Sound of freedom? More like an assault on the archipelago | Letters

Published 6:52 pm Monday, May 11, 2015

The EA18G Navy “Growler” jets made the front page of last week’s edition of the Journal, (Lawsuit aims at Growlers,” May 6, pg. 1).

When they are active, on San Juan Island, we hear a near constant rumble that is disquieting; unsettling to any living thing with the sensitivity to hear it. Though the planes are flying from Whidbey Island, their health damaging noise has also invaded my own home throughout the day and into the late evening.

So the people affected by these planes are not just those in the flight path.

This is the sound of the loudest warplanes in history, flying over island communities that have traded convenience and ease of traveling to live here, in a place that they love. The group called the Citizens of Ebeys Reserve has filed a lawsuit declaring the physical and mental health of those closest to the base is threatened; 130 decibels has been measured at homes.

This is noise at the “deafening” level, known as the threshold of pain, which can cause immediate ear damage. I urge people to support them. (http://citizensofebeysreserve.com/)

Ordinary citizens who create harmful noise would be legally regulated to keep the peace and quiet. Why not the military?

Surely, the Navy does not want to dominate and subjugate its own citizens or be considered a public nuisance.

Last week’s paper also featured an article about The San Juan Islands as a destination of choice, drawing visitors who spent more than $193 million in 2014 in the county, (“Dispatches from the Bureau,” pg. 7). And why do people want to come here? They certainly don’t travel hundreds or thousands of miles from home to hear the incessant reverberation of the Navy Growlers.

The sound of freedom includes the right to defend the values of your own home. This place is precious. The people who live here are important. They do not deserve to be bullied by health-damaging noise.

The Navy provides jobs to many on Whidbey. Yet here we have built an economy and way of life based on natural beauty and uncommon tranquility.

The din of the Growlers simply do not belong in a populated, complex area renowned for its scenic, cultural, recreational and natural values. The Navy’s number for noise complaints: (360) 257-6665.

Shann Weston/San Juan Island