Editor,

The Record recently published a reasoned and informative article about the Navy’s plans to conduct war games during the next few months at nearly 70 beaches and state parks on the Olympic Peninsula, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the West Coast beaches, and potentially on Whidbey Island. Some of us have been watching with alarm over the years as the Navy has taken over more of Hood Canal, the Olympic Peninsula and other areas of Puget Sound as well as increasing their operations. But this latest plan is breathtaking in its scope and implications.

Navy SEALs plan to conduct unannounced and clandestine combat beach landings using mini submarines, other landing craft and simulated weapons. The Navy, of course, minimizes the operations as having little or no impact on the environment and the population. The proponents of the Navy’s encroachment on the lives of ordinary citizens will say that we need these operations in order to stay strong and defend ourselves against all of the dangers in the world today. But how much is enough? Our military budget is more than the next seven biggest military budgets in the world, not counting the billions spent to pay private contractors. Seems like we have reached far beyond a well armed defensive military.

This latest round of operations signals the increasing militarization of our homes and lands, with little involvement on the part of we, the people. Our precious Puget Sound with its pristine beauty and tranquility is in peril if this continues. Imagine taking your family to your favorite state park for an outing and finding it cordoned off by the Navy with military equipment and personnel hanging out on the beach. What kind of a life are we creating for ourselves? And what kind of a message are we sending our children? Growlers traumatizing folks in Coupeville, SEALs landing on our public beaches… what’s next?

Only a massive public protest has the potential to change the current trend.

LINDA MORRIS

Langley