Loud Camp Parks Bugles Fuel Local Controversy

DUBLIN, CA — For two years, the bugles were silent. In December, they came roaring back, blasting as often as eight times a day, loud as a lawn mower, according to some measurements. Then they stopped again for a few weeks. On Tuesday, they came back, as loud as ever.

Three times a day, seven days a week, the U.S. Army Camp Parks military base blasts its bugles from emergency speakers known as “the Giant Voice,” within earshot of the roughly 2,000 homes nearby. The first Reveille call sounds at 6:30 a.m., followed by Retreat at 5 p.m., followed by Taps at 9 p.m.

Resident Marilyn Meganck consistently measures the sound of the bugles using the Decibel Meter on her iPhone, and told Patch that they sometimes register as loud as 92 dBA, or A-weighted decibels, a measure that takes into account the impact of high and low frequencies to more accurately reflect how they register to the human ear.

For reference, Meganck’s measurement of 92 dBA is as loud as a motorcycle, lawn mower, or a drill at close range, according to IAC Acoustics. Prolonged exposure to sounds above 85 dBA can lead to hearing loss, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. The Alameda County Noise Ordinance allows up to 70 dBA for durations less than a minute from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. in residential areas, and 65 dBA for durations less than a minute from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Calls last about 30 seconds, according to Meganck.

Patch has reached out to Camp Parks several times, but has not heard back as of publication.

“If we didn’t have young kids, I would just live with it, but every night from 7-10 p.m. is this cycle of our child being afraid,” said Meganck, who has a three-year-old and a one-year-old. “It’s three extra hours of child comforting and chores, and a few of my neighbors have been experiencing similar things.”

Camp Parks was built in 1943, and has sounded its bugles nearly every day since then to signal times to wake up, eat, and end the day, among other functions. In 2009, nearby land was transferred from federal ownership to a private residential developer, who built several homes within earshot of the property. The Army’s 2009 Record of Decision states that, “No ongoing or future operational or training-related noise levels at Camp Parks are anticipated to exceed the City of Dublin accepted 60 dBA noise level for residential land uses within the proposed land exchange area and therefore no additional noise mitigation measures are required as part of the Proposed Action.”

For many years, they lived up to this promise, and the noise from Camp Parks was faint, according to Meganck and other residents writing on Nextdoor. From 2022 to December 2024, the calls did not sound at all, leading to rumors that the system had broken.

That all changed on Dec. 18, when the bugles suddenly began sounding up to 11 times a day at 80-92 dBA, according to Meganck’s measurements. The last calls were at 10 p.m. for seven nights a week. The city of Dublin received a total of 20 online complaints regarding the bugle calls as of Feb. 5, according to spokesperson Shari Jackman.

On Nextdoor, residents were divided. Some complained. “I have heard it 3 times in a row now in completely different areas, and I’m starting to get creeped out,” one person wrote.

“It’s louder than it used to be,” noted another. “I’ve lived here 6 years and only started hearing it in the last two weeks.”

“It’s driving me nuts and waking me up,” said another. “Why has it started again?”

As previously noted, the bugle calls terrified Meganck’s young son. “At that age, they have a strong imagination, and when he’s woken up, he’s afraid,” she said. “As we do the nighttime routine, he refuses to go to sleep, and says, ‘I’m afraid - the music is coming!’ He doesn’t know when it’s coming, so he’s afraid to fall asleep. He runs out of his room screaming and crying. He’s losing sleep.”

However, just as many residents said on Nextdoor that they loved the bugle sounds for what they represent. They also argued that residents who bought homes near a military base should expect to hear noise.

“Be grateful for what it stands for and that you can be snug in your bed, well-protected,” wrote one commenter. Others comments include:

“Consider it the sound of freedom!”

“That’s local history and culture. Love it!”

“You live near an active military base.”

Camp Parks representatives repeated the final point to some of the residents who got through to them, according to Meganck. Residents of The Boulevard Dublin homeowners association also sign a homebuyers’ agreement that warns of potential noise.

“Camp Parks is a United States Army Reserve installation located north of the Community and has approximately 700 acres of administrative facilities and over 2,000 acres of open space for year-round weapons and field training by all services of the United States Armed Forces and Reserves. As such, it has the potential to generate significant noise levels outside of Camp Parks, from sources which include, but are not limited: weapons firing; tactical vehicle operation; field power generator operation; and helicopter operations,” reads the agreement, which does not mention daily bugle calls. “Buyers should carefully consider the impact of nuisances including, but not limited to: noise, smoke, dust, and reduction in privacy.”

However, Meganck pointed out that all the potential noise sources mentioned in the homebuyers agreement are either rare, or quieter than the bugles. At the time Meganck was buying her house, the bugle noises were nonexistent, and the homebuyers agreement did not warn that they would play several times a day at such a loud volume.

“I understand they have operations they need to do,” she said. “The magnitude of it is what most people object to.”

On Jan. 13, Camp Parks released a statement that explained the change in volume, and announced future reductions in both the noise and quantity of calls.

“In mid-December 2024, Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (PRFTA) commonly known as Camp Parks, received vital parts and software to update and repair the PRFTA General Announcing Speaker System also known as the “Giant Voice,” they said.

“The purpose of this system is to provide a means of emergent and non-emergent communication from PRFTA Headquarters to personnel on the garrison. The 'Giant Voice' system is designed to be heard clearly both indoors and in the rolling hills compromising the northern areas of the garrison where Soldiers and other servicemembers train. On January 6, 2025, we completed our first phase of testing and evaluation and have made some changes to our 'Giant Voice' system.”

Following the changes, Camp Parks reduced the number of announcements from 11 per day to three per day; “significantly” reduced the output volume; and turned off a speaker deemed redundant through testing. The base said it will “continue to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of our current volume levels and will, periodically, make necessary adjustments pursuant to mission requirements.”

Dublin City Manager Colleen Tribby briefly noted these changes in the City Manager Report section of the Feb. 4 city council meeting. “We started receiving complaints about bugle call noise back in December, and began working with [Camp Parks] leadership. Through those discussions and lots of testing and tweaking of the system, they’ve reduced the number of bugle calls that they use from 11 to three per day, that are at 6:30 a.m., 5 p.m., and 10 p.m. They’ve turned off redundant speakers, and they’ve reduced overall volume,” she told the council. Camp Parks and Meganck have stated that the updated final call is at 9 p.m., not 10 p.m.

“The bugle calls are a military tradition, but they’re also used in an emergency alert system, so it’s a way of keeping that system working and really being tested every time they use it. The speakers that they use the bugle calls for are used to alert folks in the event of a disaster with important information. Through this issue Camp Parks leadership has also worked closely with the management team at The Boulevard to make sure that those residents are getting timely information, and that they fully understand what Camp Parks is doing to mitigate some of the complaints, and they’re going to continue to monitor the situation and address any issues as needed that will further their mission.”

However, Meganck disputes one major point of this: the “significant” reduction in noise. She said that and her husband continued to measure the noise, and it continued to register at anywhere from 80-92 dBA. The calls stopped on Feb. 4, the same day as the above meeting, and then restarted Feb. 18 at an even louder volume.

Since then, at least two more complaints have come in through the city’s SeeClickFix website.

“Did Camp Parks stop their annoying bugle calls for a week or simply adjust the volume? We haven't heard them for many days in a row, but last night, it started again, loud and clear, especially the dial tones. It's bloody irritating! Why can't they just give us the peace we deserve? Is Camp Parks trying to force everyone to move? Would they make them happy?” an anonymous commenter wrote on Feb. 18 in a complaint that remains open.

Camp Parks has not responded to Meganck’s most recent inquiries. She has also contacted the city of Dublin, and the offices of Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, and State Sen. Jerry McNerney. A representative from McNerney’s office told her that because Camp Parks is a federal operation, there isn’t much McNerney can do, but he would try to direct her to other points of contact. He also said he would speak to Camp Parks and the city of Dublin.

“I'd like to emphasize that at the end of the day, I respect Camp Parks' operational needs,” Meganck told Patch in an email. “Our plea is for Camp Parks to reduce the volume or shut off their residential-facing speakers. If the volume cannot be adjusted because the apparatus primarily serves as the base's emergency alarm system, please use another method to play the bugle calls so it is directed toward those on base who require or desire to hear them."