Coast Guard defends plan for Great Lakes live fire exercises
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By DAVID N. GOODMAN Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, October 10, 2006 1:56 PM CDT
DETROIT - The U.S. Coast Guard's proposal to periodically close 2,500 square miles of the Great Lakes for live machine-gun firing exercises is vital to maintaining its ability to protect the nation's security, commanders said Tuesday.
A numbers of Canadian and U.S. and Canadian mayors, as well as business leaders and environmentalists have criticized the proposal, saying it could be unsafe, disruptive and unnecessary.
The Coast Guard says it has safely conducted live-fire tests in the nation's coastal waters for years. The test zones and schedules are designed to have minimal effect on the environment and Great Lakes boat traffic, it says.
Live fire practice is an essential part of weapons training, the head of the Coast Guard's Detroit region told reporters Tuesday.
``We need to train in the environment in which we are going to fire the weapons,'' Capt. Patrick W. Brennan said from a conference room that overlooks the Detroit River and neighboring Windsor, Ontario.
Coast Guard commanders are holding media briefings in advance of seven public hearings that begin Monday in Duluth, Minn., and end Nov. 3 in Charlevoix, Mich. A public comment period extends through Nov. 13.
The training zone proposal follows the Coast Guard's decision to mount automatic weapons on about 150 Great Lakes vessels as it did earlier with vessels on the East, West and Gulf coasts, Brennan said.
Each of the 34 ``safety zones'' on Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario would be closed to private vessels for four-hour spans about four to eight times a year, he said.
Having permanently designated training areas ``provides predictability to the public,'' he said. ``If the Coast Guard is training, that's where it's going to be.''
Personnel from 57 Coast Guard stations would undergo the training. Crews would shoot at floating targets with M240-B automatic rifles aboard cutters, rescue boats and other vessels.
The mayor of Sarnia, Ontario, across the St. Clair River from Port Huron, Mich., and about 55 miles northeast of Detroit, earlier urged Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to intervene to stop the tests.
``It's turning the Great Lakes into a military zone,'' Mayor Mike Bradley said by telephone Tuesday. ``There's no justification to do this.'' The mayors of Toronto and Chicago — the lakes' biggest cities — also have criticized the tests.
The Michigan United Conservation Clubs, one of the state's leading hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation advocacy groups, has been looking closely at the Coast Guard proposal and its effects on private boat traffic on the Great Lakes.
The 60,000-member group appreciates the importance of national security, spokesman Tony Hansen said.
``We would be looking for any way to cooperate on looking for a way that these things can happen, but not at the expense of the lake,'' Hansen said.
One military analyst said the controversy has more to do with how the Coast Guard launched the plan than whether it's a good idea.
A series of 24 weapons tests in temporary zones began in January without adequate public outreach, said Mackenzie Eaglen of the Heritage Foundation.
``That was sort of a PR mistake, I think,'' said Eaglen, a former Pentagon live fire test office official. ``The live fire training just can't be replicated. ... As the Army says, `Train like you fight.'''
By The Associated Press=
The U.S. Coast Guard plans seven public hearings on its proposal to create 34 zones covering 2,500 square miles of the Great Lakes for live machine-gun firing exercises. A period for written public comments runs through Nov. 13.
The schedule of hearings is as follows:
—Monday: Duluth, Minn.
—Oct. 18: Spring Lake, Mich.
—Oct. 19: Marysville, Mich.
—Oct. 23: Cleveland.
—Oct. 30: Rochester, N.Y.
—Nov. 1: Milwaukee-Chicago area, location to be determined.
—Nov. 3: Charlevoix, Mich.
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