And then environment, and then there's a military judgment factor., We asked the Air Force to have six public forums, to have a public comment period, Leahy has said. This was about nine months before Burlington was announced as the chosen base location. Long-Abandoned Vermont Air Force Base Remains a Curiosity Fort IX, the largest of the structures, cost an estimated $7.6 million to build, around $232 million (182m) in today's money. Even though this memo seems to indicate theres no operational benefit to Vermont over South Carolina, at one point a spokeswoman for the Air Force did tout Burlington as the ideal base from an operational standpoint: For the mission, we think this is going to be the best place, Ann Stefanik said on VPR in 2012. We asked Bobby: If you could speak to any member of the delegation for this story, who would it be? I mean, there's two sides on this issue. Fitzsimons Army Medical Center. At the time it was prohibitively costly to keep the site in operation. Under ANG Scenario 2, there would be 803 fewer operations. While walking around the roof of the towers we were careful not to step on the wooden areas. The noise does not bother me I sort of enjoy it, Greco says. Abandoned When we asked about the nature of the Air Forces communication with our delegation, and how many times they were contacted by our senators, they said this: During the F-35 basing action referenced, the Air Force regularly briefed the defense committees and the affected state delegations on the basing status. I think sometimes comments or questions can be misconstrued as challenges. The crumbling base has been nicknamed Zombieland and likened to TV show The Walking Dead by US soldiers, while the Afghan security forces refer to the dilapidated buildings as houses for demons. It cost an absolute fortune: the final bill came in at $494 million, which is about $3.8 billion (3bn) when adjusted for inflation. Consisting of several deep shafts, a number of missile silos and a maze of tunnels, the installation was large enough to house hundreds of personnel and could stay completely autonomous for up to 15 days. Their response: There are no plans to change locations.. We also asked if the Air Force acknowledges that Burlington was scored incorrectly in its analysis. The mall remains in fairly good shape even after abandonment. The iconic mall skylights provide nice lighting for photographers despite the lack of electricity. Diamond Run is one of the largest abandoned places in Vermont, and is truly a symbol of a bygone era. 2. The Walloomsac Inn It almost looks like something out of a Skooby Doo episode. In 1961 it was the site of a UFO encounter. Tweet. In Burlington, it would be thousands. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. Abandoned projects the US government spent billions of taxpayers' money on. Share. I thought we were in for a 9 mile hike. Someone painted a message on the steel drum that blocks the road 1 hour 20 minutes up, 40 minutes down. I was thankful for this message, because we were able to drive all the way to the base I really had no idea how far we had left to go.