Navy's morning music now louder, longer; neighbors notice

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — How loud would you like to hear the national anthem played every morning?

The Daily Herald of Everett reports that Naval Station Everett has made some musical changes recently and not all the neighbors have been pleased.

Spokeswoman Kristin Ching says the base recently evaluated its external speaker system and found it was too quiet for emergency notification purposes and below the standards set for U.S. Navy bases. So it boosted the volume.

At about the same time, the base changed its morning bugle call from the rousing "Call to Colors" to the national anthem.

Neighbors noticed, especially since the music was now 30 percent louder. After the base received a number of calls, administrators decided they could lower the volume 10 percent and still meet Navy requirements.

Ching says the Navy requires the national anthem to be played at 8 a.m.

The anthem plays for 90 seconds every morning. That's three times as long as the previous bugle call.