Luke, F-35 supporters fill up the room at recent community meeting

More than 200 people were in attendance at a recent meeting hosted by the city of El Mirage to discuss the potential noise impacts of the new F-35 fighter jet at Luke AFB. It was great to see that a vast majority of those in attendance were supporters of the F-35 mission landing at Luke.

During the meeting, one of the invited presenter stated the F-35 acoustic noise comparisons between Valparaiso, a city located near Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, and El Mirage were incomparable. He told the crowd that Valparaiso is located only one mile from Eglin’s runway, while El Mirage is located 4 ½ miles from Luke’s runway – more than four times the distance.
“All jets are loud,” said ASU professor John Rutherford. He concluded his remarks by saying that “if you like the F-16, you’ll like the F-35. If you don’t like the F-16, then you won’t like the F-35.”

The Luke Forward campaign thanks all Luke supporters, who took time out of their busy schedules to attend the meeting in Sun City. We will need that same level of participation when the Air Force begins holding public meetings early next year as part of its formal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process for stationing the F-35 at Luke.

Luke Forward campaign organizers recognize and fully support the need for public involvement regarding the F-35 mission at Luke AFB. These upcoming public meetings hosted by the Air Force represent the appropriate time for all community stakeholders – citizens, businesses and local and state government bodies – to come together and voice their support or raise possible concerns.

To help stay informed and engaged in the upcoming EIS process, please register your support today for the F-35 mission at Luke. You can register your support on this Web site. Once you register, you will receive regular updates on the Luke Forward campaign as well as additional information on the public meetings the Air Force will be hosting in January/February 2010. If you are already registered, please consider forwarding the LukeForward.com link to friends, co-workers and family. Our goal is to register 15,000 supporters by the time the EIS starts.