My wife
and I believe that our community of Bryson-Hesperia,
directly to the south of Fort Hunter-Liggett, will be
severely impacted by the Navy's proposal to develop an
air to ground target range at the fort. We know from more
than 20 years of experience that these Navy
fighter-bombers fly directly over or very close to our
community. In past years, these training sorties have
been sporadic and occasional. The Navy is now proposing
over 2000 training flights a year. This averages to more
than five sorties of multiple target runs everyday.
We want the Navy to understand that as water and air
pollution poison the body, sound pollution poisons the
mind.
These fighter-bombers are built for maximum power with
no sound suppression features. They are extremely loud,
many times louder than the commercial jetliners, which
fly their north-south routes high above our community. At
1000 feet above the ground, these aircraft are ear
splitting. At 20,000 feet above the ground, they create a
long reverberating roar of angry thunder. The Navy has
said that they will keep their sorties well away from and
high above residential areas, but we know from experience
that this is not so. This past week, one or two
fighter-bombers passed just to the east of our home.
These planes made two low altitude runs into
Hunter-Liggett and then passed directly over
Bryson-Hesperia in the direction of Lemoore. This
scenario, increased more than a hundred fold, will
completely destroy our quality of life and drive many
residents from this area of natural quiet and beauty.
Property values will plunge and our years of work and
financial investment will be lost.
The Navy is aggressively forcing its proposal through
a flood of opposition without having done a full
environmental impact report (EIR). The Navy claims its
right to use Military Operations Areas (MOA's) that are
totally outdated. These MOA's were instituted during
World War II, more than half a century ago. They are no
longer justified and should be reconfigured. The Navy has
not considered the present demographics of California and
the negative impacts these fighter-bombers will have on
our residential and natural communities. The population
of California, including its central coast, has increased
5 times since these MOA's were instituted. The population
of Bryson-Hesperia and the San Antonio Valley has
increased that much in the last 30 years.
We have heard many and continuously changing reasons
why the Navy needs to use Fort Hunter-Liggett for a
high-use bombing range--tule fog at Lamore, 3 million
dollar is fuel savings, suitable terrain, MOA's. None of
these reasons justify the severe degradation of the
central coast of California. There are excellent
alternatives.
Why hasn't the Navy seriously considered other target
sites? China Lake Naval Weapons Areas are already owned
and used by the Navy. They offer thousands of acres of
diverse terrain and potential targets, little more than
100 miles to the southeast of Lemoore. Fort Irwine, which
is proximate to China Lake, offers many target sites and
also an opportunity to co-train with ground forces.
Fallon Nevada is close to the vast Nevada Test Ranges.
Combining Lemoore and Fallon into one operation, would
improve logistics and would saves millions of tax
dollars.
We suspect that the Navy will keep its flights as far
as possible from the Ventana Wilderness and the
endangered Condors to the north. Considering the foraging
range of these endangered birds, this will be impossible.
Out of respect for the Catholic Church and because it is
a place of prayer, the Navy will try to avoid passing
near Mission San Antonio de Padua to the east. This is
impossible, since the mission is only 5 miles from the
target. The mission's bucolic setting will be turned into
a virtual war zone. The Navy flights will avoid passing
over the Big Sur, because it is a major tourist
destination with political clout. That leaves our
community of Bryson-Hesperia and the San Antonio Valley
to the south and southeast to receive the negative brunt
of these flights.
Fort Hunter-Liggett's primary mission has been to
train ground forces. We believe it should remain so. A
high-use bombing range would be a major change in the
fort's mission. The thunderous roar of these attack
aircraft is quantum leap in degrading the natural and
cultural resources of the central coast the quality of
life in our community. These aircraft should not train
here. Fort Hunter-Liggett and the rich and fragile lands,
which surround it, are not suitable for this of
activity.
As one of our nation's peacekeepers, we ask the Navy
to keep the peace of our community.
As a guardian of our democracy, we ask the Navy to
respect our congressional and county representatives, who
unanimously oppose this bombing range.
Thank you for your consideration,
Charles Ewing and Elizabeth
Cecchi-Ewing
Bryson-Hesperia CA