Olympic NP- Electro Magnetic Warfare Range

1. The Navy today is at least 2000 times less knowledgeable than the Navy was 44 years ago in 1971; the Navy today is also at least 10,000 times less knowledgeable today than it should be

That statement seems very odd. Doesn't sound like something a reputable scientist would say.




The claims you cite are in contradiction to the navy claims. Do you have a link to the document where those claims were made by the navy?

The current information I can find here:

www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrnw/om/envir...iew-information.html

says the following:

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.

and:

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 tightly controlled by the FAA plus, when our planes conduct this training, they do not fly supersonic.

And regarding the mobile emitters:

The intensity or power level from the mobile emitter equipment can be varied from
100 to 300 watts. It is expected that normal power output during training activities will be at the
lower end of this range and about 100 watts, as high output is not needed or desired for this type
of signal. For comparison, many of us use 60-100 watt light bulbs at home. In another
comparison, many commercial radio stations in the Puget Sound area have antenna power output
of 100,000 watts or more.

and:

Though there will not be any harm to humans or animals from this equipment and
training, the Navy has added protective measures to even further reduce any potential for humans
or animals to be near the equipment when in operation. The emitters, which are at least 14 feet
above the ground, put out narrowly-focused, directional electronic signals that will be pointed
skyward toward the Pacific Ocean. Set up in this direction, the mobile emitters pose no threat to
people or animals below the emitters on the ground. Risk to animals or humans would only occur
if they put themselves in the direct path of the signal, above the emitter, and close to the source
of the signal for an extended period of time. Additionally, the Navy has implemented a 100-foot
safety zone around the vehicles and mandated that crews shut down the emitters if people or
animals are within that safety zone when the vehicles are in operation. This will make it so that
there is virtually no chance that anyone will come near the vehicles while in operation without
the operators knowing it.
The Navy will follow the rules and procedures set forth by the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) C95.1a-2010, “IEEE Standard for Safety Levels with Respect to
Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 3 kHz to 300 GHz,” as amended
16 March 2010. Additionally, the Navy, as well as the other armed services, have decades of
experience successfully operating similar fixed and mobile emitters at a variety of locations
across the nation. There is a long history of these systems being safely employed to provide our
aviators the training they need without incident or adverse effects.

That statement seems very odd. Doesn't sound like something a reputable scientist would say.

Dr. Martin L Pall PHD is Prof. Emeritus of Biochemistry and Basic Medical Sciences at Wa State University.

The growler overflights to and from the NWTT encompass much of the Olympic Peninsula are often performed below 10,000 ft.  My family and many others have seen them flying as low or lower than 500 feet.  It is common to hear and see them soaring above the ridgetops of Klahanne, Hurricane, Deer Park etc. ONP is a Designated Wilderness, A UNESCO (whc.unesco.org) World Heritage site and Biosphere Reserve. It seems like the Navy could find less sensitive areas to fly, Mountain Home Idaho. Yakima Firing Range.

Please show me where in the Environmental Assessment the Navy addresses the amount of Electronic Radiation that is emitted FROM a Growler on a training flight?


The claims you cite are in contradiction to the navy claims. Do you have a link to the document where those claims were made by the navy?

Yes. The Navy's own Environmental Assessment pg. 34 Table 2.2-1  Total MEWTS Operations in the Olympic MOAS www.navfac.navy.mil/content/dam/navfac/N...September%202014.pdf

If you think that the Navy is the only source of credible information regarding the impacts of Electromagnetic Radiation on Human Health and the Environment then you have no need to look any further than their Environmental Assessment. 

"What’s happening:

Updated November 2015: First, some numbers: 260 days per year, 8-16 hours per day, up to 153 of the loudest jets on the planet, capable of 150 decibels, burning 1304 gallons per hour and producing more carbon dioxide in one hour of flying than the average Washington citizen produces in a year or a car produces in 29,000 miles of driving—flying right over Washington’s spectacular and famously quiet Olympic Peninsula. This is a major change to the way things once were.

The US Navy plans to permanently use and periodically close large swathes of the Olympic National Forest, along with airspace over it and the Olympic National Park as well as the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, for electromagnetic warfare testing and training. They are also ramping up their use of explosives and sonar and training activities in the waters surrounding the Olympic Peninsula. Their stated goal is to turn the western portion of the Olympic Peninsula and surrounding waters into an Electromagnetic Warfare Range. This means electronic warfare will be practiced over our homes, public lands and waters, and massive sonar and explosive activity will occur in the rich waters surrounding Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, in perpetuity.

The Navy’s Northwest Training Range extends from the innermost reaches of Puget Sound to the outer coast of Washington, and south to the Lost Coast region of California in northern Mendocino County. It goes out 250 nautical miles from the coast. Just the ocean part encompasses an area larger than the State of California. A lawsuit resulted in some concessions by the Navy to respect biologically sensitive areas in Hawaii and Southern California until 2018, but no such concessions apply in the Pacific Northwest." Quotes courtesy of Westcoast Action Alliance

For those that are new to this issue please go to:  westcoastactionalliance.org/overview/whats-happening

The growler overflights to and from the NWTT encompass much of the Olympic Peninsula are often performed below 10,000 ft. My family and many others have seen them flying as low or lower than 500 feet. It is common to hear and see them soaring above the ridgetops of Klahanne, Hurricane, Deer Park etc. ONP is a Designated Wilderness, A UNESCO (whc.unesco.org) World Heritage site and Biosphere Reserve. It seems like the Navy could find less sensitive areas to fly, Mountain Home Idaho. Yakima Firing Range.

The Navy claims that none of these additional flights would be below 10,000ft (not that growlers don't fly lower, just that the electronic warfare training requires flights to be above 10000ft).

Thanks for the link to the navy document, I'll look through it.

As for Dr Martin Pall, he's certainly very-well quoted on EMF conspiracy sites, but I can't find any published scientific papers by him. I've found some youtube videos where he claims electromagnetic radiation causes all illnesses, basically. Not saying it's untrue, but AFAIK there aren't any conclusive scientific studies for these kinds of things.

The Navy claims that none of these additional flights would be below 10,000ft (not that growlers don't fly lower, just that the electronic warfare training requires flights to be above 10000ft).

My point is that even if the training flights are done above 10,000 ft. The routes to and from the actual training ranges are well below 10,000. feet. The reality is that the jets are flying anywhere they want, anytime they want, at any elevation they want.

Thanks for the link to the navy document, I'll look through it.

As for Dr. Martin Pall, he's certainly very-well quoted on EMF conspiracy sites, but I can't find any published scientific papers by him. I've found some youtube videos where he claims electromagnetic radiation causes all illnesses, basically. Not saying it's untrue, but AFAIK there aren't any conclusive scientific studies for these kinds of things.

Contact:
Martin L. Pall, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Basic Medical Sciences
Washington State University
(1*) 503-232-3883
martin_pall@wsu.edu
Main web site: www.thetenthparadigm.org
German web site: www.martinpall.info/

Dr. Pall is quoted profusely in this Dec. 2014 article Dahr Jamail wrote for Truthout:

www.truth-out.org/news/item/28009-docume...-humans-and-wildlife

You don't have to be anti Navy to be Anti Growler. There are many retired Navy pilots that don't want to see or hear Growlers flying over the Park!

My main concern is the degredation of a pristine wilderness area from Growler activity. The simple fact is that Olympic National Park or North Cascades National Park, are not appropriate places to conduct Electronic Warfare Training or create a new Military Range where one did not exist. This is likely my final post on this issue. I hope this discussion will inspire some of the lurkers here to delve deeper into the surface!

As an old EM3 I am predispositioned to ignore any non engineering officers playing around overhead so I have appreciated the additional info on the issue.

Yes. The Navy's own Environmental Assessment pg. 34 Table 2.2-1  Total MEWTS Operations in the Olympic MOAS www.navfac.navy.mil/content/dam/navfac/N...September%202014.pdf

So this doesn't make any mention of the increase in air traffic associated with the proposed changes. It just lists the hours that the mobile emitters would be in use.

Regarding Olympic NP specifically-Under Chapter 2, Section 2.7.1.1, it states that, "The Navy would increase the tempo of  air combat maneuver training from 160 events per year to 550 events per year due to the introduction of locally based EA-18G aircraft." This is an increase of 244%. Under Section 2.7.1.4 "Electronic Warfare," it states that, "Under Alternative 1 (the preferred alternative), the Navy proposes an increase in Electronic Warfare training from 2,900 events per year to 5,000 events per year with the proposed increase of additional electronic threat emitters in the Study Area." This is an increase of 72.4%

I don't see these numbers anywhere in the document linked above (and there is no section number 2.7.1.1). At any rate, wherever those numbers come from (do you have a link to another navy document that describes them?), they don't necessarily correlate to an equivalent increase in air traffic (just an increase in EM warfare training events).

The thing that would worry me most is an increase in noise. And the only claims I can find from the Navy state that there would be a 10% increase in air traffic and no increase in perceived noise.