JBLM is no place for civilian airplanes

As if preparing for the holiday season wasn’t already stressful enough, millions of people this December are traveling through an increasingly crowded Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Those of us lucky enough to live in the Puget Sound region are victims of our own success. Attracted by the high quality of life and a booming economy, nearly 500,000 people have moved here in the past decade.

This growth has caused new challenges, and future projected increases in air travel will create more and more of a problematic situation for anyone traveling in or out of Sea-Tac.

In response, the Washington state Legislature established a Commercial Aviation Coordination Committee to once again look for a solution to our aviation congestion problem.

One suggestion floated by well-intentioned civic leaders is the use of McChord Field at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) for civilian cargo traffic.

While that may seem like a good idea on the surface, it is a deeply flawed plan that should be rejected out of hand.

For South Sounders who may only know JBLM from their drives on I-5, it is one of the largest military installations on the West Coast and home to strategically vital military units. The 62nd Airlift Wing, which calls McChord Field home, handles nearly 40% of all global airlift missions for the Department of Defense.

Let that sink in for a moment. Military operations being conducted 24 hours a day, seven days a week on all seven continents rely heavily on the support McChord Field provides.

Any delays, incursions or restrictions that affect mission readiness and tempo would be incompatible with modern national-security needs and an unjustifiable burden on our service members stationed around the globe.

But that’s not the only problem with using McChord Field for non-military cargo traffic. Joint use of the one and only runway would significantly decrease its lifespan.

We should also remember that the Air Force isn’t the only tenant at JBLM. More than 150 helicopters supporting various Army units, including Special Forces and Rangers, are based there.

Adding cargo traffic to the congested mix of helicopters and C-17 cargo jets would create major airspace deconfliction issues.

Additionally, there aren’t even adequate facilities available at JBLM to route cargo traffic. There is no excess hangar or facility space at McChord Field.

There is nearly 550,000 square feet of leasable space in the commercial area of Sea-Tac Airport. How much of that would have to be replicated at McChord to facilitate civilian cargo traffic?

While many of us regard JBLM as just another member of the Puget Sound community, it is first and foremost a sensitive and secure military installation.

Private-sector trucks would need access to the base in order to transport cargo to and from the flight line. Allowing a flood of tractor-trailers onto JBLM is a security risk that would create a whole new set of problems for the Defense Department and local governments, including gate access and road infrastructure.

I commend those who are working hard to come up with a solution to our collective regional airport problem. But let’s be clear: Routing cargo traffic to JBLM would do nothing to solve passenger crowding at Sea-Tac. In fact, cargo operations only account for 3.5% of all landings.

Why would we pay such a heavy price for barely any reward?

As we begin our region’s search for new air passenger capacity, we need to be honest about ideas floated early in the process. We owe it to ourselves to start off on the right track so we can figure out a viable long-term solution that meets the needs of the residents and businesses of the Puget Sound, as well as our service members stationed at JBLM and around the world.

Their safety and our national security ought to always come first.

This story was originally published December 28, 2019 at 2:32 PM with the headline "JBLM is no place for civilian airplanes."