The U.S. Navy is pausing its training of Navy SEALs in Washington state parks while a legal case centering on public complaints about seeing armed men in the park makes its way through the court system.
Whidbey Environmental Action Network requested a judicial review last month against the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. The group seeks to block the Navy’s use of the parks. The Navy said no SEAL training has occurred while the case is under review. A hearing for the case is scheduled for April 1.
“It is difficult to find peace in the woods when armed frogmen might be lurking behind every tree,” the filing said, according to Coffee or Die Magazine.
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Hundreds of complaints occurred during a public comment period when state regulators were discussing renewing a contract with the military branch last year.
“In these days of great division in our civil society, we don’t need stealthy men in camo uniforms toting toy guns around our State and County Parks,” one resident wrote to state regulators, according to Fox News. “People frequent parks to escape tension, not to encounter more. Keep the Navy commando training out of our parks.”
Despite the outcry, the commission voted to allow the training last year if it was scaled back and limited to certain areas. The review has requested the commission’s vote be overturned and award compensation to the attorneys representing WEAN.
The U.S. Navy has used the parks for SEAL training for the past 30 years due to a landscape similar to what SEALs would encounter overseas. The area is used for cold water training and other special force operations.
“This area provides a unique environment of cold water, extreme tidal changes, multi-variant currents, low visibility, complex underwater terrain, climate and rigorous land terrain, which provides an advanced training environment,” Navy spokesman Joe Overton told the magazine.
Overton added that no other property provided the same effects as the state parks and that the training has not interfered with visitors in the past. The training does not include the use of live ammunition or explosive devices.
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The Navy conducted 37 training exercises in the parks between 2015 and 2020, with teams of no more than eight trainees. Each training period lasted between two and 72 hours. No SEAL exercises were held in 2021 or 2022, Overton said.
