Navy pauses notifications on Growler practice schedule

Published 1:30 am Friday, March 6, 2026

As U.S. military base security tightened around the world after the beginning of strikes on Iran, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island is pausing disclosure of its aircraft training schedules for safety reasons.

Routine announcements detailing EA-18G Growler carrier flight training windows have been temporarily suspended, according to the base. A release from Thursday states that the decision is “not in response to a specific threat,” rather, “ongoing global military operations and heightened operational security.”

“Navy authorities believe this is a prudent measure for the safety of its aircrew and the local community,” the release adds.

Through the release of official photos last weekend, the Navy confirmed the participation of Growlers, electronic warfare aircraft, from NAS Whidbey in Operation Epic Fury over Iran.

Base Public Affairs Officer Mike Welding said the flight training announcements began in 2013, in their current iteration, as a way to inform the public about operations at Outlying Landing Field Coupeville.

Flight training window announcements list the dates upon which training is scheduled to occur, identify general times at which activity can be expected and designate operations as either Ault Field or Outlying Field Coupeville. The most recent announcement — for the week of March 2-8 — lists times like “late morning” and “evening to night.”

Bob Wilbur of Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve, an anti-aircraft-noise group, emphasized the importance of the announcements to helping people avoid jet noise. He pointed out that schedules at other airfields have not been suspended.

“And it seems a bit hard to believe that ignorance of practice session time slots would be much of a deterrent to an Iranian terrorist who could just hang out at the Tyee Motel until hearing Growlers start up a session,” he added.

Wilbur stated it would be beneficial for the Navy to explain how the announcements put aircraft at an increased risk during training, as the public would be inclined to accept the suspension if they understand how it is saving lives.

Earlier this week, Welding declined to confirm whether the base elevated its Force Protection Condition, a system describing necessary measures for installations to take in order to protect against terrorist threats, according to the Defense Logistics Agency.

In his email, Welding stated that NAS Whidbey does not discuss details related to force protection. If changes to force protection occur which are significant enough to affect base personnel and the community at large, he added, those changes will be communicated.

“We do remain vigilant and will take all appropriate actions to ensure the safety of our personnel and their families,” he wrote. “We constantly assess a variety of factors to determine the security measures needed to protect our installations and our people.”