NAS Whidbey Island: The Home of the Growler
On Whidbey Island in Puget Sound, about ninety miles north of Seattle by road, NAS Whidbey Island is the Navy's center of electronic attack, the home of every shore-based EA-18G Growler squadron and the fleet replacement squadron that trains their crews, alongside P-8 maritime patrol squadrons. The island runs drier and milder than the rest of western Washington in the Olympic rain shadow, with the base beside Oak Harbor, Deception Pass and its bridge to the north, and the mussels and small towns of Penn Cove nearby. A command that owns the electronic warfare mission will protect it and move hard against a Sailor or aviator who steps wrong.
Military defense is all Bilecki Law Group does, and Sailors and aviators fly us in from our office in Tampa because a contested court martial is decided by trial experience, and we bring it wherever the case is.
The Pilot Who Went Back Into the Missiles
The standard for a Whidbey aviator was set by Lieutenant Commander Michael J. Estocin, an attack pilot over Haiphong in April 1967. Leading strikes against a heavily defended target, Estocin hunted and destroyed surface-to-air missile sites, the same suppression mission the Growler community flies today, and when his aircraft was twice crippled by exploding missiles he re-entered the target area to finish the job, once nursing a fuel-starved jet to a fiery arrested landing. He was lost on a later mission into the same defenses. He went back into the missiles because the strike depended on it. That is the standard we bring to a case at NAS Whidbey Island.
Why Sailors at NAS Whidbey Island Bring Us In
We win court martial cases. Military defense is all we do, and Sailors fly us in from all over the country because of our trial record. The military justice system is not built to find the truth; it exists to preserve good order and discipline, and a command that owns the electronic attack mission will make an example of a Sailor or an aviator to protect it. For a rated aviator there is a second front, because a Field Naval Aviator Evaluation Board can pull your wings on a standard far below a conviction, so the criminal case and the flying career are two fights at once. A serious case is investigated by NCIS, and for sexual assault and other covered offenses the decision to refer charges to a court martial no longer belongs to your command but goes to an independent Special Trial Counsel. Your detailed counsel from the Defense Service Office may be capable but carries a heavy caseload inside the same system, which is why Sailors serious about winning bring in their own counsel.
UCMJ Charges We Defend at NAS Whidbey Island
This is not the whole list of what we do at NAS Whidbey Island. We take every kind of court martial, and these are simply the charges that come up most.
Sexual Assault and Sex Offenses (UCMJ Article 120 / Article 134). These allegations route to an independent Special Trial Counsel now, and the command treats a report as established before the investigation is finished, all the more so in a tight squadron where word of an allegation travels fast. These cases demand counsel who will run an independent investigation and contest the case rather than let the allegation stand in for proof, because a conviction can mean confinement and a federal record, with registration required for a covered sex offense under the applicable federal and state law.
Domestic Violence and Assault (UCMJ Articles 128b and 128). Domestic violence under Article 128b is charged as aggressively as any offense in the UCMJ since the Office of Special Trial Counsel took these cases over. It covers a spouse, an intimate partner, or a family member, and it treats strangulation or suffocation as its own charge that the government can bring even with no visible injury. A qualifying conviction also triggers the federal Lautenberg firearms bar, which can end a Navy career because a Sailor has to be able to carry a weapon. We also defend assault under Article 128, the usual charge when a night out in Oak Harbor ends in a fight, where self defense is a recognized defense.
Larceny and Government Property (UCMJ Articles 121 and 108). An air station full of aircraft, sensitive electronics, and support equipment is issued and signs for a great deal of controlled material, and accountability is taken seriously. The government treats missing gear, an item that cannot be reconciled, or property that walked off as larceny under Article 121 or wrongful disposition of military property under Article 108, but a shortage on an inventory is not the same as theft, and the government still has to prove the state of mind required by the charged offense: intent for larceny or fraud, or negligence where Article 108 permits it, not just that something cannot be found.
Drugs and Off Duty Conduct (UCMJ Articles 112a and 134). Drug cases often turn on the chain of custody and the government's burden to prove any use was knowing and wrongful. Marijuana is one to keep in mind: it is legal in Washington, but it is still a federal controlled substance and a court martial offense under Article 112a, and being legal off base does not make it lawful for a Sailor, and for an aviator a drug allegation can end a flying career on top of the criminal case. A positive test is evidence the government may use to argue knowing, wrongful use, not an automatic finding of guilt, so the collection, the chain of custody, and whether any use was knowing all remain the government's to prove.
A Career and a Reputation Worth Defending
We do not pretend that every Sailor who calls us from NAS Whidbey Island is innocent. What matters is how serious the case is, not your rank. If a matter is genuinely minor, your detailed defense counsel can handle it, and we will tell you so honestly. But when the case is serious, everything is on the line at once: your career, your wings, your retirement, your good name, and your freedom. A court martial conviction is a federal criminal conviction, and the applicable sentencing parameters tie a confinement range to the offense, two and a half to ten years for sexual assault and ten to twenty for rape, that a judge can depart from only by stating specific facts in writing, on top of any required or adjudged punitive discharge and, on a covered sex offense, sex offender registration. That is why you fight. The court’s jurisdiction and the convicted offense determine which sentencing rules apply; some offenses use separate sentencing criteria rather than these ranges.
If you are facing an investigation or court martial at NAS Whidbey Island, reach out for a free defense strategy session. We will tell you exactly what you are facing and how we would defend it. The government is already building its case. The only question is whether anyone is building yours.
Cases Connected to NAS Whidbey Island
These cases include trials, hearings, investigations, and administrative matters. A connection to this location does not necessarily mean that the trial occurred here.
- Case connected to this location: Sailor Faces Claims for Inappropriate Recording, Bilecki Clears Charges
- Case connected to this location: Navy Chief's Eight-Specification CSAM General Court-Martial Cut to Three Specifications at Plea; 24 Months Confinement While Companion Federal Case Ended in 25 Years
FAQ
NCIS wants to interview me at Whidbey. Do I have to talk to them?
No. You are not required to sit for an NCIS interview or answer their questions. Under Article 31b of the UCMJ you have the right to remain silent and to a lawyer, and you can invoke both at any point, including before the interview begins. NCIS is collecting evidence, not giving you a chance to explain, and it takes very little to be titled as a subject, a label that follows you for years. Decline, ask for counsel, and call a defense lawyer before you give any statement.
I fly Growlers. If I'm acquitted, can a board still take me off flight status?
Yes, because a Field Naval Aviator Evaluation Board and the court martial are separate tracks with separate standards. The board can act on the same allegation on a far lower standard than a conviction requires, so you can win the criminal case and still lose your aviation career if the board side is not fought. That is why the underlying allegation has to be defended on both fronts from the start, and we handle the criminal charge and the aviation board together.
I'm under an Article 120 investigation. Will I have to register as a sex offender if I'm convicted?
A court martial conviction for a covered Article 120 offense triggers registration duties under the applicable federal and state law, with requirements and duration determined by the covered conviction and jurisdiction. The entire defense is aimed at defeating the charge or reducing it to an offense that carries no registration, and the investigation and the charging decision are where these cases are most often turned. Get your own counsel involved before you ever sit down with NCIS.