🛑 Commissioners say drilling in the eastern Gulf would endanger the nation’s largest military test range and weaken U.S. defense readiness.
🌊 Local leaders warn even the perception of oil risk could devastate the county’s multibillion-dollar tourism economy.
📄 A formal letter urging permanent protection of the Eastern Gulf Test and Training Range will now be delivered to state and federal leaders.
SHALIMAR — Okaloosa County Commissioners moved unanimously on Tuesday to oppose any efforts to resume drilling in the eastern Gulf, saying that drilling would endanger U.S. national security and threaten the region’s multibillion-dollar tourism economy.
The move followed Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel’s push for the board to sign a letter calling for permanent protection of the Eastern Gulf Test and Training Range, a vast military operations area used by every branch of the armed forces.
Ketchel, who serves on the Defense Strategic Initiatives Board, said offshore drilling would “completely ruin the mission field” for Eglin Air Force Base, which she noted supports about 70% of the county’s economy.
Although she noted her support for President Donald Trump, Ketchel criticized what she described as his “drill, baby, drill” stance and argued that federal leaders may not fully grasp the threat offshore drilling poses to the test range and the area’s tourism industry.
The letter will be delivered to the White House and to members of the State Delegation, including Sen. Rick Scott and Reps. Neal Dunn and Jimmy Patronis.
“We cannot drill in the Gulf, especially the Eastern Gulf,” Ketchel said.
The letter describes the Eastern Gulf Test and Training Range as “the largest military training range in the continental United States.” It supports air, water, surface, and subsurface operations; enables advanced weapons systems testing; and hosts water-to-land transition exercises considered “irreplaceable” for national defense readiness.
Commissioners warn that oil platforms, drilling vessels, and associated industrial activity would interfere with sensitive testing corridors, restrict aviation and maritime operations, and degrade carefully controlled environments that depend on vast, unobstructed airspace and stable Gulf conditions.
The letter calls drilling “incompatible” with the range’s mission and a “serious risk” to U.S. military effectiveness.
The letter also highlights the potential economic fallout for Okaloosa County’s tourism industry, valued at billions annually. The letter argues that tourists come to the region for its “world-class” natural beauty, clean Gulf waters, and coastal recreation.
Commissioners warn that environmental harm, or even the perception of risk, could jeopardize thousands of jobs tied to hotels, restaurants, fishing charters, and beachfront businesses.
“Visitors to our area expect clean, safe waters,” the letter states, noting that spills or contamination would be “detrimental” to the ecosystem and the economy built around it.
The commissioners argue that environmental stability in the Gulf is itself a strategic asset, essential to the reliability of weapons testing and training.
Any degradation, they say, would compromise both national defense and the coastal environment on which communities, such as Destin and 30-A, depend on.
After Ketchel read the letter, Chairman Paul Mixon moved to walk the item onto the meeting’s agenda. With a second by Commissioner Drew Palmer, the item was agreed to unanimously.
Pro Communi Bono
St. Francis De Sales, Ora Pro Nobis!
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