[MilCom] Fwd: [MilRadioComms] Avon Park Range might be expanded

[AllanStern at aol.com]

Navy May Test Live Bombs In Central Florida

AVON PARK, FL -- Some  Central Florida families could get a rude awakening 
from the Navy. Jets carrying  live warheads could soon race right over 
Central Florida.

The military is  working on plans to expand the Avon Park bombing range, 
where pilots would test  real bombs. The possibility leaves some residents 
nervous.

June Felt has  an excellent memory. She plays piano by ear and knows 
hundreds
of songs, so  she can easily recall every detail of the night of August  22,
1944.

"Very unusual, the sound was. I can't even describe how I  felt when I heard
it. I knew something bad was happening,” she  said.

Her hometown of Frostproof, Florida had been bombed by the United  States 
Air
Force.

"Well, they came over to apologize when they  realized what they had done.
And the next week, they did it again,” she  saud,

Pilots confused the street lights of Frostproof with the Avon Park  bombing
range ten miles away. Nobody was hurt, because the Air Force used  dummy
bombs.

Monday, families living near the Four Corners area worry  about bigger
accidents. The military plans to expand the range using live  bombs.

"Have you ever lived next to a railroad track? Well, imagine a  freight 
train
going outside your bedroom window and magnify it by ten,”  resident John 
Long
said.

The Navy wants to launch F-35 fighter jets  from the Atlantic and race them
toward the range at speeds of up to 600 miles  per hour over Central 
Florida.

“That's all Osceola County. The new  bombing run is gonna incorporate it
all,” Long said.

While it's mostly  farmland and forest west of the Four Corners area, there
are  homes.

"Drywall will crack. Pictures will fall off the wall. Glass will  break.
People will actually experience roof timbers separating. It's not  funny,”
Long said.

The jets will drop 2500-pound bombs and launch  several types of missiles.
The Air Force and Navy say it is essential to  national security.

"You know, those things don't always fire when they  push the button.
Sometimes you get a ‘hang’ and now you've got a 2500-pound  live warhead
hanging by a thread on the bottom of a jet. Now what do you do?"  Long
questioned.

Back in Frostproof, June Felt is understandably  concerned.

"I'm reluctant for the Navy to do this with live bombs,” she  said.

But, she says, she's a patriot; her husband August was an Army  colonel. She
may not like the Navy plan, but says she understands  it.

"And if we need to do it, if we need to for training and they feel  like
there's no other answer, then I support it,” she said.

The Air  Force plans to hold public hearings early next year. The Navy still
needs to  complete some environmental studies. Training could begin within
four  years.

The military was testing live bombs in Puerto Rico, but closed  that range
after mass protests.  

AL STERN  Satellite Beach  FL
AllanStern at aol.com
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