The Marine Corps will hear from the public this week on its proposal to base as many as 128 of its new F-35B Lightning II fighter planes at Cherry Point, just outside Havelock.
The next-generation, supersonic stealth aircraft would bring nearly 1,200 new military personnel to the area. It would also make some noise, increasing the number of people exposed to potentially damaging decibel levels.
The military wants to replace an aging fleet of aircraft, including the AV-8B Harriers at Cherry Point and F/A-18 Hornets at Beaufort, S.C.
Marine Corps and Navy staff will be at three meetings this week in North Carolina to discuss the various alternatives the Marines have offered for phasing in the F-35Bs. Under the Marines' preferred alternative, Beaufort would get three regular squadrons and a pilot training center, beginning in 2014. Cherry Point would get eight squadrons of F-35Bs with up to 16 aircraft each, beginning in 2018.
Military communities often welcome the addition of new personnel and the spending potential they represent, said Mike Barton, deputy director of public affairs at Cherry Point.
"If you gain squadrons, you gain money and jobs," Barton said. "Noise is one concern, but I think the biggest thing that people tend to look at ... is the economic impact."
A draft environmental impact statement on the possible effects of the F-35B placements says that compared to the Harriers at Cherry Point, the new aircraft will expose 1,452 more people to noise levels of 65 decibels and above. An additional 78 people will be exposed to noise levels of 85 decibels and above.
Prolonged exposure to noise at 85 decibels and above can cause permanent hearing loss.
At times, the report says, students in five schools in the area might be unable to talk above the noise.
Except for those who work around the planes, the noise would not be constant but occur mostly as the aircraft take off and land on more than 55,000 flights a year.
With the removal of the Harriers from Cherry Point, the base would have about 83,000 flights of all aircraft a year, 13 percent fewer than it has now, according to the report.
The Marine Corps hopes to deliver its final draft of the environmental impact statement to the Secretary of the Navy by the end of the year. The report will include public comments gathered at meetings, by mail and online.
The secretary could choose any of the alternatives, placing differing numbers of squadrons at various East Coast bases, or take none of the them.
