Destin chamber: F-35 lawsuit ‘destructive'

Valparaiso’s lawsuit against the Air Force is “unnecessary and destructive for our communities,” the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce says, and the city should find other ways to settle its dispute.

Valparaiso has filed suit to stop the Air Force from basing 59 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters at Eglin Air Force Base, objecting to the noise levels city residents will be exposed to and questioning whether the military followed proper procedure in assigning the planes to Eglin.

At Friday’s chamber breakfast, President/CEO Shane Moody said the chamber, along with the Fort Walton Beach and Niceville chambers, passed a resolution in March asking Valparaiso to drop the lawsuit.

The resolution calls the lawsuit “ill-advised, counterproductive” and potentially harmful to the local economy. If it should “delay or significantly weaken the military presence at Eglin Air Force Base” then it’s necessary for the chamber to take a stand.

Destin has taken a stand too: The city voted last fall in favor of a resolution supporting the F-35 “bed down” at Eglin. Mayor Craig Barker told The Log in February that the F-35 mission could create thousands of non-seasonal jobs for Destin residents.

At the chamber breakfast, Col. George Ross, the chief of the F-35 Joint Site Activation Task Force, also emphasized the economic gains from Eglin’s growth and the need to build more military housing.

“Those jobs trickle down,” Ross said. “I think of (the Base Realignment and Closure Commission) as the Northwest Florida stimulus package.”

The Emerald Coast Military Affairs Council has estimated the F-35 and other military missions BRAC has reassigned to Eglin will require $700 million worth of construction, as well as generating $12 million for Okaloosa County schools. Ross said the F-35s are also important as the foundation of the Air Force’s future.

The colonel described the planes’ advanced technology, joking that it can feel like flying Wonder Woman’s invisible jet: The pilot’s helmet links up to cameras on the wings, so when the pilot looks at the wings they see what’s on the other side.

Ross said when the program is fully staffed in 2016, it will include 2,000 maintenance students a year coming to Eglin, needing room and board.

“What are these young people going to want to do?” Ross asked. “They’re going to head to Destin on the weekend and have fun on the beach.”

The chamber resolution asks Valparaiso to drop the suit in favor of negotiating ways to mitigate the noise levels. Ross sad the Air Force’s supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, due out in 2010, would look at ways to cut noise, such as minimizing night flying and increasing the use of Duke and Choctaw Fields.

Ross said the latest studies also show F-35s are not as loud as originally assumed.

“I’d hoped we could work together,” Ross said, “but with the ongoing litigation, I’m going to let the Department of Justice work that out.”

Despite the lawsuit, Ross said, Eglin was continuing its plans to build more military housing, and would keep going unless a court told them to stop.

He added that it was wonderful to see the signs of support in Destin: “We appreciate the support, not just for the F-35 but for the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who come to Eglin ... It’s more than I’ve seen at any of the other dozen bases I’ve worked at.”