We have drones that are much more precise and don’t put pilots at risk. I do think we need to keep the big transport aircraft to deliver manpower and support equipment where it is needed.

If it is I am against it, not for the noise. I am against it simply for the reason that active duty individuals should not be trained by National Guard instructors. There is a vast difference in how the guard and the real military are setup and ran and I would be afraid that the pilots would be trained to guard standards which do not rise to the level of active duty.

As to the noise individuals who bought or built in the flight path of the airport have absolutely no reason to complain and should have no say in the decision. You bought there pull up your big people pants and make better decisions about where to live.

As to the citizen solider comment, every member of the military is a citizen. This special status that the weekend warriors seem to think they deserve is a slap in the face to individuals who live the military every day

john, totally get it man. Meridian is actually one of the best places to live, but under the ILS approach course is not their best real estate. FYI: All pilots need to practice instrument approaches in good weather. This means even fighter craft will sometimes fly the same approach to an airport as the airliners do. (You may recall an A-10 cratered near meridian 1/20/2002. The pilot was conducting such an approach to Boise airport.) Practice in good weather is needed for the times when the visibility is very low. The approach slope for these approaches is very gentle for safety reasons because a steep approach in low visibility is too difficult to judge and will often result in a crash. Also, these same approach corridors are used in good weather by ATC to avoid collisions.

john, Fighter aircraft have very noisy engines and terrible glide characteristics, so fighter aircraft conducting a gently sloping landing approach will be using a fair amount of power, thus generating a lot of noise. Alternatively, if you can watch when they make a close in tight visual landing approach, the angle is much steeper and they are much quieter than your correct observations near your house. Occasionally one can observe a high-speed penetration approach at Boise which is intended to avoid ground fire. The wingman remains in position aloft to gun any bad guys shooting at the first planes in.

rick, your instability is showing. The sound of freedom is the money leaving our bank accounts to pay for all these toys. I for one know they have many options aside from shaking the ground under my house at night. Our mayor and friends just don’t care.

The Idaho ANG have been flying military aircraft at Gowen since 1946—from WWII Mustangs & Sabre jets in the ’40s & ’50s to A-10s & C-130s today, none of them exactly quiet machines.

If we insist on trying to solve the world’s & our own problems with military might, I kinda like the idea of making it as convenient as possible for citizen soldiers to live normally among us & as comfortably as possible when they’re “off duty.” I’ll handle a little extra noise so they can be ready.