Read the full text of the letter below.

 

Dear Mr. President,

 

Today, as a champion of your America First Agenda, we are writing to express concern about a small portion of the blocks available for lease under the Big Beautiful Gulf Lease Sale (BBGLS) 1 on December 10, 2025. These blocks within the Eastern Gulf Test and Training Range (EGTTR) impact the critical missions at Eglin Air Force Base, Hurlburt Field, Tyndall Air Force Base, and Naval Air Station Pensacola. We are proud to support your patriotic policies, including the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which reversed the four disastrous years of the Biden Administration. Your recent actions to withdraw areas of the Gulf of America from leasing reflect a deep understanding of its strategic importance to national defense and the economy.

 

While we wholeheartedly support your push for American energy independence and expanded domestic oil and gas production, the EGTTR is critical to advanced weapons development, flight testing, and joint exercises essential to maintaining America’s military superiority. The combination of its size, isolation, and proximity to the narco-terrorists, to key bases, and to the Caribbean and Venezuela makes it a one-of-a-kind resource vital to national security. Moreover, in the course of annual, planned EGTTR operations, the U.S. military drops approximately 226 bombs weighing 25,500 pounds, fires 535 missiles weighing approximately 30,000 pounds, and shoots more than 67,100 rounds. Given the special operations forces based in Northwest Florida, many of these missions occur at night. Beyond these operational challenges, further oil exploration could have severe economic consequences for the region by reducing the economic impact of the military in Northwest Florida, which contributes $21.8 billion to gross domestic product and generates nearly 200,000 jobs in the region. The plan will likely also reduce tourism along the Gulf Coast, which is God’s gift to Florida.

 

Therefore, potential oil exploration activities in these limited areas are incompatible with military operations and recreational uses. As proposed, the planned terms require the lessee “to control its own electromagnetic emissions and those of its agents,” which appears unworkable given that the average internet-connected, American household owns 17 devices that emit such signals (e.g., cellphones, Bluetooth devices, microwaves, etc.). Given concerns over electromagnetic interference, allowing these parcels to go forward in the BBGLS 1 would have a chilling effect on the military’s ability to test new munitions, including hypersonic and counter drone weaponry, which appear to be key to maintaining America’s military dominance on the everchanging battlefield.

 

Mr. President, your leadership in preserving this balance among national defense, economic prosperity, and environmental stewardship reflects a profound and principled understanding of America’s long-term interests. With deepest respect and gratitude, we urge you to direct all areas in the EGTTR to be withdrawn before the range is compromised. Thank you for your continued dedication to the American people and to the protection of our national security.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

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