Iwo Jima landings give U.S. officials the jitters
Associated Press
July 18, 2004
Last modified July 18, 2004 - 3:20 am
IWO JIMA, Japan - Commander John Meier plugs his ears as an F/A-18 fighter comes roaring out of the sky. Iwo Jima makes him nervous because he is a pilot.
There's only one runway, and the island is so far out in the middle of nowhere that if something goes wrong - a sudden shift in the weather, mechanical failure - there is no going back.
"There have been times when it seemed like a plane would have to ditch in the ocean," the American commander said as dozens of fighters flew here this week to begin an intense round of take off and landing practice. "There is definitely an increased risk in doing this here."
Chosen 15 years ago by the Japanese government as a temporary solution to complaints over noise at a U.S. Navy airfield in Atsugi, a crowded Tokyo suburb, this famous World War II battleground has become a major training center for pilots assigned to the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier. But, once again, it has also become the focus of an intense battle.
Concerned by the potential safety problems of training on Iwo Jima - which they say are among the most serious for their bases in the world - U.S. Navy officials are pushing for an alternate site, or at least an airstrip nearby so that a plane can be diverted in the case of an emergency.
Tokyo, however, is under intense political pressure to keep the noise problem and danger of crashes as far from the public as possible. More than 700 miles off Japan's main island, Iwo Jima, long inhabited only by Japanese soldiers, fits that bill.
So, lacking alternatives, Foreign Ministry officials say they want the Navy to make do.
"We will continue our discussions with them to that end," said one Foreign Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Kitty Hawk's air wing, consisting of about 70 planes, is based in the city of Atsugi. Though once surrounded by rice paddies, Atsugi is now drowning in the sprawl of greater Tokyo, the world's biggest urban center.
Apartment buildings, small wooden houses and businesses crowd up against the base walls.
"It's like landing in the middle of Queens," in New York City, said Cmdr. John Wallach, a Navy public affairs officer.
Some 510,000 people live within the "high noise zone" around the base, where noise is at the 75 decibel level. Most people have trouble sleeping at 45 decibels, while a sustained level of 85 can cause hearing loss.
Officials say the closest equivalent in the United States is Oceana Naval Air Station, in Virginia Beach, Va., where residents number about 80,000.
"It couldn't get any worse," said Hiroyuki Ibe, head of the base issues department of city hall in Yamato, which also borders the airstrip. "This is a huge problem for us."
Residents near Atsugi and Yokota, a U.S. Air Force base on the western outskirts of Tokyo, are finding a sympathetic ear in Japan's courts. Two years ago, the government was ordered to pay Atsugi residents a record $22.9 million in compensation.
Along with moving some of its training here, the Navy has responded to local concerns by voluntarily cutting its flight operations at Atsugi to a minimum, especially at night. Relocating the whole wing to Iwo Jima has never been on the table - the island is too small and too secluded.
"I've lived in Atsugi, I know just how loud this can be to the local population," said Capt. Larry Gillis, who is in charge of flight operations for the U.S Navy in Japan. "But we cannot reduce our training further without danger to our pilots and to the local community."
Gillis said landing a fighter on an aircraft carrier, particularly in darkness, is among the most difficult tasks an aviator can face. Navy pilots are required to practice landing on airstrips designed to simulate carrier decks and receive certification within 10 days of an actual carrier landing.
"It's not like riding a bicycle," he said. "It needs continuous practice."
The Navy began training here in 1989. Gillis said there have been no serious accidents on Iwo Jima since then, but he added the Navy does not want to wait until one occurs before it fixes the problem.
"This was presented to us as a temporary arrangement," he said. "What we need is an alternative site."
Officials near Atsugi don't see Iwo Jima as a solution, either.
Associated Press Commander John Meier, left, and his fellow pilots plug their ears as an F/A-18 fighter comes roaring out of the sky on Iwo Jima Monday, July 12, 2004. As a pilot, Iwo Jima makes him nervous. There's only one runway, and the island is so far out in the midle of nowhere that if something goes worng, a sudden shift in the weather, mechanical failure, there is no going back.
Mount Suribachi shows its crater on Iwo Jima which floats more than 1,200 kilometers (700 miles) off Japan's main island Monday, July 12, 2004. Chosen 15 years ago by the Japanese government as a temporary solution to complaints over noise at a U.S. Navy airfield in a crowded Tokyo suburb, this famous World War II battleground has become a major training enter for pilots assigned to the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier.
"It's just a partial fix," said Yamato official Ibe. "I understand our government's predicament, but as long as they base any planes at Atsugi, we will suffer."
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