Wow I turned red at this article so many false statements.  I know first hand that all the island is touched economically but the base.  Maybe your neighbor is  not in the military but bets are that he works for a business that is frequented by military thus he is touched by it a lot.  A lot of our retired people are ex-military that decided that they loved the island so much that they wanted to stay her or come back to it.  The military is very generous in helping organizations that are part of our community. I was told that because the military downsized that we had to let teachers go in Coupeville.  They get extra money in their budget if the child is of a military member this is a fact. Hundreds of relatives come to this island to visits loved ones and they dont just stay in Oak Harbor. So lets pretend Oak Harbor is gone all the stores everything.  Lets see how happy you are then. Our island has had the military on it before most of you were born.