Worries about how potential budget cuts could affect Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in the future came through clearly from community members who gathered at the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce meeting Nov. 17 to hear the ‘state of the station’ from Commanding Officer, Capt. Jay Johnston.

The Captain spoke to a sold out crowd for the luncheon, which was held at the Whidbey Golf and Country Club.

Several people asked Johnston questions pertaining to sequester cuts that could come in 2013 if Congress can’t come up with a budget solution.

The Department of Defense has said such cuts would double $450 billion in cuts already pending in its budget.

While no one can predict what might happen, Johnston said he continues to sell NAS Whidbey’s importance to Navy officials in Washington, D.C.

“Nearly 88 percent of the local economy is driven by the base,” Johnston said. “That’s a huge number. We beat that drum every chance we get because it gives everybody the opportunity to see the impact we have on the community.”

One of the biggest risks to the base, Johnston said, would be the potential loss of the P-8A Poseidon aircraft. The current program of record has NAS Whidbey getting four squadrons of Poseidons to replace the current fleet of P-3C Orions.

“We are fully prepared to accept four P-8A squadrons in 2015. But there are multiple courses of action that have been proposed. Three of them involve Whidbey Island, one does not,” Johnston said. “We’re working hard to keep those (economic) numbers in the right hands so we will be seen in the best light.”

Any changes in the program of record will be shared immediately, Johnston said.

“As soon as I know something, you’ll know something,” he said.

Other risks, should there be bigger budget cuts than expected, would be in long term upgrades to base facilities.

“We’d be looking at not being able to complete projects,” Johnston said. “We are discreetly looking at how to operate the best we can based on budget projections.”

One thing Johnston said the base excels at is conserving energy. Energy consumption has dropped 35 percent since 2003.

“That’s way ahead of schedule,” he said. “Every year we continue to save energy and money on operating costs, and we have probably the premiere recycling program in the area.”

Johnston went on to describe a number of upgrades to facilities, most of which are being done, he said, in order to save money in the long term. Other improvements to base facilities include three new pedestrian crossings on Charles Porter Ave., security has been moved, renovations to the Navy Exchange on the Seaplane Base are complete, there is a new fire school, and the new child development center on Regatta is completed as well.

One upcoming utility project that could impact Oak Harbor residents will include work to upgrade the fuel pipeline between Ault Field and the Seaplane Base in 2012. Johnston said they are working with city officials to make sure the project goes smoothly and with the least amount of inconvenience.

From July through September, there were 92 noise complaint calls made to the base. Of those, 48 came in July and 34 in August. Johnston said the base averages about  30 to 35 complaints a month and did say July’s numbers were up due to a surge in training.

“In July we had a lot of squadrons surging to go to boat and we lost control of the pattern in Coupeville for a short time,” he said. “We had one night that probably accounted for most of those calls.”

Johnston said the base investigates every complaint call received, and said many of the complaints come from the same people.

Overall, the state of the station is good, according to Johnston. While the future may lie in the hands of the politicians in Washington, D.C., he stressed how all decisions are made with care.

“We try to be good stewards of your tax dollars,” Johnston said.