Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, November 24, 2008 Navy planes could come to Whidbey Herald staff The Navy said Friday it wants to base a military version of the Boeing 737 jet at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Oak Harbor to help hunt submarines and survey ships at sea. Some of the planes also would be stationed in Hawaii and Florida. Four squadrons would be based at Naval Air Station Whidbey. Eighteen P-8A maritime patrol plans would replace aging P-3C Orion planes the Navy has been using for almost 50 years at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay. The P-8As are modified versions of Boeing's 737-800 commercial planes. The report also calls for basing five P-8A squadrons at Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Florida. Navy leaders will review the study and then decide whether to go with the recommended plan. The P-8A will hunt submarines, survey coastal areas and ships at sea, and assist with surface warfare. The jets will carry torpedoes, missiles and naval mines. In other news regarding the Oak Harbor air station, the Electronic Attack Squadron 139 "Cougars" are returning Monday from the USS Ronald Reagan after supporting operations in Afghanistan. The fly-in of four EA-6B Prowler jets is scheduled to arrive home at noon Monday. They will be followed by the airlift carrying support and maintenance personnel Tuesday. The 186-member squadron left here in May for the San Diego based-carrier to operate in the Western Pacific and Middle East. The squadron provided disaster relief in the Republic of the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Fengshen before heading into the Northern Arabian Sea for Operation Enduring Freedom support in Afghanistan. The Associated Press contributed to this story. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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