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Aug. 3, 2020 - Jim Creek harbors wildlife and Navy secrets
8/3/2022 | 1m 15sVideo has Closed Captions
Jim Creek harbors endangered wildlife and Navy secrets.
For decades, the Arlington radio station has helped the U.S. military communicate with its submarine fleet. It's also one of Russia's top nuclear targets.
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Crosscut Now is a local public television program presented by Cascade PBS
Crosscut Now
Aug. 3, 2020 - Jim Creek harbors wildlife and Navy secrets
8/3/2022 | 1m 15sVideo has Closed Captions
For decades, the Arlington radio station has helped the U.S. military communicate with its submarine fleet. It's also one of Russia's top nuclear targets.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship(bright inquisitive music) - I'm Jay Martin, Jr. in the Crosscut KCTS 9 newsroom.
Drivers and hikers along the Mountain Loop Highway, east of Arlington, may not even notice the tall radio towers on a nearby ridge or may think they are ordinary transmission towers.
But the Russian military has noticed them and according to a 2019 report has marked them as a first priority nuclear target.
That's because they are a part of a powerful Navy radio facility that can communicate with submarines deep in the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles away.
The Jim Creek Naval Radio Station was built nearly 70 years ago.
The station sends very low frequency signals to the Pacific Fleet using an antenna formed by hundreds of miles of cables above and below ground.
The 5,000-acre base also includes a radio museum and a recreation getaway for Navy families set in hundreds of acres of natural forest.
I'm Jay Martin, Jr. Find nonprofit Northwest news every day on crosscut.com.
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