XBradTC

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XBradTC

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NAS Whidbey turns 75

On September 21, 1942, Captain Cyril T. Simard read his orders, placed Naval Air Station Whidbey Island into commission, and assumed command. 30 years and 11 months later, Captain Arthur H. Barie would read his orders, and assume command.  There were quite a few Naval Air Stations and facilities located in the Pacific Northwest during…

On September 21, 1942, Captain Cyril T. Simard read his orders, placed Naval Air Station Whidbey Island into commission, and assumed command. 30 years and 11 months later, Captain Arthur H. Barie would read his orders, and assume command. 

There were quite a few Naval Air Stations and facilities located in the Pacific Northwest during World War II. But NAS Whidbey was the most prominent, and was essentially the only one to survive the post-war drawdown. Even then, the base has been threatened with closure, first during the lean years after World War II, and then in 1991. The retirement of the A-6 Intruder lead the Base Realignment and Closure commission to recommend shuttering Whidbey. But an effective (and common sense) lobbying campaign saved the base. 

T0day, NAS Whidbey serves as the West Coast home to the Navy's maritime patrol aircraft, its electronic reconnaissance fleet, and the home to the Navy's EA-18G Growler electronic attack fleet. 

Things were a little more relaxed back in the day. As a kid, I could walk into the Operations building, chat with aircrew and the ops gang, then walk right out onto the flight line. Can't really do that anymore.  

When dad moved from his post as CO of the air station to Chief of Staff of the air wing, he moved to an office in the Ops building. And as a gift, the Ops crew gave him a "group portrait" of the aircraft aboard the station. This, my friends, is real diversity. 

Group Portrait

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Responses to “NAS Whidbey turns 75”

  1. Tinclad

    I was on the boat when the initial BRAC announcement came out. Everyone’s first thought was to wonder how we’d ever be able to sell our houses now. In the end, as you say, they changed their mind yet AIRPAC still had to lose a base- and it ended up being, to the surprise of everyone, Miramar.

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  2. Quartermaster

    I was never able to simply walk onto the flight line of an AFB. I was shocked when I visited Oceana in 1974 looking for info and was simply able to walk into any hanger along the flight line with no questions asked.
    I got thrown off the flight line at Ramstein AFB in 1966. I was brought to the Wing Commander and told to never allow myself to be caught inside the security perimeter again. Turned out the Colonel knew my father and he ratted me out.
    The 2 LTs that took me onto the flight line disappeared shortly thereafter. It may have had a bit to do with the F-104 I was sitting in when the APs came for me.

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  3. XBradTC

    The difference, QM, was that Oceana and Whidbey didn’t have any nukes on station. Ramstein did.

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  4. Quartermaster

    It wasn’t just nukes. All AFBs had heightened security at the time. Lemay’s fingerprints were still deeply impressed on the entire USAF of the late 60s. Even Air Defense Command bases would not permit easy access, and ADC never had any nukes. Otherwise, I would agree with you.
    Adair AFS was a SAGE site and the only part of the station I couldn’t freely walk about in was the “Block House” where the radar signals were processed, a prohibition I agreed with even as a kid.

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  5. XBradTC

    ADC bases had the AIR-2 Genie nuclear rocket.

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  6. Quartermaster

    Not all did. It’s been too long to recall for certain, but nukes had to be kept at bases where flight line access was completely controlled. Places like Klamath Falls, OR and McGhee-Tyson (Knoxville, TN) had shared airfields and were not considered completely secure.
    ADC bases that were shared with SAC, normally with ADC being the subordinate command, were preferred. I could go on the flight line at Klamath Falls with escort, but I could not go on the flight line at all at Barksdale, Carswell or Offut. My father could, but only if he had business there and even then only with escort. The reaction to my presence on the Ramstein flight line, a NATO and TAC (Tactical Air Command) base was typical. I didn’t know why at the time, but learned later.
    The USAF has always been more Byzantine than the Navy. Much of the problem was the Bomber Generals, with Lemay being the archetype of the species.
    Funny thing – Ramstein doesn’t even have a fence around the entire airfield anymore.

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