Date Sent: 3/17/2004
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Guest Opinion -- Letters to the Editor From
Soundings, the Norfolk Military Newspaper, March 10, 2004
So the powers that be expect Virginia Beach residents to buy into this survey about how residents love the air station? But the survey includes residents from the part of the city that isn't impacted by the master jet base. About half of the people polled don't live anywhere near the base, so of course they aren't going to mind the jet noise and only say nice things about the base. The only way the survey could be considered legitimate is if the questions were asked to residents directly impacted by the Hornets and Tomcats.
The Soundings editorial, "A few rotten apples," (March 3) correctly points out that many people in Virginia Beach don't understand the base's economic impact. We are, in a sense, asking for our cake and wanting to eat it, too. Beach residents should want Oceana to stay, but at the same time want the base to be more responsible with its flying times and continue to work on lowering the noise the jets make. Commercial jets are held to certain noise levels, why aren't military jets?
--Jackson Kerry
Virginia Beach