F.Y.I. know where you are at....
From the San Bernardino County Sun:
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_17286438
Quote:
Live-ammo exercises bring Marine warning to race fans
By Wesley G. Hughes Staff Writer
Posted: 02/03/2011 05:07:46 PM PST
TWENTYNINE PALMS - Don't go wandering around without your GPS if you plan on attending the King of the Hammer off-road vehicle races in Johnson Valley Sunday through Saturday.
That's the advice of Capt. Nicholas C. Mannweiler, spokesman for the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center here. He says the base and the race area are adjacent and he's heard estimates of 60,000 fans at each of the last two Hammers. And people have been known to wander onto the base by accident.
The Marines will be using every inch of the base right up to the edge during live-ammo exercises being held during the races, the captain says.
They do it all the time, Mannweiler says but not always with 60,000 party animals next door. The Marines use everything from M-16 carbines, machine guns, tanks, air-dropped bombs, mortars and howitzers.
The exercise called Enhanced Mojave Viper is conducted at the Twentynine Palms base 11 times a year because "This is the only base (big enough) where we can get air, ground, logistics and command elements together at the same time.
"A 155mm howitzer has a kill radius of 50 meters and can wound in a radius of 100 meters," Mannweiler says. And that's from a distance of 15 to 25 miles.
A meter is just more than one yard, so if a 155 round hits in the middle of a football field, it can kill you if you are standing in the end zone and probably 10 or 12 rows up in the good seats - on both sides.
If you just scored a touchdown and you are doing your victory dance, a 155 landing in the opposite end zone can send you to the hospital with major wounds.
Ninety percent of all U.S. Marines preparing for deployment to the Afghanistan War train here and they train with live ammo just like they use in real combat. Keep that in mind.
"We've found people on the base who are lost," said Mannweiler. "Being lost in the desert is bad. Being lost in the desert with artillery . . ." the sentence drifted off.
Summing it up, Mannweiler said, "We want you to respect the lethality of our weapons."
Yes sir.
From the San Bernardino County Sun:
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_17286438
Quote:
Live-ammo exercises bring Marine warning to race fans
By Wesley G. Hughes Staff Writer
Posted: 02/03/2011 05:07:46 PM PST
TWENTYNINE PALMS - Don't go wandering around without your GPS if you plan on attending the King of the Hammer off-road vehicle races in Johnson Valley Sunday through Saturday.
That's the advice of Capt. Nicholas C. Mannweiler, spokesman for the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center here. He says the base and the race area are adjacent and he's heard estimates of 60,000 fans at each of the last two Hammers. And people have been known to wander onto the base by accident.
The Marines will be using every inch of the base right up to the edge during live-ammo exercises being held during the races, the captain says.
They do it all the time, Mannweiler says but not always with 60,000 party animals next door. The Marines use everything from M-16 carbines, machine guns, tanks, air-dropped bombs, mortars and howitzers.
The exercise called Enhanced Mojave Viper is conducted at the Twentynine Palms base 11 times a year because "This is the only base (big enough) where we can get air, ground, logistics and command elements together at the same time.
"A 155mm howitzer has a kill radius of 50 meters and can wound in a radius of 100 meters," Mannweiler says. And that's from a distance of 15 to 25 miles.
A meter is just more than one yard, so if a 155 round hits in the middle of a football field, it can kill you if you are standing in the end zone and probably 10 or 12 rows up in the good seats - on both sides.
If you just scored a touchdown and you are doing your victory dance, a 155 landing in the opposite end zone can send you to the hospital with major wounds.
Ninety percent of all U.S. Marines preparing for deployment to the Afghanistan War train here and they train with live ammo just like they use in real combat. Keep that in mind.
"We've found people on the base who are lost," said Mannweiler. "Being lost in the desert is bad. Being lost in the desert with artillery . . ." the sentence drifted off.
Summing it up, Mannweiler said, "We want you to respect the lethality of our weapons."
Yes sir.
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