In response to EIS study being done by the navy:
I currently live in the Admiral’s Cove subdivision south of the OLF. My house is in the glide pattern area of the Growlers landing at OLF. According to a Growler pilot, the jets are about 200 feet above my property and rooftop. The noise created by the jets can only be described unbearable. The noise has caused permanent damage to my house, the wildlife and myself as well as my wife and grandson.
My house was built eight years ago when the Prowlers were the only aircraft at OLF. These jets were loud but bearable. When the Growlers began flying at OLF, the noise became a completely different story. The noise from the Growlers is a louder and more painful noise. This noise is a violent vibration that has cracked my interior walls. It has cracked the concrete floor of the first floor. It has blown the seal in various windows throughout the house. This damage came after the Growler flights began. I compare the idea that the jet noise is beating down on my house like a jack hammer.
Spending a lot of time outside around my house, I have noticed that since the Growlers have come, the wildlife has changed. Rabbits were common all around my property and the empty two acre lot behind me. Now it is rare to see rabbits around the area. Quail were always around in the summer. My property would be a center point where three families of quail would raise their young around my yard area. Now the quail are gone. Raptor birds always used to fly overhead working the updrafts. Sometimes six bald eagles at one time could be seen from my yard. Now it is rare to see these birds. It should be noted that where my property is located, no other properties around my area have had any improvements in the last seven years since the introduction of the Growler.
As for my own health, I have a permanent ringing in my ears that I am told is not going to go away. Jets landing until sometimes 0100 in the morning have caused my wife and myself serious sleep deprivation. This lack of sleep makes our ability to safely do our jobs a real challenge. Four hours of sleep for my wife and myself is unhealthy and unsafe. My wife is starting to be afraid the jets are going to crash into our home. My nine year old grandson spends a great deal of time at our home. When the Growlers are flying, it is almost impossible for him to function, let alone do his homework. Damage to his hearing is probably going to ruin any chance of he himself becoming a navy pilot, since excellent hearing is required.
I should mention that I do have a deep respect for the military. My father was an Air Force fighter pilot. My wife served in the Navy, her mother also served and her father was an aerial photographer and started his career at NAS Whidbey in 1947. But I cannot accept the fact that the Navy thinks that it is alright to submit American citizens to the torture brought down upon us by the flights of the Growlers at OLF. At the scoping meeting I had a conversation with a Growler pilot who was very informative. I asked him if he would raise his family where I live? He said ” No, that would be wrong.”
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