— from Captain Michael Nortier, Commanding Officer, NAS Whidbey —
Many people may be unaware that our service members – our sons, daughters, friends, and neighbors – are training in the skies above the Olympic Mountains to take the fight to the enemy on our behalf.
The Navy recently proposed a plan to provide more realistic training at substantial savings to taxpayers, but certain groups and individuals have chosen to spread misconceptions about the proposed training.
The training is about detecting, sorting and identifying certain electronic signals amongst the deluge of existing signal clutter and determining appropriate actions against signals of interest. Our aircraft provide electronic support to Soldiers and Marines on the ground and our fellow Airman in the sky; this proposed change to existing training will enhance the Navy’s ability to provide that support.
The Navy flies over the coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean, Olympic Peninsula, the Cascade mountain range and eastern Washington as we have for the last forty years. The proposed plan does not introduce new flight areas; it proposes using mobile training emitters on existing logging roads on National Forest land to improve the training our aircrews receive today. The specific training these emitters provide enable aircrew to safely and successfully counter enemy defenses when they fly into harm’s way. The armed services have decades of experience successfully operating similar fixed and mobile emitters at a variety of locations across the nation. It is extremely unlikely that the training conducted in the Pacific Northwest will adversely affect people, animals, or the environment.
There have been misrepresentations of the facts, and I would like to address some of what we have been hearing:
Myth: These emitters are dangerous.
Fact: The Navy uses the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers “Standard for Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 3 kHz to 300 GHz,” to make its determinations. The IEEE standard serves as a consensus standard developed by representatives of industry, government agencies, the scientific community and the public. In addition, there is a long history of these systems being safely employed to provide our aviators the training they need without incident or adverse effects.
Myth: The Navy is planning to bring many more planes to the Olympic National Forest.
Fact: Electronic warfare training is already being conducted in Northwest. The number, duration, and frequency of aircraft flights in the operating area are only projected to increase by 10%, which equates to an average increase of one flight per day. These are not low altitude flights, and most go unnoticed as our crews train in these areas today. As the number and duration of flights are not expected to increase significantly, and the typical flight profile is not planned to change, there is no expected change in aircraft noise.
Myth: The Navy is planning to conduct war games.
Fact: There are no war games planned. The only change is the addition of a mobile transmitter to improve the training we currently simulate. During these training missions, which already occur in these areas, the planes only receive signals; they are not broadcasting and will not be “jamming.” The frequencies used by the mobile transmitters will be deconflicted by the Federal Communications Commission and will not impact other broadcast signals, so vital services will not be interrupted.
Myth: The Navy will be flying at low altitudes and at supersonic speeds
Fact: The Navy has no intention of flying at low altitudes or at speeds above the sound barrier. The mission requires the aircraft to be able to directly observe the emitters, typically flying at altitudes of 10,000 feet or greater. Low altitude flight does not support the training. Supersonic flight above the United States is controlled by the FAA plus, when our planes conduct this training, they do not fly supersonic.
I hope this information is helpful. You can find additional information at: https://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrnw/installations/nas_whidbey_island/om/environmental_support.html.
We strive to keep the public informed of our activities. The ability to send a signal towards an aircraft and have the crew train to detect and identify the signal allows for more finely tuned skills to be used when lives are at risk. This training is designed to protect and save American lives. The young men and women who volunteered to protect our great nation and by extension every one of us, deserve the very best equipment and training opportunities this country can provide. We owe it to them.
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As someone who has been a direct, and grateful, recipient of CAS – Close Air Support – I know how invaluable realistic training can be. The old saying, “train as you fight”, is as true today as it was back in my time, when we used muskets. The training that will be conducted is passive, as the CO/NAS Whidbey explains above.
While I understand the concerns expressed by some, I believe they are shooting from the hip, pardon the pun, without a full and correct understanding of what is, and will be, involved.
To send our fellow citizens, both the ground pounders and the air crews, into harms way without the proper training is wrong. They may not be members of your immediate family, but they are all our sons and daughters.
“The young men and women who volunteered to protect our great nation and by extension every one of us, deserve the very best equipment and training opportunities this country can provide. We owe it to them.”
Exactly. Thanks for addressing the rumors that have been circulating as facts.
Reply to Captain Michael Nortier, Commanding Officer Naval Air Whidbey;
From John Titus
While Captain Nortier’s response was appreciated, he failed to address the overall program with electromagnetic warfare training in Washington State.
Captain Nortier states : “Myth: The Navy is planning to bring many more planes to the Olympic National Forest.
Fact: Electronic warfare training is already being conducted in Northwest. The number, duration, and frequency of aircraft flights in the operating area are only projected to increase by 10%, which equates to an average increase of one flight per day.”
In reality, 36 additional “Growlers” are being added to the existing 82 that are already stationed there. Whether all 36 will be used over the Olympic National Forest is not the point. The Navy range also extends from Everett North and nothing was said about additional training on the East side of the Sound. 36 additional planes is potentially 36 additional active flights and the noise that goes with it.
Captain Nortier States: “Myth: These emitters are dangerous.
Fact: The Navy uses the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers “Standard for Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 3 kHz to 300 GHz,” to make its determinations.”
According to the most recent report in “Truthout” by Dahr Jamail;
“However, Truthout has acquired several documents from the Navy, Air Force and even NASA that directly contradict the Navy’s claims that their exercises pose no threat to wildlife and humans, and spoke with an expert on the human impact of electromagnetic radiation fields who also refutes the Navy’s claims.
Dr. Martin Pall, a professor emeritus of biochemistry and medical sciences with Washington State University, has written several peer-reviewed papers on the subject of how electromagnetic radiation of various levels impacts human beings, as well as given international lectures on the subject.
THE HEALTH IMPACTS OF EVEN THE NAVY’S LOWEST LEVELS OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION EMISSIONS ARE SHOCKING.
Pall told Truthout that these claims by the Navy are “untrue,” and provided reams of evidence, including his own scientific reports, that document, in detail, the extremely dangerous impacts of even very low levels of the microwave and electromagnetic radiation that the Navy would be emitting during their war games.
Pall’s paper, titled “Electromagnetic fields act via activation of voltage-gated calcium channels to produce beneficial or adverse effects,” outlines the impact of electromagnetic radiation on biological organisms, and was given the honor of being posted on the “Global Medical Discovery” site as one of the top medical papers of 2013.
Pall told Truthout that the Navy has not provided “any evidence” to support their claims that electromagnetic frequencies (EMF) do not impact wildlife and humans deleteriously.
According to Pall, a NASA study, and more than 1,000 other scientific reports and studies, the health impacts of even the Navy’s lowest levels of electromagnetic radiation emissions are shocking.”
More on this study can be found at this link:
https://truth-out.org/news/item/28009-documents-show-navy-s-electromagnetic-warfare-training-would-harm-humans-and-wildlife
The reason that the Navy has only filed an “Environmental Assessment” is that if a true and correct Environmental Impact Statement was done the Navy could never demonstrate that these weapons systems are safe.
Captain Nortier states: “The Navy recently proposed a plan to provide more realistic training at substantial savings to taxpayers”
The military never provides a saving to the taxpayers. Every pilot knows that jets dump surplus fuel nearly every landing to reduce fire danger upon possible impact. In a November 19 public meeting at Pacific Beach (broadcast by radio station KBKW) the Navy said training in the Olympic National Forest would allow their crews to go home to their families at night. That is not what a hitch in the military is built upon. The Navy currently has Electromagnetic training areas located at Mountain Home, Idaho. That’s only 400 miles away for a plane that can fly very far, very fast. I’m sure the crews will be home by dinner. Training in the Olympic National Forest is not within the scope of forest practice use.
Caprtain Nortier states: “Fact: The Navy has no intention of flying at low altitudes or at speeds above the sound barrier.”
All of the San Juan Islands, especially Lopez have experienced Loud, low flights. I have also heard sonic booms, something the residents at the November 19th Pacific Beach meeting with the Navy complained about. They are directly inside the training range. As previously reported, training flights may be as low as 1200 feet. As stated in the defense industry trade website “Breaking Defense”: (https://breakingdefense.com/2014/10/navy-forges-new-ew-strategy-electromagnetic-maneuver-warfare/ )
““Everyone looks at the EA-18G as ‘the’ electronic warfare platform,” said Capt. Scott Farr, deputy commander of the Pacific Fleet’s electronic attack wing on Whidbey Island, Washington. “Well, in naval aviation, we are interweaving electronic warfare into every platform.” That includes the new P-8 Poseidon patrol plane, the upgraded E-2D Hawkeye radar plane, even the MH-60R helicopter,…”
This suggests that helicopters will also be used in electromagnetic warfare training, which has not even been discussed yet. We have experienced very low, very loud night time tree-top level flights by groups of helicopters that have unnerved people, livestock and pets.
Communities north of Aberdeen on the coast, including Pacific Beach where a permanent transmitter will be near the public school, are preparing legal action to force the Navy and Forest Service to have a neutral party conduct a true and accurate Environmental Impact Statement. We cannot rely on the Navy’s own “Environmental Assessment”. Once this type of electromagnetic warfare training is allowed, it will expand in scope and scale.
For more information with additional embedded links, please refer to:
https://theorcasonian.com/guest-opinion-navy-jets-will-bring-noise-electromagnetic-radiation
John Titus