Editor,

Let’s be clear. The Navy wants to spread its Growler noise-print all over the Olympic Peninsula’s National Park, the surrounding national forest and adjacent communities.

The Navy plans to take and periodically close large swathes of the Olympic National Forest, along with airspace over it and the Olympic National Park, for its Northwest Electromagnetic Radiation Warfare training program.

It already does this training on four bases in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Nevada but now says it needs the Olympic Peninsula because it wants all Growlers to be home-based at Whidbey Naval Air Station.

The Navy already has an area in Mountain Home, Idaho, that is available for such war gaming and does not need to allocate $11.5 million to transfer these operations to a new location in a new state.

They have 30 practice emitters at the Air Force base in Idaho.

Capt. Mike Nortier wants the mobile ones and the stationary one in Coupeville to save gas on jet fuel and get pilots home for dinner.

At the EIS scoping meeting in Port Townsend, Navy “experts” stated that the Growlers are authorized to fly at an altitude of 6,000 above sea level. But the ground rises in mountains, and in some areas they will be flying at 1,200 feet.

This altitude was mentioned by several Navy “experts,” especially in relationship to the location areas of the mobile emitters. Either Nortier “misspoke” or his “experts” gave the public the wrong information.

The Navy has released expansion plans for our region’s land, air and sea peace-meal. They are feeling the wrath from people throughout the region — not just Coupeville.

Now they think a letter that manipulates the facts from the commander of the base will be enough to sooth the populace.

I don’t think so.

Michael Monson

Coupeville