WA State Parks as Navy Seals training grounds....?

[John E Davies]

“Washington state has approved a request to use multiple Washington state parks to train Navy SEALs. But the move Thursday came with significant amendments to what the Navy requested.  

The permits would expand the five parks previously used for Navy SEAL training to 16 or 17.”

“At night, around eight SEAL trainees would likely dive out of a submersible vessel. They’d then swim onto a beach and head into the park to disappear. The trainees would carry simulated weapons that cannot fire live ammunition but would appear real. Over the course of a year, there could be 50-75 training exercises, spread out over all the permitted areas, State Parks staff said”

”The Navy says they’ve never had complaints about their previous training in Washington’s state parks. But if a park guest happened upon their training exercises, they would tell the recreationalist what they’re doing and leave. 

Commissioner Mike Latimer, of Yakima, a veteran Navy officer, said in the Navy’s 30-year history of using Washington state parks as training grounds, there has never been a complaint about seeing trainees. He said they’re trying to be covert.”

https://www.knkx.org/post/washington-approves-more-seal-training-state-parks-not-much-navy-requested

I have the greatest respect for the Navy, but I have to admit that the idea of a Seal Team in training doing a night time submarine landing, cliff scaling and skulking in full camo through the forest with full gear (but no ammo), 1000 feet away from my campsite, might possibly disrupt my sense of serenity. It reminds me of an old Scottish saying, to use before putting kids to sleep at night.

From ghoulies and ghosties, And long-leggedy beasties, And things that go bump in the night, Good Lord deliver us!

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited January 29, 2021 by John E Davies

[BackofBeyond]

John, 

Not to say your bedtime matches mine - but now that my usual slumber too often comes about 8pm (ha- ha)  - I doubt I would ever know a seal was lurking outside my window....approaching what used to be old age - has it's benefits. 60 may be the new 45, but 8pm is now the new 10pm........

On the other hand - I was always intrigued by the boys training on the same beaches of CA and FL that we frequented not so long ago. Last time was off Pensacola - Spec Forces running down the beach, and later - Navy Blue Angles overhead on practice runs - a good day. 

RB

[Jim_Oker]

2 hours ago, John E Davies said:

might possibly disrupt my sense of serenity.

Have you ever camped at Deception Pass  State Park? The practice sorties  from  the Whidbey Island  Naval Air Station can go well into the night and would help  provide great  cover for  this sort of Seal  practice I think!! 

[John E Davies]

1 hour ago, Jim_Oker said:

Have you ever camped at Deception Pass  State Park? The practice sorties  from  the Whidbey Island  Naval Air Station can go well into the night and would help  provide great  cover for  this sort of Seal  practice I think!! 

Yes, a few times long ago when I lived in the area, and I have visited by boat too. The Sound of Freedom, they call that. That’s a spectacularly lovely area, but I much prefer visiting the many old WWI fortifications around the Sound like Forts Casey and Worden. Deception Pass SP camping is deep in the gloomy trees, I prefer a more open near-shore exposure. The park is just too insanely busy, especially on warm weekends when everybody from Seattle and north with a motorcycle or sports car heads there. It wasn’t so bad forty years ago...... things do change. The traffic is a weird modern phenomenon, and it even happens in remote places like Glacier NP with locals streaming out en-masse from Kalispell on a sunny Saturday morning, choking the roads..

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

Edited January 29, 2021 by John E Davies

[Jim_Oker]

2 hours ago, John E Davies said:

Deception Pass SP camping is deep in the gloomy trees

That's true  of some of the sites  but  not all of them. We've had a very open site with territorial views in the  main  campground, and a lovely water view site at the Bowman  Bay CG. Yes it is  generally busy though not  as bad on weekdays out of COVID  times. It has  some  really amazing  shorefront hiking both north and  south  of the bridge. I like Fort Casey well  enough  as  a historical site but Deception Pass gives  a great feeling of the  semi-wild PNW inland salt water  shoreline with the rocky headlands and little beach  coves and a great mix of trees big and small. I've hiked at both and will be returning much  more often to  DP for more  hiking.