Traffic in the Sky
Traffic in the Sky
Watching military jets take off from my back yard and considering the military industrial complex
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I was out mowing the lawn at my new house in Western Massachusetts this week when I was surprised by a low flying plane overhead. I was wearing hearing protection and the lawn mower was running, yet I could still somehow hear the rumble of the engines. Or maybe I didn’t hear it so much as feel it in my bones.
After that first plane, another flew overhead. And then another. At least three in total in the span of about 10 minutes. Then nothing, as though they had never even been there.
The planes looked to be the size of a commercial aircraft, maybe a 737 or so, but they were painted a matte gray with no markings of any kind that were visible from the ground.
These were military planes, and they were so close to my yard that the landing gear was still out as they passed overhead.
Our new home is about a 20 minute drive to Westover Air Reserve Base, but as the crow flies (or rather, as the bomber flies), we’re apparently much closer. The plane traffic isn’t constant, but when it’s there, it’s hard to ignore.
As I mowed my lawn and stopped to take a few photos of the planes, I was struck with the immense privilege that comes with being able to see military aircraft like this overhead and feel frustration, bemusement, or maybe even indifference.
I imagined how different my life would be if I were a Palestinian in Gaza right now seeing these same military planes overhead. These planes mean something much different over there.
There are people around the world for the last 100 or so years who have seen planes like this fly overhead. Planes financed by my tax dollars. Planes on a mission to destroy, to injure, to kill.
But to me, these military planes are background noise. A part of my new neighborhood. In fact, a part of many of my neighborhoods.
Our old house was near Fort Devens, a former Army base from World War I that was decommissioned in 1991, but still serves as a reserve training area and houses a federal prison. My daughter went to kindergarten in a building on the former base.
In all of my years at This Old House, our office was located near the end of the runways of Hanscom Air Force Base and I didn’t think much of it. There too, planes and choppers would fly overhead regularly. We couldn’t launch our drone for video work at the office because we were in restricted air space.
Chances are, no matter where in the world you are reading this, there’s a U.S. military presence not far from you too. The Department of Defense maintains 4,790 sites around the world, with 750 of those being outside the U.S. in about 80 different countries.
In fiscal year 2024, the Department of Defense had $2.08 trillion dollars allocated to it in the federal budget. $2 TRILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR!
That annual allocation could instead be used to wipe out all student loan debt ($1.77 trillion), pay for half of U.S. health care ($4 trillion), or allow us to dream bigger.
Imagine a country where we have reliable and accessible public transportation, better infrastructure like roads and bridges, higher quality food that isn’t laden with chemicals, and childcare programs.
Instead, every time we pay our taxes, we are continuing to fund the military industrial complex, ensuring that planes fly over all of our neighborhoods at home and that troops are located in 80 countries.
Since October 7, 2023, the U.S. has provided $12.5 billion to Israel. I’ve been aware of that fact, but had military planes not flown over my yard recently, I don’t think I would have truly stopped to consider the vastness of our military machine and wondered if we should be spending our money on something different instead.
What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
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I’m a dual passport holder: USA and Sweden, where I have lived for the past 34 years and raised 4 boys. So I have seen and experienced where my tax dollars go as I paid absolutely nothing for giving birth to my children and had amazing maternity care and 1 year maternity leave with 80% of my salary. Also my children have college education for free and college loans at 1.23% to pay for living expenses. Sweden isn’t perfect but I much prefer my tax dollars going to healthcare/education for all than paying for military bases all over the world and supporting oppression and genocide!
Being in DC, it’s a constant thought of what really runs our region and it feels so heavy. It’s why I’m glad I have my car and proximity to Amtrak and the Metro so I can move around on my own accord.