Port Angeles, WA Mayor Said Citizens Were 'Terrorized' By Low-Flying Helicopters

Chinook and Apache helicopters conducting a training mission for the U.S. Army last week caught the small town of Port Angeles, WA very much off guard, resulting in dozens of calls to local law enforcement and an apology from the U.S. Army.

The town sits on the Olympic Peninsula about 60 miles west of Seattle. The Peninsula Daily News reports that the training was conducted by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment based in Fort Campbell, KY which also has individual units at various bases across the country, including Joint Base Lewis McChord near Tacoma, WA.

Port Angeles Mayor Cherie Kidd said there was no advance notice of the training exercise which had people wondering if an invasion was underway. The paper reports that Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict determined Friday that the aircraft belonged to the Army, and "I wanted to let the Army base know that if it's necessary to fly over populated areas, we want advance notice."

Joint Base Lewis-McChord garrison commander Col. H. Charles "Chuck" Hodges Jr. apologized to the Sheriff, saying the situation was "totally unacceptable." He said an investigation is underway.

Sgt. Jimmy Norris, an I Corps spokesman at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, told the Associated Press that the helicopter crews were training for work "in urban environments" at the Port Angeles Coast Guard Base.

Maj. Michael Burns, who is stationed at Ft. Campbell, KY, said that local law enforcement agencies are often not notified of one-night operations like the one conducted Thursday at Port Angeles.

(Chinook helicopter image from  file.)

FMI: www.army.mil