Let's play ball!

Please, this is not about not supporting the troops or being unpatriotic, so please do not waste your time responding with the pat line we have all heard already. This is about respecting and supporting each other in the Fallbrook and surrounding community, including those who live and work at Camp Pendleton.

Why do we have to be BOMBarded day after day with frightening, deafening and house-rattling explosions? Granted they do not happen all the time, but when they do we all clench our teeth and grin and bear it. Why? I called Camp Pendleton to ask that question and was shepherded from one sergeant to another because no one even knew the correct number to call for noise complaint.

Who does the community talk to when we have a problem with the goings-on at Camp Pendleton, like the nuclear material stored on-site a few years ago? Is there a liaison with the Fallbrook community who meets to discuss issues on a monthly or even yearly basis? If you know something about this, I would be most happy to receive the information.

The most difficult part of living right next door to a military training camp is the prevailing attitude amongst some of “like it or lump it.” With that handy attitude we might as well live in a dictatorship instead of a democracy.

I would like to propose to someone in charge that, if they appreciate the goodwill of the community surrounding their camp, they might want to be more proactive with their PR. I would also like to ask why it is that the heavy bombardments do not take place in the desert, far from human beings who live very different lives to the military.

I am convinced we can all get along if we are all willing to play ball. I look forward to intelligent and creative responses to this letter.

Jacqueline Develle