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Residents Tour Navy's New Live Fire Training Site
HANCOCK COUNTY (WLOX) -- Some rural residents of Hancock County have been wondering how having a homegrown jungle battleground in their backyards would effect their home lives. So Thursday, Navy officials invited some of them out to see for themselves exactly what will happen when sailors and Navy Seals with Special Boat Team 22 hit the river and open fire.
Think of the Vietnam based war movie Apocalypse Now when trying to picture what kind of war zone Special Boat Team 22 is trained to fight in. Now picture that on the Pearl River and Mike's River in Hancock County.
"There's no shooting in this area, but the next area we're going to travel to is that safety buffer zone or safety danger zone," says Commander James Emmert, the SBT-22's commanding officer.
They won't open fire for more than month, so Commander Emmert and his crew took time to show local residents what will go on when guns begin blazing in their new Western Maneuver Area.
"They have had a fair amount of questions," says Emmert. "I think when they saw the difference between the short range training ammunition and regular ball ammunition, a lot of those fears were put aside and they realized the training out here will be, in fact, very safe."
Cindy Schoomaker of Bay St. Louis was one of those with questions and concerns.
"I was very much concerned about what could happen to the Pearl River, and the wildlife and the fishing," says Schoomaker.
Jay Milan of Slidell, Louisiana is an avid duck hunter who, like Schoomaker, is impressed with the Navy's efforts to keep the area safe for wildlife and wildlife enthusiasts alike.
"They're doing a good job of organizing and educating the people," says Milan.
Commander Emmert believes this mission was a success.
"This effort today is sort of a way to thank them and reach out to them and show them what we're doing and what we're doing to make sure they stay safe while we continue to provide great training for our forces that go forward."
Officials say the actual firing of rounds will be sporadic during exercises, and they'll maintain contact with residents to let them know when the shooting will occur. They'll also have a hotline for anyone with questions.
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