con't
Many people may not realize the critical importance of training to our operations. Aircraft cannot land on carriers and ships cannot get underway without personnel who have developed the expertise to do so over years and years of training.
This is an obvious point to those who serve in uniform, but it is easy to forget for those less familiar with the nature of our operations and who might see a multi-billion dollar ship and not realize just what is expected of the personnel who operate that ship. Thurs, any constraint on our ability to train is a threat to the very core of our Nation's security.
Training defines our ability to operate in peacetime and in war.
Military op - even in time of peace - incur by their very nature, a certain amount of risk. We are required to manage risk, in our everyday op's. Maintaining a very high degree of training discipline is essential to the objective. It is inconceivable that we would ask pilots to land on an aircraft carrier - especially at night, without having first gone ghru the entire training pipeline. Without proper training & facilities, they cannot do their jobs.
In many ways, the communities in this region have been leaders in resisting the trend towards enroachment, pro-actively avoiding some of the conflicts that have arisen elsewhere in the country.
Far-sighted responsible actions have been taken at Whidbey Island to avoid future land use that would enroach on Navy mission activities.
The land use controls local officials have adopted , combined with other innovative ways of providing buffer zones so as to restrict economic development, protect the public and protect the Navy's military op's and training.
The cooperative measures that have been taken by communities around Whidbey Island will allow us to continue performing our vital mission.
It is part of any community's civic responsibility to support those charged by the Constitution to defend us - not only in principal, but concretely, in matters such as stewardship of the military's relationship with civilian communities.
to be con't
yikes any comments? i got chills