Games being played???
Interesting that this popped up today after NO coverage earlier in the week that I saw...
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office backed off plans to close parts of Interstate 5 on Thursday after mounting tension with federal and military officials over a White House-directed live-fire event off Camp Pendleton’s coast.
The governor’s office said they were told federal authorities were considering closing the freeway and when no order materialized by Wednesday, state officials began weighing whether to do so themselves. Driving that decision, they said, were safety concerns about reports that Navy ships would fire live ordnance over the freeway onto the base during the Marine Corps’ 250th anniversary celebration Saturday.
The Marine Corps insisted that “no highways or transportation routes will be closed” following a detailed risk assessment. Capt. Gregory Dreibelbis of the I Marine Expeditionary Force said Thursday that no ordnance will be fired from a U.S. Navy ship during the event, but Marines will fire high explosive rounds from artillery known as M777 Howitzers into designated ranges “with all safety precautions in place.” Simulated explosives and visual effects will also be used, he said.
Full article, HERE from the LA Times.
This makes no sense as anything but a political ploy. There are a ‘lot’ of things that get fired over the California coast into ranges inland. Why ‘this’ particular instance?
As noted, there was no Navy firing of anything in this demo. And the Marines had already done the requisite preplanning and safety investigations/briefs.
Or was it to penalize the Marines and folks who were planning to attend the displays? I-5 is bad enough with the normal traffic issues anyway, much less with 17 miles closed!
Just Newsome needing his diapers changed. The man is scum and everything always has to be about him.
Just Newsom doing some new smoke & mirrors ballyhoo/agitprop. Don't know that the Navy has ever done Naval Gunfire Support (NGFS) across I-5 onto shore targets at Camp Pendleton. While the Navy would know how to conduct NGFS over an Interstate Highway safely, no NGFS Team, GLO, ship CO, or Fleet Commander would want the headache and PAO nightmare. Back in the early 90s the Navy was told to shut down the two NGFS training facilities on the East Coast at Bloodsworth Island, MD in Chesapeake Bay and at Vieques Island in the Caribbean near Puerto Rico. In 2003, they shut down the only NGFS training facility on the West Coast on Kalo'olawe Island in Hawaii. Have no idea how the Navy does realistic NGFS training anymore, since they no longer can fire at "safe" shore targets. But I can tell you for sure that whatever Navy OS2/OS1 or LT who might have been assigned to a ship's NGFS Team or GLO are breathing a sigh of relief and not worrying about the liver damage that handfuls of Ibuprofen and gallons of coffee might do, as that's the only way to get through an NGFS mission ('68, '69, '70-71, '76, '84, '90-'91).