Editor, Gazette-Journal:

I’m concerned about the current administration’s plans to drill for oil and gas off Virginia’s shores.

President Obama announced this very plan during his administration, but changed his mind after learning that the Department of Defense is adamantly opposed to drilling along the Atlantic seacoast. The Navy and other branches of the military conduct their training off the coast, from Virginia to Florida. You cannot use flares and other ordnance (even in training) without the risk of igniting an oil derrick! If we drill offshore in these areas, the military will have to move its training operations, at an inordinate expense. Where will they go? Knowing this, and receiving feedback from the military on this issue, why would the White House still continue to push for drilling in these waters?

Norfolk has the largest ports (military and commercial) in the country. How are cargo and transport ships to navigate a field of oil wells? Our shipping ...