No MAS! No Military Air Shows!

The 2024 No MAS! (No Military Air Shows) national campaign has come to a successful conclusion, with protests in 9 locations, and a petition created by our allies at 350 US calling on the Secretaries of the Navy and the Air Force to end these noisy, expensive, and polluting air shows. Members of Veterans For Peace, 350.org US, Extinction Rebellion, US Resist, and local environmental and civic groups showed up to educate the public and protest in:

• Portland, Oregon (protest at a theatre showing the Blue Angels propaganda film)
• Annapolis, Maryland (air show)
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin (air show)
• Seattle, Washington (air show)
• New Brunswick, Maine (air show)
• McMinnville, Oregon (air show)
• Virginia Beach, Virginia (air show)
• San Diego, California (six weeks of actions leading up to air show)
• San Francisco, California (air show cancelled due to fog!) 

Military air shows are a wa$te – of our tax dollars, jet fuel, pilots’ skills, and greenhouse gas emissions. When the Navy started the air shows program in 1946, the global level of atmospheric CO2 was only 310, but now it is 421 and rising, far above the safe ceiling of 350 ppm. The US military is the world’s single largest institutional consumer of fossil fuels. NONE of those fuels need to be used for entertainment. This campaign will resume in 2025, and we have plans for a more extensive campaign. To find out how you can participate, or with other questions and suggestions, please email climate@veteransforpeace.org. 

To request a presentation, please click here.

View/download this handy 10-point guide:  No MAS! How To Protest a Military Air Show

Please click on the links below to access resources, articles and videos to support your actions.

• PBS Interview: Protestors call for cancellation of the Miramar Air Show
• “Disneyland of War” short documentary
• Clip from “War Machine”

Two short videos: 

• The US military is the largest institutional consumer of fossil fuels
• The true cost of the military-industrial complex

Articles:

• Sample OpEd - Opinion: The U.S. military’s impact on the climate crisis is STILL rarely mentioned. Here’s what you should know.
• No MAS! Military Jets and the Climate Crisis
• Inconvenient Truths About Military Air Shows
• Opinion: Airshow protest highlights Pentagon's carbon footprint
• The Problem With the Blue Angels 

Case Study: Miramar Air Show in San Diego and San Diego Veterans For Peace, Chapter 91

Chapter 91 in San Diego has been protesting the annual Miramar Air Show since 2016.  We began by focusing upon the military’s glorification of war and its overt appeal to youths as young as 8 years old as it allowed kids to aim automatic weapons at each other and climb atop tanks, romp inside helicopters and “fly” Top Gun jets.  We sought community support, and, although we did receive some local media attention, we found ourselves with few allies.  That changed in 2021 when we refined our focus to that of the Blue Angels as gross polluters.  We had three local climate/social justice organizations endorse us and attend our actions.  We saw that we were connecting with an issue beyond Peace groups.  We amplified our efforts to gain supporters earlier in 2022 and ended up with 18 local organizations endorsing our actions!