Editor,
Central to this growing controversy are the EA-18G jets stationed at NAS Whidbey.
These $83 million-plus electronic warfare jets, the loudest ever built, are devastating Washington state Puget Sound’s northern islands with documented levels of hazardous noise, even before the completion of an Environmental Impact Study.
The Navy now plans to take large swaths 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 bases in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Nevada, but says it needs the Olympic Peninsula to save $5 million per year on fuel costs and 45 minutes of flying time that Navy personnel could spend with their families.
Here are a few of the Navy’s claims that make it hard to trust them.
Navy Claim: The numbers of flights in the Olympic National Forest are projected to increase by 10 percent.
Facts: Growlers will fly over the Olympic Peninsula communities and cities for 260 days per year to do 2,900 training exercises for 8-16 hours per day at 15 locations. The current number of operations in the Olympic MOA is 1,200.
Navy claim: Growlers over the Olympic Forest will fly at 10,000 feet above sea level.
Facts: The Navy is authorized to fly at 6,000 feet above mean sea level. Because the ground rises in the mountains, in some areas jets will fly at 1,200 feet.
Navy claim: Growlers are no louder than Prowlers.
Facts: Growlers can cause instantaneous hearing loss. The Navy’s own data states that Growlers, as they approach a landing, register at 114 dB compared with 107 dB for Prowlers. Given the log scale, that 7 dB difference expands to Growler noise being 4.33 times as intense as the average reading for Prowlers.
Navy claim: Training over Olympics will enhance the Navy’s ability to support troops.
Fact: The Navy is already doing electromagnetic warfare training elsewhere. This looks more like a proposal for the convenience of the Navy, not for improved training for field support. Additionally, any training they do now could be learned in simulators instead of aircraft for real financial savings, as most airlines do today.
Navy claim: It is extremely unlikely that the training conducted in Washington will adversely affect people, animals or the environment.
Fact: In the 2010 EIS for the Northwest Training and Testing Center, plans include “taking” thousands of fish and marine mammals, like our Orcas.
Navy claim: Electromagnetic emitters are safe.
Fact: Dahr Jamal, journalist, published a list of scientists and articles on electromagnetic-emitter science that contradicts this claim. The effects of noise and electromagnetic radiation on one billion birds flying up and down the Pacific Coast Flyway annually has not been analyzed by the Navy.
In spite of facts and science, the Navy is committed to more jets, more noise, expanded assets, sonar that will kill our fish and whales, live-fire testing and warfare training.
The Navy’s goals are out of sync with a growing region that cares about health, a clean and peaceful environment and a sustainable economy for our beloved Puget Sound estuary.
Maryon Attwood
Coupeville
