— from Christopher “Scotty” Gray, Rear Admiral, Commander, Navy Region Northwest —
Recent allegations challenging the Navy’s operation of the Growler EA-18G aircraft have created a great deal of public interest in the Navy’s operations in the Pacific Northwest, and I would like to discuss a few key facts regarding the Navy’s mission and environmental stewardship on Whidbey Island in particular.
First-and-foremost, EA-18G Growler aircraft, and the aircrews who fly them, are a crucial component of our national defense. Navy Growlers provide Airborne Electronic Attack capabilities for all of our armed forces, and without the Growler’s ability to suppress enemy uses of electromagnetic energy, American troops in the air, at sea, and on the ground are at risk. But as important as this mission is, we also understand that our operations can impact the environment and the local community. For this reason, the Navy spent six years studying the potential environmental impacts of the decision to add EA-Growler aircraft at NAS Whidbey Island.
The Navy consulted with federal experts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to ensure that the best available science was used to evaluate impacts to natural resources. The Navy also conducted an extensive review of the potential health effects from aircraft noise. Additionally, the Navy went to extensive lengths to consider the impact of Growler operations on Whidbey Island’s historic properties and landscapes. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that resulted from the Navy’s studies is comprehensive and available to the public at www.whidbeyeis.com.
The Navy takes its obligations to the environment seriously, and invests extensively in stewardship. Through a Department of Defense funding program, the Navy has been able to protect over 1,200 acres on Whidbey Island. This helps to maintain the Navy’s ability to fly here, but also preserves Whidbey Island’s natural character. The Navy has invested $13.8 million in direct payments to landowners willing to help conserve our community’s rural and welcoming setting.
Our stewardship extends to the sea as well. The Navy is one of the world’s leading organizations in the study of marine mammals. From 2004 through 2013, the Navy has funded over $240 million specifically for marine mammal research. In 2014, the Navy allocated $29.6 million for this purpose, accounting for 22 percent of all United States Federal funding for marine mammal research and conservation.
We care a great deal about reducing our impact to our neighbors as much as possible. This is why the Navy regularly publishes our operations schedule, and our leadership meets with the county and the school district to discuss upcoming events and come up with solutions that avoid disruption as much as possible.
None of us joined the Navy to disturb our neighbors; we joined to protect them. Just like other residents of Whidbey Island, our kids are in the same schools, and we enjoy the same hikes, parks, and community traditions. We are part of this community, and we tread carefully when making decisions that may impact our shared environment.
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Nice to hear from you. While it is nice to hear from The Brass” on Whidbey Island the People who are adversely affected by the Growlers and the creatures of the land who have no voice in human decisions are suffering. You can point to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)and tell us that it was all “done by the Book) but of course The State wants revenue from the Feds and the County officials want the same. It is the People and the animals who are shafted.
We are getting 36 new Growlers; I don’t see how the Navy can claim to be environmentally conscious when it’s adding that many more, polluting the air and our waters with jet fuel, killing and maiming whales and other cetaceans in the Salish Sea with sonar, making war noises til 1 or 2 a.m. some nights; too many nights. It’s far more than simply noise disruption, which alone feels like an invasion and is scary to many of us. It’s the environmental destruction and disruption to a way of life for coastal peoples, where the majority of the population is.
Why can’t the Navy find a way to test the majority of the Growlers in Idaho again, as was done before all Growler operations moved to the San Juans so that the pilots could be back on base in time for dinner.
Olympic National Forest is suffering the effects from the radiowave defensive-weaponry practices there; god knows what that is doing to one of the most beautiful and pristine remaining boreal rainforests and its inhabitants- human and non-human.
We keep hearing about protection: How do U.S. wars of aggression on so many other countries keep us protected? I can’t follow this logic.
By comparison, in 2013 the USN paid almost 70 million/plane. Just saying…
The Empire strikes back (weakly) The outright lies and mistruths in this piece of propaganda would be hilarious if not so sad. What is , poorly, masked is the arrogance of the Navy. Testosterone is our most dangerous drug.
As egregiously insulting as they are, this issue goes beyond the number of planes and flights and hits at the heart of oppositional politics.
However, thanks for clearing up a question I have long wondered about – the important mission of the Growler being to intimidate domestic critics while pretending we have an ‘enemy’ whose fictitious electronic warfare capacity needs to be ‘jammed’ at our expense.
Sorry, Lief, as a PNW lifer who has spent a thousand edifying and truly liberating hours in Olympic forests, I know what is being taken from us. Bad trip, indeed.
Why do prior comments keep disappearing?