Tribe complains about JBLM rocket tests

When soldiers on Joint Base Lewis McChord fire a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, better known as HIMARS, the unarmed rocket travels in an arc from the north side of the base to an artillery range miles away within seconds.

From the ground, you can barely see the fast moving rockets but you can hear their roar seconds after they are launched.

The Army is conducting three days of tests of the HIMARS from September 27^th to the 29^th to measure noise levels of the rockets as they fly over the base. The maximum accepted level is 130 decibels – not quite as loud as a Seahawks crowd at Century Link field.

“We’ve got professionals here from the public health center of the Army and they’ve got noise monitors out, so we’re collecting noise data,” said JBLM public affairs officer Joseph Piek.

The Army wants to establish regular HiMARS training at JBLM and is conducting the tests to measure the impact on nearby communities.

Soldiers now have to travel from JBLM to the Yakima firing range in eastern Washington. The Army says the trips can cost more than $200,000 each.

The tests are being conducted directly adjacent to the Nisqually tribal reservation, where some say noise from the rockets is too high.

“It was definitely loud,” said Nisqually tribal councilmember Willie Frank III. “You could definitely hear it. I’m sure it shook the windows of houses there.”

Frank said tribal leaders have even relocated elders worried they'll be disturbed by the noise during the testing.

The council also sent a letter to president Obama asking him to intervene with the Army's training plans saying they already endure artillery and helicopter noise from the base that impacts their community.

"We're concerned that this testing and the desire to move this training here permanently will only further diminish that quality of life,” the letter reads in part.

“We do support Fort Lewis and we work well with Fort Lewis,” said Frank. “But we don’t want to see these rockets shot here.”

The Army says data from the three days of testing will be reviewed before a decision is made to start permanent HiMARS training at JBLM.

Cox Media Group