on the cover / By Hank Sims

Humboldt At War

Local military contractors feed and clothe soldiers, keep birds and bats safe

(March 13, 2008)  This Thursday, March 20, marks the five-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. In Humboldt County, the occasion will be marked, this Saturday at 1 p.m., by the county’s annual peace march, which will start at the Eureka Municipal Auditorium.

As always, the peace marchers will bring all sorts of issues to the event. Some will push for the impeachment of President George Bush. Some will demand an investigation to look at American culpability in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Some will advocate the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama, or Hillary Clinton, or Ralph Nader. But one thing that will likely unite them is a disdain for what Dwight D. Eisenhower called “the military-industrial complex.”

GALLERY >

The United States of America has now spent upwards $500 billion on the war and subsequent occupation of Iraq. In the same time (since government fiscal year 2002-2003) the U.S. Department of Defense has spent almost $1.5 trillion on contracts with private companies — not all of it directly related to the war, but all of it required to maintain the Pentagon and the branches of the service in one way or another. That figure — $1.5 trillion — is taken from USAspending.gov, the government’s online data clearinghouse on federal spending. The site also shows that $20 million has been spent with contractors based in Humboldt County. It’s a pittance by national standards, but for some local businesses and researchers it’s made all the difference.

There’s a few conclusions that can be drawn by looking at the list of 24 Humboldt County companies and other contractors that have done business with the military since 2000. For one, it shows that Humboldt County’s principal value to the federal government lies principally in its relationship with the outdoors. The vast majority of money the military spends here goes to one of two business sectors: consultants with specialties in the ecological sciences and firms that got their start by catering to outdoor enthusiasts. If military spending is any guide — and it’s probably as good a guide as any — our niche in the world economy stems from our relationship with the natural world.

The other thing that the list makes obvious is that that niche is overwhelmingly dominated by the county’s second city. Over three-quarters of the military contracts that go to Humboldt County go to Arcata. A portion of this is due to the scientific community centered around Humboldt State University. (Humboldt State itself has done over $700,000 worth of business with the Dept. of Defense, which helps fund research and development through the university’s Sponsored Programs Foundation.) But by far the larger part goes to Arcata’s vibrant manufacturing scene, which has supplied branches of the Pentagon with boats, clothing, refrigerators, furniture and musical instruments.

At the same time, of course, Arcata is also the spiritual home of the local antiwar movement, at times making national headlines for the anti-Bush, anti-military items that have popped up on its City Council agenda. But the contradiction is not as great as it might seem. In the first place, by national standards military spending in the city is miniscule. In fiscal year 2006 (September 2005 through August 2006), the Dept. of Defense spent almost $300 billion on contracts — just about $1,000 for every resident of the United States. Meanwhile, it spent only $1.48 million in Arcata, or about $86 per resident.

Then also, the closest thing to weaponry produced by Humboldt County are sailors’ dry suits and inflatable boat sponsons. The rest of the work being done by Humboldt County businesses for the Pentagon is only very remotely connected to the war, if at all. Rather, it’s the kind of work that any sort of massive bureaucracy might require to sustain itself.

Just two Arcata manufacturers make up more than half of the business that Humboldt County has done with the military: Wing Inflatables and Kokatat. The two firms got their start together in the 1970s. Back then, Wing was “The Electric Rafting Company,” an early whitewater rafting guide; Kokatat was “Blue Puma” and made down sleeping bags and jackets. The two companies grew up together at a time when Arcata entrepreneurship was flourishing. They worked together on occasion: Bill Wing, founder of Wing Inflatables, said last week that he used to take Kokatat’s early crew out on rafting trips.

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