[CPEO-MEF] Marines Say Combat Training Suffers

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Marines Say Combat Training Suffers
Military: Officials point to a study that finds large areas of Camp 
Pendleton are off-limits to protect a growing list of species.

By TONY PERRY, Times Staff Writer

CAMP PENDLETON -- As the Pentagon lobbies Congress for relief from the 
Endangered Species Act and other environmental laws, the military points 
to this sprawling base as a prime example of how such laws have severely 
disrupted combat training. 

While the military has made similar claims in the past, now the Marine 
Corps has a study that it says proves that training is being undercut 
because large areas of the base are off-limits to protect a growing list 
of species. 

"We need the ability to train as we fight," said Lt. Col. Mike Lynch, a 
Marine Corps planner. "An inability to conduct realistic training puts 
Marines in jeopardy." 

Preliminary results from a study conducted by Marine officials and 
Newport Beach-based SRS Technologies found that in what were once prime 
training zones, Marines can no longer receive adequate training in 32% 
to 50% of the several hundred tasks necessary for an amphibious landing. 


Restrictions on digging, noise and off-road maneuvers are the most 
severe, the study concluded. 

According to Marine officials, a pending lawsuit by more than 30 
environmental organizations could have the effect of designating more 
than half of the base as protected habitat. 

This story can be viewed in its entirety at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-042002base.story

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