely populated civilian neighborhood,” said Leas. “Pilots cannot be expected to blast children with thousands of F-16 afterburner takeoffs each year, impairing their learning and permanently damaging their hearing, as described by the US Air Force in its 2013 Environmental Impact Statement, without negative impact on themselves,” he said. “What was revealed by VTDigger are state agency commanders and pilots awash in alcohol and operating dangerous equipment amidst the densely populated Chamberlin School neighborhood of South Burlington. A recipe for imperiling health, safety, learning, hearing, and honor.”
   As suggested by Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson in response to questions from Senator Leahy and Mayor Weinberger, the Guard could ask the Air Force to provide it with one or more of the several available non-flying missions, similar to those that other state air national guards have, and that are compatible with the Vermont Guard’s location in a densely populated area.
   Far from putting a stop to the misuse of alcohol, VTDigger reports that under the redesign of facilities for the F-35, commanders are doubling the size of the “Afterburner Club” room for alcohol abuse. Commanders and pilots appear to understand that as they increase harm to civilians, more space for alcohol abuse is needed.
   Nor is the corruption limited to Guard commanders and pilots. The abuse originated in political and military leaders who pushed for routine use of the F-16 afterburner in 2008, “just in time to vastly boost ‘baseline’ noise levels to facilitate selection of the Vermont Air Guard for the F-35 in the scoping process that began in 2009,” said Leas.
   The complaint notes that the culture of falsifying records mentioned in the VTDigger series is intimately related to the F-35 basing. The fourth in the VTDigger series of articles disclosed a “longstanding policy” in which Guard commanders did “a very deliberate cooking of the books.” In the VPR interview, Jasper Craven explained to VPR’s Mitch Wertlieb, “Senior officers of the Vermont Guard are also alleged to have cooked the books around their personnel numbers ‘to project an operational readiness, a sort of strength to the National Bureau, in order show that the Guard deserves continued support and the F-35.’”
   At the news conference on December 6, 2018, neither Gov. Phil Scott nor Maj. Gen. Steven Cray denied the serious allegations. Fully cognizant of the allegations, the governor said, “My faith and confidence in the women and men of the Vermont National Guard is unwavering.” He said the incidents were the actions of “an occasional bad apple.”
   “The governor is right about bad apples,” said Leas. “None of the VTDigger articles suggested wrongdoing by the enlisted women and men of the Guard–the bad apples are all at the top of the tree: the commanders, the pilots, the congressional delegation, the Burlington mayor, and the governor himself. All the bad apples must be removed and composted. The enlisted women and men in our Vermont National Guard, and the public, deserve a leadership and a culture devoted strictly to serving the people of Vermont, free of alcohol abuse, where sexual abuse, retaliation, and falsifying records has no part, and where impairing learning of children and damaging hearing are not permitted.”
   The 1,236 page US Department of Defense (DOD) Law of War Manual prohibits the positioning of weapons intermingled with civilians, the willful exposure of civilians to harm from such positioning, and the use of civilian residents and the civilian airport as human shields for such military objects. The DoD Manual makes clear that no exception to its rules is available merely because military forces and equipment are located far away from current theaters of fighting. The DoD Manual states that its “law of war rules reflect standards that must be adhered to in all circumstances.”

2. Also as promised, the full text of the complaint:

   Complaint against Commanders and Pilots of the Vermont National Guard and against Vermont and Federal military and political leaders
   State of Vermont Division of Liquor Control
   Federal Aviation Administration Office of Audit and Evaluation Secretary of the US Air Force Heather Wilson
   Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein
   Inspector General of the US Air Force Lt. Gen. Stayce Harris Air National Guard Director Lieutenant General L. Scott Rice Chief of Staff National Guard Bureau Steven Stebbins

   Chief of Staff National Guard Bureau Steven Stebbins
   Acting Inspector General of the Department of Defense Glenn Fine Deputy Inspector General for investigations Dermot O’Reilly
   Office of Inspector General of the Department of Defense Mark J. Manon
   Business Name:
   This complaint is directed against commanders and pilots of the Vermont National Guard, an agency of the State of Vermont, and against Vermont and Federal military and political leaders
   Location:
   South Burlington, Vermont
   Complaint:
   This complaint is about the misuse of alcohol, a “barrage of harassment” of female guard members, retaliation, falsification of records, permanently damaging hearing of Vermont civilians, impairing learning of children, and exposing civilians to high crash risk by commanders and pilots of the Vermont National Guard.
   The Guard is a state agency unless and until called up for federal service. The Guard serves under the direct command of the governor who is its commander in chief. The Adjutant General of the Vermont National Guard reports directly to the governor.
   Those responsible for the abuses include pilots and senior officers, the Vermont governor, who is commander in chief of the Vermont National Guard and its Vermont Air National Guard component, the Vermont Congressional delegation, the mayor of Burlington, who is the senior elected official of the city that owns the airport, and US military officials who provide the equipment and facilities for the abuses described here.
   The Vermont Air National Guard is charged with the responsibility to operate F-16 jets. A plan is in place to replace the F-16 jets in September 2019 with F-35A jets. The F-35A is designed to drop bombs and to launch missiles carrying bombs. The bombs it is designed to carry include conventional bombs and B-61 nuclear bombs. As described in a June 3, 2018 article on VTDigger, “Will nukes accompany F-35s to Vermont? No one’s saying,” nuclear bombs may, or may not, be located at the Burlington International Airport.
   Vermont has laws regulating the sale and distribution of alcohol-containing products. These laws may or may not be adequate for regulating pilots and commanders of a state agency located in the most densely populated area of Vermont that is charged with operating facilities and flying vehicles in the Chamberlin School neighborhood of South Burlington with high explosives and/or nuclear bombs. The Division of Liquor Control may be positioned to determine whether the existing laws regulating alcohol are adequate for regulating members of such a state agency, and whether any laws and regulations could be considered adequate for regulating members of such a state agency in such a location in view of the disclosures described here.
   This complaint is based on information made public in a series of articles by Jasper Craven published in VTDigger.org called “The flying fraternity.” It is also based on an interview with Jasper Craven on VPR, and admissions by Adjutant General Steven Cray and Governor Phil Scott at a news conference on December 6, 2018. The information in the VTDigger articles is from internal documents and interviews with 24 members and former members of the Vermont National Guard. This complaint also refers to regulations in Air Force Instruction 11-202 Vol. 3 and on the US Department of Defense Law of War Manual.
   At the news conference on December 6, 2018, neither Gov. Phil Scott nor Maj. Gen. Steven Cray denied the four elements of a “toxic culture” disclosed by VTDigger: alcohol abuse at the “Afterburner Club” and while deployed in Africa, a barrage of sexual
   harrassment and sexual coercion, implementation of retaliation against a whistleblower,

   harrassment and sexual coercion, implementation of retaliation against a whistleblower, and falsification of reports to the US Air Force and to the National Guard Bureau.
   The “toxic culture” included commanders who “failed to address alleged sexual misconduct,” some of it by pilots under the influence of alcohol. The commanders then further reinforced that sexual-misconduct culture by retaliating against the one member who successfully did his assigned job to investigate and report such sexual abuse.
   The part of the toxic culture that involved falsification of reports is important for investigators to keep foremost. The fourth in the VTDigger series of articles, “The flying fraternity: Ghost soldiers of the Vermont National Guard,” disclosed a “longstanding policy” in which Guard commanders did “a very deliberate cooking of the books.” The commanders deliberately falsified enlisted personnel numbers in reports to “to state and national authorities.” The falsification was “in an effort to project a false sense of operational readiness.”
   In the VPR interview, Jasper Craven explained further to VPR’s Mitch Wertlieb, “Senior officers of the Vermont Guard are also alleged to have cooked the books around their personnel numbers “to project an operational readiness, a sort of strength to the National Bureau, in order show that the Guard deserves continued support and the F-35.”
   Credibility also emerged as a critical issue in the initial denial by the Vermont National Guard spokesperson, “1st Lt. Mikel Arcovitch, who is in charge of public relations,” as described in the first in the seven-part VTDigger series: “In a written response, Arcovitch said the Guard treats all of its members ‘with dignity and respect,’ does not have a culture of hard partying and drinking, and follows ‘a distinct process to hold those accountable when necessary or make adjustments to our processes.’”
   Credibility of Guard leadership was not demonstrated when the Guard’s official press representative made another materially false and misleading statement to the reporter for VTDigger about the existence of the on-base facility known as the “Afterburner Club,” as reported in the fourth in the series. “In a statement, 1st Lt. Mikel R. Arcovitch, the Guard’s press representative, denied the existence of an exclusive drinking club. ‘There are locations and events that allow consumption of alcohol with the appropriate exception to policy on a case-by-case basis. There is no location that is exclusive to any particular service member,’ he said.”
   The third of the VTDigger articles focuses on alcohol abuse, “The flying fraternity: Africa, alcohol and the Afterburner Club,” by Jasper Craven, November 27, 2018, revealing “A culture of hard-partying: Eleven current and former [Guard] officials told VTDigger that the Vermont Air National Guard has tolerated a toxic culture of excessive drinking and pervasive partying, largely spearheaded by pilots.” The quotes in the paragraphs below are from that article.
   The alcohol abuse was all-pervasive, on-base and continuing during overseas deployment: “Alcohol abuse is also common during overseas deployments and domestic assignments. A retired chief master sergeant, Mark Parish, testified under oath in documents obtained by VTDigger that ‘it became an accepted behavior that individuals on [deployments] abuse alcohol.’”
   Involvement, approval, and responsibility by top commanders, including the Adjutant General and the state commander in chief, is illustrated by the fact that facilities on base are routinely stocked with alcoholic beverages and used for the alcohol abuse. “Guard members say the pilots have their own exclusive bar on the South Burlington base — the Afterburner Club — whose kegs were regularly restocked by local distributors. To others, the bar has earned a more sinister nickname: The Viper’s Nest.”
   Responsibility of top commanders, including the Adjutant General and the state commander in chief, is also illustrated by the fact that drinking started during working hours and on company time: “Drinking could begin on company time, as early as 3 p.m.,
   according to interviews with multiple Guard members, after pilots landed their planes

   according to interviews with multiple Guard members, after pilots landed their planes following a training exercise, or on weekends during pilot debriefings.”
   The unlimited availability and character of the abuse of alcohol in the on-base “Afterburner Club” demonstrates a remarkable level of impunity for participants, with the full approval of Guard commanders and the commander in chief and a distinct lack of oversight by the Vermont Division of Liquor Control: “The beer flows freely inside the Afterburner Club, a place that is said to be off-limits to enlisted officials and women. Parties could become so raucous that revelers were known to pass out on the floor after too many drinks.”
   Toleration of dangerous and illegal activity off base further illustrates impunity: “Two former members said pilots would routinely drive off base under the influence of alcohol, and a number of pilots and airmen have been charged with DUIs over the years. (Officials said there is no clear-cut policy for punishing DUIs inside the Guard.)”
   None of the VTDigger articles in the series mentions involvement of any of the non-officer enlisted men and women of the Air Guard in any of the forms of abuse. The abuse and the impunity described in the VTDigger series is limited exclusively to senior officers of the Vermont National Guard and pilots of the Vermont Air National Guard: “‘It’s a good old boy’s club, and all the senior officers protect each other,’ a former member said. ‘If you’re one of the beautiful pilots and are caught for drunk driving, it’s no big deal. But if you are enlisted folk and get the same citation, you are shown the fucking door.’”
   Thus, it was commanders and pilots committing, supporting, and participating in the abuse and not the enlisted men and women.
   The commanders demonstrated that they know how to eliminate alcohol abuse, and they did act to prevent alcohol abuse by “enlisted folk.” But they choose otherwise with respect to themselves and their fellow officers and pilots, establishing a system of impunity and retaliation.
   Toleration and participation in off-base abuse of alcohol further illustrates the depth of the culture of impunity: “Guard members not only witnessed problematic drinking on the base, but at bars in Burlington.”
   The “toxic culture” includes both abuse of women members of the Vermont Air Guard and retaliation against women members: “Some of the pilots thought they walked on water because they were pilots,’ a female former Guard member said. ‘If you went to downtown Burlington to drink you’d often run into them, and if you declined their advances they’d take it out on you professionally.’”
   Instead of suppressing the toxic culture commanders suppressed or ignored dissent against the toxic culture: “Some airmen have expressed concerns to Guard leadership over the drinking culture on the base, but contend that no meaningful reforms have been made.”
   Commanders also attempted to conceal the toxic culture: As reported in the first VTDigger story, “On Sept. 14, Col. David Smith, the air unit’s commander, issued an internal email warning airmen of increased scrutiny by the media and telling them to not speak with reporters without prior notification to the press office. Smith told members ‘do not make any promises or agreements with media’ and ‘never agree to an interview, including an ‘anonymous’ one, without contacting Wing Public Affairs.’”
   Commanders’ and pilots’ support for the abuse is demonstrated by their failure to take a meaningful action: “The pilot’s bar is a fiercely protected perk on the Burlington base. Even as guard leadership sought to curtail drinking, they decided to keep the Afterburner Club open.”
   Commanders enforce honorable behavior by enlisted members but pilots have unlimited access to beer and hard liquor for as long as they want with no restraint: “The enlisted
   folks went through alcohol training, and saw availability to alcohol essentially cut off,” a

   folks went through alcohol training, and saw availability to alcohol essentially cut off,” a former official said. “Meanwhile, pilots would retreat to the fighter bar and drink Jack Daniels and beer all night. It was a total double standard.”
   Evidence of the command responsibility is confirmed by the impunity established for pilots: “‘Problematic alcohol consumption is overlooked for pilots,’ another former member said.”
   Far from putting a stop to alcohol abuse, under the redesign of facilities for the F-35, commanders are expanding the on-base facility for alcohol abuse: “In recent months, as officials sought to redesign and expand the Burlington base operations center in preparation for the F-35, they ran into fierce opposition from pilots who were eager to not only keep the bar, but expand its square footage. Guard members said the pilots prevailed and the bar was roughly doubled in size.”
   While commanders refused to be questioned by the reporter for VTDigger, the Guard’s official press representative made materially false statements to that reporter: “In a statement 1st Lt. Mikel R. Arcovitch, the Guard’s press representative, denied the existence of an exclusive drinking club. ‘There are locations and events that allow consumption of alcohol with the appropriate exception to policy on a case-by-case basis. There is no location that is exclusive to any particular service member,’ he said.”
   Commanders continued to authorize all the above abuses, notwithstanding a serious injury to a Guard pilot: “While the drinking often resulted in nothing more than rowdy behavior, pilots under the influence have, at times, had serious problems, according to current and former Guard members. For example, during a domestic deployment, a pilot fell during horseplay in an elevator while inebriated. He suffered a serious head injury that grounded him from flying. It took him months to recover from the injuries.”
   The alcohol abuse extended to operation of the flying military equipment to such an extent that a pilot was grounded. The Air Force collaborated in the impunity by transferring that pilot to another location: “In the spring of 2015, according to four members, an F-16 Vermont pilot was grounded after concerns were raised about alcohol use. The pilot was later relocated by the Air Force.”
   The alcohol abuse extended to yet another pilot operating flying military equipment but this pilot remains assigned to continue operating here in Vermont. “Shortly before a 2016 deployment to Kuwait, officials also raised concerns over alcohol use by another pilot. According to three people familiar with the alleged behavior, the pilot was temporarily grounded because of alcohol concerns. The same pilot had also been temporarily grounded because of a previous incident but remains assigned to the Fighter Squadron.”
   The danger to the public from a pilot operating an F-16 jet, and soon F-35 jets, while under the influence of alcohol, or otherwise impaired, and a command that offers impunity to such pilots, should immediately be investigated by the Division of Liquor Control and by federal authorities, as further described below.
   Even the public face of the F-35 program, F-16 pilot Col. Chris Caputo, was heavily involved: Caputo “faced discipline for visiting an unauthorized area during a deployment in Djibouti, a small strategically located country on the northeast coast of the Horn of Africa.” The article notes that“Caputo was a longtime member of the Afterburner Club, a group of pilots with an exclusive bar at the South Burlington base.”
   The depth of alcohol culture was illustrated by Caputo’s action overseas: “After arriving in Africa, Caputo and fellow pilots took over a lounge for deployed members and turned it into an exclusive drinking club, similar to the Afterburner Club back home, according to two members on the deployment who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation by Guard leadership.”
   The alcohol abuse extended to failure to observe military regulations: “documents and interviews with five Guard members who were in Djibouti with him [Caputo] during that

   interviews with five Guard members who were in Djibouti with him [Caputo] during that
   period say he broke military rules and was sent home in disgrace.”
   The toxic culture included pilots violating military regulations in Djibouti: “Caputo and other pilots committed more serious infractions, according to documents and interviews, when they repeatedly left the base to visit unauthorized locations without signing out or sharing information about their whereabouts.”
   Further illustrating impunity for pilots and responsibility by commanders, the disgrace did not last long: “As for Caputo, while he had technically retired from the Guard in the fall of 2017, current and former Guard members say leadership has quietly brought him back and that he is preparing to become an F-35 pilot once the new planes arrive next September.”
   VTDigger’s report on the December 6 news conference confirmed its earlier report: “Among the revelers at the Afterburner Club was Lt. Col. Chris Caputo, who was sanctioned in 2013 for going off base without authorization while on deployment in Djibouti, where the culture of heavy drinking had continued, according to fellow Guard members.”
   Impunity was highlighted when “Cray confirmed that Caputo was still set to transition to becoming a F-35 pilot when the new aircraft arrive in Burlington as soon as next year. He was also the face of the Guard’s public push to base the next generation of jets in the Burlington area.”
   Alcohol, FAA and Air Force rules
   A brochure issued by the Federal Aviation Administration Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, “Alcohol and Flying, A Deadly Combination,” describes the effects of alcohol, including:
   • It’s a sedative, hypnotic, and addicting drug.
   • Alcohol quickly impairs judgment and leads to behavior that can easily contribute to, or cause accidents.
   The FAA brochure points out that “even after complete elimination of all of the alcohol in the body, there are hangover effects that can last 48 to 72 hours following the last drink.”
   Characterization of alcohol and flying by the FAA as “a deadly combination” highlights the importance of prompt investigation and action. Particularly when a state agency operating a military aircraft with a much higher crash rate and much worse crash consequences than commercial jets is involved. Particularly when the military aircraft are based in a densely populated area. And the possibility of high explosive and/or nuclear bombs present.
   Air Force general flight rules provided in Instruction 11-202 Vol. 3 prohibit acting as a crewmember of an aircraft “while under the influence of alcohol or its after-effects. Aircrew members shall not consume alcoholic beverages within 12 hours of take-off.” Investigation is needed as to whether these Air Force rules are enforced or overlooked.
   Vermont Governor and top general defend Guard Misconduct
   A VTDigger article, “Vermont’s governor, top general defend response to Guard misconduct,” By Colin Meyn and Jasper Craven, Dec 6, 2018, includes admissions: “Maj. Gen. Steven Cray, Vermont’s adjutant general, said VTDigger’s reporting was largely accurate, but he felt it painted the Guard in an unfair light by suggesting that isolated incidents represented a broader culture of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct within the organization.”
   General Cray disagreed with certain facts that were presented in the VTDigger article based on statements by multiple members of the Guard: “The general also took issue with the characterization of a bar on the base called the Afterburner Club, which multiple
   Guard members told VTDigger was exclusive to pilots and other senior officers and host

   Guard members told VTDigger was exclusive to pilots and other senior officers and host to heavy drinking parties that could begin as early as 3 p.m. and end with revelers passed out on the floor.”
   General Cray opposed statements by other Guard members who had spoken to the VTDigger reporter. “‘What I am vehemently opposed to is the description of the culture that seems to describe a culture in which pilots and other personnel were … there consuming alcohol during duty hours and that it was closed to other personnel on the base, which is completely inaccurate,’ Cray said Thursday.”
   But in the same article, VTDigger reported further about a space open only to pilots and high-ranking officers for drinking on base, quoting multiple members of the Guard stating that the space was routinely used exclusively by pilots and high-ranking officers for drinking: “two members said Thursday that it also served as an exclusive space for pilots and other high-ranking officers.”
   The Adjutant General was further disputed: “‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone in there drinking other than pilots; certainly no one who is enlisted,’ a former member told VTDigger Thursday. ‘If the door is open, you could go in and get snacks. But if the door is closed, you do not open it.’”
   The alcohol abuse was reported to be a routine part of operations on the base, flatly counter to the Adjutant General: “‘After flying was done, or on the weekends, pilots would convene there, and have parties,’ another member said.”
   The multiple reports by Guard members revealed pilots and senior commanders awash in alcohol, and enjoying impunity to abuse women, retaliate against a whistleblower, and cook the books, all with the adjutant general and governor overseeing and protecting the abusers.
   Child abuse associated with toxic culture
   The on-base bar was identified in the VTDigger series by the appropriate name, “Afterburner Club,” but the toxic culture includes abuse of civilians with the real F-16 afterburner. The plan for September 2019 includes abuse with the much much more dangerous F-35 and its afterburner.
   F-16 afterburner abuse was described in detail by the United States Air Force in its two- volume 2013 Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Air Force describes learning impairment of children in thousands of Vermont homes and in seven schools by operation of the F-16 afterburner with its extreme noise. The Air Force also describes permanent hearing damage in hundreds of homes in the Chamberlin School neighborhood of South Burlington from the F-16 afterburner.
   When an afterburner is engaged, fuel is injected into the exhaust stream to increase the temperature and speed of the exhaust as it leaves the tailpipe nozzle, significantly increasing thrust. Unfortunately, the afterburner also vastly increases the noise level.
   The Air Force disclosed multiple serious harms to children and students when pilots take off with their F-16 afterburner blasting in a densely populated neighborhood. The learning impairment and permanent hearing damage to children and students contradicts the express mission of the Guard to “protect the citizens of Vermont.” The harm to the learning of children and students and the damage to their hearing contradicts values promoted by the military, including honor, respect, and service.
   Investigation is needed by the Division of Liquor Control and by federal authorities as to whether or not the daily infliction of harm on thousands of civilians identified in the US Air Force EIS is responsible for or related to the heavy drinking by pilots and senior officials after daily flights. Or whether the authorization and facilitation of heavy drinking is what allows airmen to agree to operate the F-16 afterburner in the Chamberlin School neighborhood and inflict the harm on children and students.

   The pages from Volume I and Volume II of the US Air Force EIS have portions highlighted so a reader can quickly confirm the two mechanisms of learning impairment and the three mechanisms of hearing damage described by the United States Air Force that it says result from the extreme aircraft noise levels of the F-16 afterburner and the F- 35.
   The US Air Force disclosed in Volume I of the EIS that pilots take off with the F-16 afterburner several thousand times a year along the runway in the Chamberlin School neighborhood, directly blasting children and students multiple times a day.
   The Air Force admits that the F-16 jets and their flight paths are so tightly intermingled with the schools and homes of thousands of Vermonters that 1,966 families live in the noise danger zone of the F-16 afterburner. Children in those homes are subjected to learning impairment from both the direct blasting thousands of times a year and from the multiple daily classroom speech interruptions at their schools.
   The Air Force disclosed that some 920 children are directly hit as the F-16 jets take off with afterburner blasting.
   The Air Force also named seven schools, including one in South Burlington, three in Williston, two in Winooski, and one in Colchester, where students are subjected to learning impairment from multiple daily classroom speech interruptions from the F-16 afterburner takeoffs. For example, 496 children attend the Chamberlin School, which is located 880 yards from the runway.
   A fuller description of the learning impairment issue was published in an article on Truthout.org on October 21, 2018, “US Air Force Admits F-35 Will Harm Health and Learning of Vermont Children.”
   Air Force charts and maps report that 4,602 people live within the Air Force-determined noise danger zone of the F-16 that extends three-fourth of a mile from both sides of the runway. Hundreds of civilians work at the airport and at industrial and commercial facilities immediately adjacent the airport. According to the US Census, 127,751 people live in seven Vermont cities and towns within four miles of the runway.
   The intermingling of F-16s with civilians at the Burlington International Airport itself is extreme. The F-16 hangers are directly across the runway and only 600 yards from the civilian air terminal building, where some 3,400 civilian passengers daily depart or arrive aboard civilian flights.
   The Air Force also admits that the high average noise level its F-16 and F-35 jets produce can cause hearing damage for as many as 583 adults and children whose 242 homes are closest to the Burlington International Airport, and where the aircraft noise exceeds 75 decibels when averaged over 24 hours, including in that average the many hours of quiet when aircraft are not flying.
   The Air Force says that the families in those 242 homes live in the part of that noise danger zone where, in addition to the learning impairment, “adverse health effects,” including hearing loss and vascular disease, are “credible.” For the children in those homes the hearing loss adds an additional learning impairment mechanism on top of the two others identified by the US Air Force, direct blasting and multiple daily classroom speech interruptions.
   Besides the people living within an area hit with an average noise level of 75 decibels or more, the Air Force disclosed that high aircraft noise can hit people with two additional hearing loss mechanisms. The Air Force writes that exposure to peak aircraft sound at the level of 114 decibels (dB) causes a “temporary threshold shift” in hearing sensitivity and that repeated exposures to sound at that peak level “may eventually lead to permanent hearing loss.” Information in the EIS shows that the F-16 afterburner peak noise level exceeds 114 decibels.

   The third mechanism of permanent hearing loss may not be present for F-16 afterburner takeoffs in the densely populated Chamberlin School neighborhood. The F-16 afterburner may not be quite loud enough to hit residents with the 130 decibel level that can cause “immediate and permanent hearing loss.”
   But this “immediate and permanent hearing loss” mechanism is likely to hit many Vermonters when the F-35 takes off with its afterburner blasting. The Air Force says the F-35 will use its afterburner for takeoff 5% of the time, or 110 times a year. About once every three days. The Air Force says the F-35 peak sound level is more than 21 decibels louder than the F-16. When taking off with its afterburner blasting the F-35 is likely to far exceed the 130 decibel peak sound level for arriving and departing airport passengers, for airport workers, and for children and adults living in parts of the Chamberlin School neighborhood.
   In addition, the Air Force divulged the crash danger of the F-16 and noted that the F-35 crash danger is expected to be much more severe than the F-16 crash danger both because of a higher crash rate and because of emissions of toxic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic chemicals, fibers, and particulates when the F-35 crashes and its ten thousand pounds of combustible military composite material and stealth coating burn in the inferno of 2,700 gallons of jet fuel before firefighters arrive.
   1,443 homes in the towns of Winooski, Colchester, Williston and Burlington are located in the Air Force designated “accident potential zones” extending nearly three miles from each end of the runway. Thirty-two South Burlington and Williston commercial or industrial properties are located in the “clear zones” immediately adjacent ends of the runway. These are all zones where the Air Force says the danger of a military jet crash is especially high. In particular, the runway at the Burlington airport aims directly at the center of Winooski, a densely populated city with more than 7,000 people only one mile from the end of the runway.
   In the EIS, the Air Force wrote that it anticipated that, in its early and untested years of operation, the F-35 will have a crash rate like the F-22: Thus, the Air Force admitted that the crash rate of the F-35 will be 3.6 times higher than the current crash rate of the thoroughly tested and mature F-16 fleet which itself still has a much higher crash rate than commercial aircraft. Recent severe F-35 mishaps, including three fires and a crash after the pilot ejected, support the high crash rate expected by the Air Force.
   A fuller description of the hearing loss and crash issues was published in an article on Truthout.org on December 27, 2018, “War Games in Vermont: Danger of Crashes and Permanent Hearing Loss.”
   Until the decision to base F-35 jets at the civilian airport in the Chamberlin School neighborhood, Air Force policy was invariably to keep such unproven fighter jets far away from civilians. For example, an Air Force chart shows the F-16 fleet had accumulated more than 1 million flight hours – and learning from dozens of crashes – before it was brought for basing in the Chamberlin School neighborhood in 1986. That is 10 times as many flight hours as the Air Force version of the F-35 is expected to have before it arrives for basing in that neighborhood in 2019.
   It goes without saying that the crash danger increases with alcohol abuse. With the largely untested F-35A, and with a number of fleet flight hours less than 10% of the number the F-16 had before its arrival in Vermont, the heavy drinking culture documented in the VTDigger series is a bright red flag waving in front of the Division of Liquor Control, the FAA and Inspectors General.
   The Air Force disclosed that learning impairment, hearing damage, and crash danger, will all increase sharply when the F-35 replaces the F-16, that more children and adults will be harmed, and that they will be harmed in more ways. The evidence shows that the toxic drinking culture is actually encouraged, supported, and facilitated by a political and
   military leadership that wants to base F-16 and F-35 jets intermingled with civilians at the

   military leadership that wants to base F-16 and F-35 jets intermingled with civilians at the airport in the Chamberlin School neighborhood. The toxic drinking culture vastly increases the danger to civilians, as described by the FAA. This is a recipe for immediate action by the Division of Liquor Control, the FAA, and Inspectors General.
   Military law requires immediate action. The 1,236 page US Department of Defense (DOD) Law of War Manual prohibits the positioning of weapons intermingled with civilians, the willful exposure of civilians to harm from such positioning, and the use of civilian residents and the civilian airport as human shields for such military objects. The DoD Manual makes clear that no exception to its rules is available merely because military forces and equipment are located far away from current theaters of fighting. The DoD Manual states that its “law of war rules reflect standards that must be adhered to in all circumstances.” It notes that “DoD practice also has been to adhere to certain standards in the law of war, even in situations that do not constitute ‘war’ or ‘armed conflict.’”
   A fuller description of the military law and its violations in Vermont was published in an article on Truthout.org, “Basing Air Force Jets in Vermont Violates US’s Own Laws of War” on December 30, 2018
   The Air Force disclosed that feasible alternatives to basing in the Chamberlin School neighborhood are available. It specifically described in detail five other locations where the F-35 jets would not be intermingled with civilians. Therefore, necessity for basing the F-35 in such a densely populated area cannot be established.
   The F-16 and F-35 basing amidst the Chamberlin School neighborhood and the F-16 afterburner takeoffs there violate all five principles of the law of war described in the DoD Manual: necessity, humanity, distinction, proportionality, and honor.
   The violation of military law to base the F-16 or F-35 deeply intermingled with civilians is part and parcel of a corrupt military and political leadership awash in a toxic culture of alcohol abuse. It is a recipe for severe harm to civilians. A recipe for imperiling health, safety, learning, hearing, and honor.
   Military personnel have a duty under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to “obey any lawful general order or regulation.” Under the UCMJ, military personnel are not required to obey unlawful orders, particularly orders to harm civilians. They may refuse such orders. Under the Nuremberg Principles, which are mentioned in the DoD Law of War Manual, military personnel must refuse such orders. In the context of Vermont, under the provisions in the DoD Law of War Manual, all orders to fly F-16 or F-35 jets in the Chamberlin School neighborhood, or in any other such densely populated neighborhood, are illegal.
   The VT Digger article, “Lawmakers to hold hearings on Vermont National Guard misconduct” states that “Vermont lawmakers are discussing how to bring increased accountability and transparency to the Vermont National Guard in the wake of a six- month VTDigger investigation that revealed a toxic culture within the military organization.”
   The fact that some Guard leaders have already been punished means leadership misconduct is undeniable. “The lawmakers say constituents have expressed alarm over the reports, which outlined cases of misconduct stemming from a culture of excessive drinking and sexual harassment. In the series, VTDigger describes how several Guard leaders have been punished for misconduct ranging from alcohol abuse to sexual assault. Vermont’s congressional delegation has also expressed concern.”
   The VTDigger article about lawmakers states that: “Vermont’s three-member congressional delegation called the allegations raised ‘concerning’ and said they required a ‘thorough and impartial review by the appropriate authorities.’” The Division of Liquor Control, the FAA, and the Inspectors General are among the appropriate authorities. I
   request that you conduct thorough, independent, and impartial investigations.

   request that you conduct thorough, independent, and impartial investigations.
   However, Vermont’s congressional delegation has been the chief pusher of the F-35 basing, and the toxic culture now exposed has not reduced its enthusiasm for the F-35 basing. Thus, assurance of independence and impartiality from political leaders associated with F-35 basing is a necessity for the investigation.
   Senator Patrick Leahy’s website discloses that Senator Leahy is a “Guard champion,” and that he is a key federal sponsor of this state agency. His website states, “The Vermont National Guard is truly one of the gems of the United States military, always ready to sacrifice to protect our nation.”
   An article VTDigger on March 5, 2018, “Leahy and staff had central role in F-35 basing decision,” demonstrates Leahy’s personal responsibility.
   F-35 basing will impose even more danger to even more civilians than the F-16. It will subject even more Vermont children to harm, will subject them to a greater level of harm, and will subject them to additional forms of harm. As a result it will provide reason for even more alcohol abuse. The continued pressure for the F-35 and support for Air Guard commanders from Senator Leahy, notwithstanding the glaring exposure of a toxic culture, cooking of books, misuse of alcohol, sexual abuse, impunity, and abuse of civilians, including children, mandates the independent and impartial investigation.
   According to Seven Days, the governor said he saw “no reason to go through an independent review.” He said, “My faith and confidence in the women and men of the Vermont National Guard is unwavering” and that the incidents were the actions of “an occasional bad apple.”
   The governor is right that none of the VTDigger articles suggested wrongdoing by the enlisted women and men of the Guard: the bad apples are all at the top of the tree. The “unwavering” support for the Air Guard commanders and pilots given aby the governor, including the impunity and the abuse of civilians, mandates independent and impartial investigation that holds the bad apples at the top of the tree, including the commander in chief, to account.
   In view of the 24 present and former Guard members who came forward to be interviewed by VTDigger for its series of articles, questions by investigators are likely to be answered. Public hearings at which Vermont Guard commanders and pilots of the Vermont Air National Guard, the Adjutant General, the commander in chief, the governor, and the chief federal sponsor, Senator Leahy–all of whom give unwaivering support and all of whom are responsible for the toxic culture and the impunity–can be questioned under oath, can help determine the truth. The full extent of the toxic culture immersed in alcohol and damaging the public with learning impairment and hearing loss since routine use of the F-16 afterburner was implemented in 2008 (just in time to establish a much higher noise “baseline” for the F-35 scoping that began the next year), as well as crash danger can be exposed in such investigations.
   Conclusion
   No honorable military officer—outside a toxic culture that includes heavy drinking—would permit himself or herself to knowingly, willfully, and intentionally allow intermingling of F- 16 jets with civilians or allow F-16 jets to take off with the afterburner blasting in any densely populated area in view of the regulations provided in the DoD Law of War Manual, the mission “to protect the citizens of Vermont, and the facts provided by the US Air Force of learning impairment, hearing loss, and crash danger. Much less allow the even more dangerous F-35 and its afterburner.
   The recent disclosure of a heavy drinking culture and severe alcohol-impairment, along with a culture that permits sexual abuse, retaliation, and cooking the books, explains pilots’ willingness to violate DoD regulations by taking off with extreme noise military jets in the Chamberlin school neighborhood.

   in the Chamberlin school neighborhood.
   The Division of Liquor Control, the FAA, and the Inspectors General should immediately appoint independent and impartial experienced persons to investigate officers and pilots of the Vermont National Guard, Vermont’s three-member congressional delegation, the mayor of Burlington, and state political leaders and their staffs under oath and without favor to anyone to determine the truth. The Division should participate in hearings in the Vermont legislature and request additional legislation allowing it to broadly investigate and prosecute alcohol and alcohol-related issues for a state agency operating dangerous military equipment with conventional and nuclear bombs in the Chamberlin School neighborhood.
   If the investigation confirms reports of misuse of alcohol, abuse of women and civilians, retaliation, cooking the books, and impunity for pilots and senior officers, the Division of Liquor Control should take immediate action, including (1) prosecuting those responsible and (2) permanently revoking authorization for the Vermont Air National Guard to fly aircraft in Vermont. (The Guard could, of course, ask the Air Force to provide it with one or more of the several available non-flying missions, similar to those that other state air national guards have and that are compatible with location in a densely populated area, as suggested by Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson.)
   Date and time of incident:
   As reported in the VTDigger series of articles, incidents involving alcohol abuse by commanders and pilots, including the existence of the Afterburner Club, have been ongoing for years, at least as far back as the time when Martha Rainville was Adjutant General, from 1997 to 2006, as described in a December 16, 2018 article on VTDigger.

3. Links to Jasper Craven’s Vermont Digger series. Links to the rest of the series are provided in each of the first three:

   https://vtdigger.org/2018/11/25/flying-fraternity-top-gun-culture-pervades-vermont-national-guard/

   https://vtdigger.org/2018/11/26/flying-fraternity-guard-commanders-wings-clipped-secret-rendezvous/

   https://vtdigger.org/2018/11/27/flying-fraternity-africa-alcohol-afterburner-club/

4. My hearing has been affected by the purposeful use of afterburners and my complaints to airport were ignored and finally told to call the VTANG who did not record complaints. These guys were rude and disrespectful to a senior citizen expressing concern and protest…

5. I would join in a formal complaint against VTANG and their unruly and rude treatment of civilians.

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