Army to Port Angeles: Sorry for scaring the pants off you folks
Generic photo of two Black Hawk helicopters
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD -- The Army apologized Monday to the mayor of Port Angeles for its unannounced, low-flying helicopter exercise last Thursday night that scared many Port Angeles residents, prompting many to call 911, it was reported.
Army Col. Charles Hodges Jr., commander at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, also plans to offer a public apology Tuesday night to the Port Angeles City Council, the Peninsula Daily News said.
Port Angeles Mayor Cherie Kidd and the city’s public works director, Glenn Cutler, met in Hodges’ office at JBLM Monday.
“They repeatedly apologized, and I thanked them for their apology,” Kidd told the newspaper. “I asked for assurances that in the future, if there are any military exercises, how will we be notified? They said they will notify use well in advance; our police and sheriff.”
According to the PDN, Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters were reported flying over Port Angeles between about 10:30 p.m. Thursday and night at an altitude as low as 750 feet.
To read the entire Peninsula Daily News story, click here.