Naval Air Station Whidbey Island
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) (IATA: NUW, ICAO: KNUW, FAA LID: NUW) is a naval air station located in two sections near Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, in Island County, Washington. It was commissioned as an active U.S. Navy installation on 21 September 1942. The main portion of the base is called Ault Field in memory of Commander William B. Ault, who was listed 'missing in action' during the Battle of the Coral Sea (1942). Ault Field is located approximately three miles north of Oak Harbor.
The other section of the air station is known as the Seaplane Base. Originally home to PBY Catalina flying boats, the air station's main Navy Exchange and DeCA Commissary are located here, as is most of the Navy housing on the island.
A lightly utilized satellite airfield, Naval Outlying Landing Field (NOLF) Coupeville, is located on central Whidbey Island at 48°11′24″N 122°37′48″W / 48.19°N 122.63°W / 48.19; -122.63 (Naval Outlying Field Coupeville), roughly nine miles south of Ault Field. Primarily utilized for Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) by carrier-based jet aircraft, this field has no permanently assigned personnel and falls under the command of the Commanding Officer of NASWI.
NASWI currently supports MH-60S Seahawk helicopter, EA-18G Growler, EA-6B Prowler, P-3C Orion, EP-3E ARIES II and C-9 Skytrain aircraft.
Read more about Naval Air Station Whidbey Island: History, Present Day
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“Yesterday, December 7, 1941Ma date that will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“People fall out of windows, trees tumble down,
Summer is changed to winter, the young grow old
The air is full of children, statues, roofs
And snow. The theatre is spinning round,
Colliding with deaf-mute churches and optical trains.
The most massive sopranos are singing songs of scales.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
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“The island dreams under the dawn
And great boughs drop tranquillity;
The peahens dance on a smooth lawn,
A parrot sways upon a tree,
Raging at his own image in the enamelled sea.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)