Finally, we get a politician with the courage to stand up to the illegal activity the Navy has been pursuing for years in the air above a huge swath of the North Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The Navy started training pilots here, from what I can determine, in WWII. Think about that. Single engine prop planes, in an area that was very lightly populated. Simply add to that as you move forward in time, little by little. Now, they have decided that they want to continue to massively expand, though now there are tens of thousands of retirees and regular folks living within 30 to 40 miles radius from them. Their jets are louder than ever. Not even designed to be quiet. And most of the Navy personnel are simply here today gone tomorrow. I talked to a consultant to them, at the “public information day” a year or so back. He told me to my face that “you have it good! I live in Virginia and there are far more overflights by Navy training there than here!” That’s their perspective. At least we aren’t Virginia. They have no local knowledge nor perspective. They don’t care. They are on to the next assignment next year. They don’t care if they have huge training grounds in the middle of the Nevada desert to train in without anyone around. They don’t care if we sleep well at night. They don’t care about us at all. This is life in the modern military-industrial complex that Eisenhower warned us about. You and I have no voice at all. Their plan is to turn the Sound into the Navy’s training ground. All of it. It’s very clear from their 100+ page EIS’s. And people who don’t hear the jets are just like people who don’t actually pay for healthcare. They don’t hear it so they don’t care. So who is on our side? Rep. Kilmer has no idea what to do other than “study the sound”. The Governor is off polishing his defense resume for his presidential bid. No one cares. It’s up to us and our AG. No matter what the outcome, thank you to AG Bob Ferguson and local politician Michelle Sandoval for suggesting that he look into it. We will remember you at the ballot box because we know, you took action when many others didn’t.
The Navy’s expansion of loud, low-flying Growler jet training flights on Whidbey Island drew a lawsuit on Tuesday from Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who alleges the Navy did not do enough to examine the flights’ impacts on people and wildlife. In a state that has long hosted military bases — and welcomed billions of dollars of Defense Department spending — the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Seattle marks a rare court challenge of a Pentagon decision from state political leaders. Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times) See also: ‘An egregious violation’: WA sues Navy for dumping toxic paint into Puget Sound The copper-based paint repels barnacles — but it could add up to a larger environmental cost. John Stang reports. (Cascadia Magazine)
Washington state sues Navy over expansion of Growler jet training on Whidbey Island