The Sound of Freedom? NIMBY.

A feature of living near the Pentagon is the constant low-altitude fly-bys of military helicopters. I love it. But a few deep-blue northern Virginians - including it's congresspeople - don't.

One pleasant feature of my northern Virginia home, less than five miles from the Pentagon and a couple of blocks from I-395, is the sound of freedom that occasionally envelopes my neighborhood.

On some days, it happens as early as 7:30 a.m., often hourly, sometimes more. Sometimes in tandem. And often well into the evening hours, at low altitude. I love it.

Military helicopters, especially. Sometimes I spot a V-22 Osprey, which is always a treat. The Osprey has the unique ability to convert, in air, from rotary-wing (helicopter) mode into a fix-wing aircraft. It’s remarkably versatile if a complicated aircraft, allowing it to land and take off (and even fly) like a helicopter, but cruise over 250 miles per hour to move personnel by tilting the rotors. Runways are not required. They are fun to watch. You can see one up close and personal at the American Helicopter Museum at Brandywine Airport near West Chester, Pennsylvania.

But apparently, that is too much for the sensitive ears of many northern Virginians, including our local Congressman, legendary foreign auto dealer and former Lt. Gov. Don Beyer (D-VA). When the company bearing his name is not peddling Chinese-owned Volvos, he’s proposing unconstitutional legislation to impose a 1,000 percent tax on scary-looking guns (in clear violation of the 2nd and probably the 8th Amendments of a Constitution he has vowed to uphold), he and his fellow Democratic colleagues from DC (Eleanor Holmes Norton), Virginia and Maryland are siccing the General Accounting Office (GAO) on the Department of Defense to deal with complaints. From the Washington Post in 2019:

When Beyer, whose district includes neighborhoods near the Pentagon, held a town hall on the issue last year, more than 200 people attended. He said he has tried to work with Pentagon officials on ways to reduce the noise, but has been disappointed with their response.

"The GAO study should, I hope, give us much better information with which to address this issue,” he said.

And the GAO delivered. From the Arlington Patch:

The Eastern Region Helicopter Council and the Helicopter Association International are participating in a pilot program that will allow people who live in the Washington, D.C., area to use a new helicopter noise complaint system.

Residents will be able to submit noise concerns via a webform, iPhone and Android-compatible mobile app, or voicemail at the noise complaint hotline at 877-209-3200. Residents should provide as much information as possible when submitting a complaint.

Helicopter noise is a constant problem for people who live in Arlington, Alexandria and parts of Fairfax County. Using flight track data, the system is designed to accurately identify the aircraft generating concerns.

“For years my constituents have steadily complained of disruptive helicopter noise in the National Capital Region, and I have worked hard with colleagues and regional partners to address those concerns and reduce this noise,” U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th) said at a news conference Friday.

Beyer said the helicopter noise complaint system meets a key recommendation made by the General Accounting Office in a report that he and his colleagues in Congress requested: that the FAA develop a mechanism to track helicopter noise complaints in the D.C. area.

To be sure, there are a lot of helicopters in the area, which includes 22 hospitals and every branch of our military, including the US Coast Guard, whose distinctive orange helicopters also occasionally grace my neighborhood. And of course, there are those pesky media helicopters that love to report on traffic issues in the region or hover above crime scenes.

When the President or Vice President makes an appearance nearby, US Park Police helicopters can hover or fly around for an hour or longer. That can be annoying.

But military helicopters seem to be the target. And they are noisy (almost as much as Beyer’s whiny constituents). The noise from any variety of military helicopters departing or arriving at the Pentagon as they fly by my home can consume about 30 seconds, at least where I live. They fly at very low altitudes over the noisy I-395 expressway in their approaches and departures involving several military installations in the area, not just from the Pentagon but also Joint Base Bolling along the banks of the Potomac River in Maryland to Fort Belvoir and Marine Base Quantico in Virginia. Others can be seen flying low over the banks of the Potomac River, which is also the flight pattern for the very busy Ronald Reagan International Airport (DCA). Talk about noise.

Reagan Airport airline traffic is a major reason why helicopters must fly low around here.

This is all part and parcel of the NIMBY syndrome, especially in this deep blue enclave - “Not In My Back Yard.” Having moved to a home along with a busy military flight pattern nearby, with helicopters constricted in altitude, they proceed to complain about it. How about moving to a location where the noise can’t bother you, instead of whining to your woke congresspeople to harass our military? Many of these flights are training missions. Pilots require a certain number of hours of flying time to stay current and skilled. I think my neighbors should be able to survive with, maybe, a grand total of five minutes of military helicopter noise per day near their homes.

I suspect there are 430 or so congresspeople who would happily take on the burden of hosting the Pentagon, moving it out of Don Beyer’s unappreciative district. Especially Virginia’s Second District US Representative, Democrat Eliane Luria. Her district is already home to naval and air bases along Virginia’s south Atlantic coast and the cities of Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Chesapeake. North Carolina’s Fort Bragg (name change forthcoming, because) isn’t too far away, either. They’re used to lots of military noise and probably appreciate it more than the NIMBYs of northern Virginia.

More annoying to me is the constant 7-day, 24-hour drumbeat of traffic noise from I-395. Sounds like a river, I try to gaslight myself into believing. But I chose to live here knowing that reality. I don’t complain to my Congressman about it.

When Virginia’s Governor, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in last January at the state capitol in Richmond, his inaugural address was briefly interrupted by two F-35s flying overhead. Pausing briefly as the crowd cheered, he immediately and proudly celebrated “the sound of freedom.”

I don’t mean to question the “patriotism” of my neighbors, and yes, I understand that some aircraft noise can have health impacts. I can only imagine the angry mom whose newborn is awakened by the sonorous thumping of a Huey flying nearby. And growing up or working within the vicinity of Tinker (Oklahoma) or Luke (Arizona) Air Force bases, I have lots of memories of sonic booms and noisy F-4s and F-16s. As a kid, I loved it and was occasionally awakened by it. But what did you expect, living near the Pentagon, an Air Force base, or that hospital with helicopter pads on its roof? Didn’t you know that when you moved there? And yes, our military takes a lot of time to mitigate those issues. Just ask them.

Memo to the Pentagon: your military helicopters can fly by my home anytime. The sound of freedom is always welcome here. Maybe we should ask northern Virginia NIMBYs if they prefer to see white stars or red ones on the sides of those helicopters.

Perhaps Congressman Beyer could spend more time on getting the National Park Service to improve the scenic and popular but badly-maintained Mount Vernon bike trail. Now that would be a constituent service worth celebrating.

Not holding my breath. Noises other than the sound of freedom may be involved. That would require a US Representative with his or her priorities in order, which we obviously lack.