The US Navy is pausing SEAL training at Washington state parks while a legal battle over their use winds its way through the courts.
“It is difficult to find peace in the woods when armed frogmen might be lurking behind every tree,” lawyers for the Whidbey Environmental Action Network, the group behind the lawsuit against the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, argued in a legal brief filed last month.
The Navy has used Washington state coastal parks for over 30 years for SEAL cold water training and other special operations exercises, with leaders saying the area offers the perfect environment to simulate what the elite forces may encounter on difficult operations overseas.
“This area provides a unique environment of cold water, extreme tidal changes, multi-variant currents, low visibility, complex underwater terrain, climate and rigorous land terrain, which provides an advanced training environment,” Navy spokesman Joe Overton told Coffee or Die Magazine.
But the Navy’s use of Washington shoreline has recently come under fire from local residents who are concerned about both the physiological and environmental impact the SEAL training can have on others using the parks.
“I do not care to catch a glimpse of apparently armed men skulking around and I DEFINITELY do not want to risk having my young grandchildren see such a sight,” a resident wrote to state regulators during a public comment period while the state was attempting to renew its agreement with the Navy.
Curiously, I thought Washington State was open carry, even for civilians.
Mixed feelings on my part.
ReplyDeleteOn the one hand, NIMBY frequently pops up when it comes to military training areas; I don't consider that a good thing.
On the other hand, given the EXTREMELY large land grab the federal government made to establish federal (protected) lands, basically stealing land from the states in whose borders those lands existed, I have to wonder if those lands shouldn't be where such training takes place.