8XVI NAS WHIDBEY TA8K TORCE

8080 state Highway 20

Oak Harbor, WA 98277
(206) 679-3537

Dcocmbcr 3, 1992

Senator Patty Murray

Dear Senator Murray:

The civilian and military residents ot Oak Harbor and North

Whidbey Island need your help. NAS Whidbey leland, as well
as all of the other 600 plus military installations in the
United States, are being considered for closure. We need
your help to make certain that the prooeee ie fair, the
process 1r thorough and the process results in financial
savings to our government and our taxpayers.

flnxT.B. As world conditions change and as other demands are

made on our nation's financial resources, the military budget
muet be reduced. This reduction in military budget prompts
restructuring, consolidation and reductions in force. Some
sections of the military will experience greater changes and
reductions than others. The amount of change will depend on
both the short-term and long-term plans for military
readiness and military presence. As each segment of the
military is restructured and reduced, fewer military bases
will be required. When the closure of a base will save money
and will not harm current or future military readiness, that
base should be closed.

A specific process has been established for selecting bases

to be closed.

PROCEDURE. Generally, each branch of the military is now

gathering date regarding existing facilities. This data and
the recommendations for closure/realignment will be submitted
to the Department of Defense early in 1993.
 The Department of Defence will aubeit it« recorrend*r iorm ?r>r
closure and realignment to the base Closure commission in
March 1993.

The base Closure commission, and its staff, win hold

hearings and do its own investigation and will :aouc ite
decision by July 1, 1993. That decision, for all practical
purposes, will De approved by congress and the President.
A new Base Closure Commission is appointed and ratified for
oach cloeure cycle. The firet one occurred in 1991, one Is
now scheduled for 1993 and the next will be scheduled for
1995.

A more detailed procedural report is attached.

NAS WHIDBFY TASK FORCE. The NAS Whidbey Task Force (Task
Force) was organized within three or four days after the 1991
closure list was announced and has remained in existence
since that time. Our goal has been to make certain that the
Base Closure Commission receives and analyzes complete data,
accurate date and important data. It is also our goal to
make certa1n that a decision regarding the closure of nas
Whidbey Lakes into account at lease three very important
iooueo. The first ie the impact of a potential closure nn
military readiness. The second is the overall cost of such a
closure, and third is the impact on the residents of Oak
Harbor and North Whidbey.

COST ANALYSIS. If NAS Whidbey is closed, the military

members, their families and aircraft must be sent to another
base. There is no other base currently equipped to accept
this transfer. For all practical purposes, NAS Whidbey must
bo almost totally rebuilt somewhere else to accept the
military personnel, their families and the equipment
stationed at NAS Whidbey. If this occurs, the taxpayers will
never realize any savings by closing NAS Whidbey. The amount
of the costs incurred in the closure and transfer is so high
that the potential future savings will never cover the
interest on that money.

COBRBCT DATA. JWe felt and the Base Closure Commission

confirmed that the 1991 report placing NAS Whidbey on the
base closure list contained much incorrect or incomplete
data. NAS Whidbey wa3 characterized ae an old World War II
base with poor weather. The actual racts are NAS Whidbey,
with all of its upgrading within the past 15-20 years is the
moat up to date and modern of all the major jet naval air
stations. Additionally, it has the lease amount of time of
runway closure due to weather on the West Coast.
 subject to^change*durinq^ee *a8e Closure commission are
remained at work «Snr. fu °C^ cyci®» the conaisiion staff hac
it is verv innnrh.1? !vth* ®nd °f th* l*»t cycle. Wc fee
commission n*-nff dn^that they remain as members of the
are families u^k Tn«y are familiar with the prooccc; they
how the existing data; and they are familiar with
Wc ennftnv * received, processed, compiled and reviewed,
the av . age whatever accietanoe you can provide in keeping
'

cycle latlng ataff as the staff for the current and future

encroachment BPRRQPNDTmq KXfl whidbey. Noise encroachment Is

an issue being aggressively attacked by a small but very
vocal group known as WISE (Whidbey Island for a Sound
Environment). This group is very active In letter writing to
almost any and all officials. This group no longer tries to
persuade local officials regarding their concerns because it
has become very apparent by local officials that WISE is
primarily concerned with closing the outlying field near
Coupevill® so that their property values might increase.
Many of these individuals purchased their properties at
reduced prices and they feel if NAS Whidbey is closed, their
property values will ultimately increase.

WISE ia trying to convince both military and political

leaders that our community does not want NAS Whidbey to
remain open. The truth is that WISE appears to have a very
email membership (maybe as few as 100 families) with a
handful of very articulate and active members, to keep this
in perspective, you should know that in 1991 the Task Force
obtained more than 12,000 signatures in support of keeping
NAS Whidbey open. These signature were obtained in less than
five days.

ECONOMIC IMPACT, if nas Whidbey closes, the economic impact

on Oak Harbor and North Whidbey will be dramatic. During the
1991 base closure cycle, the evidence clearly indicated that
the impact on the oak Harbor community would be the most
severe by far of all bases being considered for closure.
While this fact alone may not be sufficient to justify
keeping nas Whidbey opened, it certainly is sufficient
justification to make certain that a decision to olose NAS
Whidbey is absolutely necessary.
The population of North Whidbey ic approximately 35,000. If
the base closes, P7,ooo military, dependents and civilians
who work on the base will leave. There will be an additional
loss of people ae civilian businesses and schools close. If
 closes' .approximately 75 percent of our
community s population will leave within a relatively short
of time. Thi3 impact will be devastating. Consider
the impact on the Seattle economy if Boeing, Microsoft,
Nintendo, Weyerhaeuser and all city, county and school
employees suddenly left the area.

As we explained to the Base Closure commission in 1991/ this

a capital, or death penalty, case. If NAS Whidbey is
°UTi as we know it will die. since the
??? ji0n 13 30 important, it must be made very carefully.
All doubts must be resolved in favor of keeping the base open
and our community alive. The decision cannot be based upon
speculation or conjecture. If the military oannot prove that
the closure of NAS Whidbey will save substantial money and
still maintain our military readiness, th© base should remain
open. This is where we need your help. We need you to help
make certain that all the data is correct, that all facts are
considered and that all doubts are resolved in favor of
keeping this base open.

PI "PARTISAN SUPPORT. During the 1991 bas®

Senators Adams and Gorton and Congressmen Swift an
worked together in a united bi-partisan, coordinated •
The base closure process allows our state delegation o m
a presentation to the commission. In 1991, Senators ,
and Gorton and Congressmen Swift and Dicks all made a un
and coordinated and bi-partisan presentation to the
commission. They worked with our Task Force to coord ina
their presentations so that they were consistent with each
other, they were based on accurate data and they were
effective.

We respectfully reguest that you work with the Task Force and
with other members of our state delegation in helping US to
achieve our goal.

Respectfully submitted by:

nas whidbey task force