By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff
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| Maybe this is Trump's payback to the Northeast for the 2015 "Jade Helm" conspiracy that was supposed to be President Obama's plan to invade and take over Texas and the Southwest (CLICK HERE) |
The Navy intends to fire
missiles, rockets, lasers, grenades and torpedoes, detonate mines and explosive
buoys, and use all types of sonar in a series of live war exercises in inland
and offshore waters along the East Coast.
In New England, the
areas where the weapons and sonar may be deployed encompass the entire
coastline, as well as Navy pier-side locations, port transit channels, civilian
ports, bays, harbors, airports and inland waterways.
“The Navy must train the
way we fight,” according to a promotional video for
what is called "Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing Phase III."
UPDATE:
UPDATE:
According to the Block Island Times:
“Ted Brown, the Environmental Public
Affairs Officer for U.S. Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia, confirmed
that the Navy was complying with the Marine Mammal Protection Act, as well as
the Environmental Protection Agencies, and other departments that approve
permitting for the Navy to continue its training. ‘We have to do this every
five years,’ Brown told The Block Island Times. Brown said the
training ‘has been going on, quite frankly, for decades,” and is nothing
new.’”
“Training and testing activities
within Rhode Island's coastal zone (extending three nautical miles offshore)
include
(1) small and medium caliber
gunnery,
(2) pierside and at-sea sonar use,
(3) testing of unmanned systems
(including aerial, surface, and undersea),
(4) small boat maneuvering,
(5) inserting and extracting
personnel (e.g., to and from a harbor, beach, etc.),
(6) maritime security training,
(7) testing of towed and
semi-stationary equipment,
(8) and testing of non-explosive
torpedoes, countermeasures, radars, chemical and biological detectors, and
launchers. We do not plan on changing the type or tempo of these activities
from previous levels analyzed in the 2013 Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing
EIS.
An environmental impact study of
the war games was released June 30. Public comment is open until Aug. 29.
A public hearing is
scheduled for July 19 from 4-8 p.m. at Hotel Providence. Comments can be
submitted online and in
writing, or through a voice recorder at the hearing.
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| Not like these naval war games |
The dates and exact
locations of the live weapon and sonar exercises haven't yet been released. In
all, 2.6 million square miles of land and sea along the Atlantic Coast and Gulf
of Mexico will be part of the aerial and underwater weapons firing.
The Navy describes the
weapons exercise as a “major action.” The live ammunition training includes the
use of long-range gunnery, mine training, air warfare, amphibious warfare, and
anti-submarine warfare.
The Navy says weapons
use near civilian locations is consistent with training that has been done for
decades.
The Navy, in conjunction
with the National Marine Fisheries Service, will announce one of three options
for the battle exercises by fall 2018. One of the options is a “no-action
alternative.”
The Office of the
Secretary of the Navy has full authority to approve or deny the live war games.
[Popular vote loser] Trump, however, has had difficulties finding a new Navy
secretary.
Venture capitalist
Richard V. Spencer is expected to face a Senate confirmation hearing this
month. Previous nominee Philip Bilden withdrew from consideration in February
over financial disclosure requirements.
The Navy says an
environmental review for the excises was conducted between 2009 and 2011.
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| More like this |
The live war games would
deploy passive and active sonar systems.
The Navy said it will use
mid-frequency active acoustic sonar systems to track mines and torpedoes. Air
guns, pile driving, transducers, explosive boxes and towed explosive devises
may be used offshore and inland.
Risks to sea life
include entanglements, vessel strikes, ingesting of harmful materials, hearing
loss, physiological stress, and changes in behavior.
The Navy says it is
using acoustic modeling done by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) to minimize impacts to marine mammals such as whales and
porpoises.
NOAA, however, isn't
involved with efforts to mitigate environmental impacts during the war
games. Spotters on naval vessels will search for mammals during the
exercises.
The Navy said it will
partner with the scientific community to lessen impacts on birds, whales,
turtles, fish and reefs.
While some sea life is
expected to be harmed by the explosives and sonar, the Navy says it doesn't
expect to threaten an entire population of a species.