[CPEO-MEF] Navy Identifies Vieques Alternatives

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Navy Identifies Vieques Alternatives
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2003

(AP) The Navy will expand its use of bombing ranges in Florida and
elsewhere on the U.S. mainland when it abandons a site on the Puerto
Rican island of Vieques in May, defense officials said Friday.

Navy officials were notifying Congress that they had certified
alternatives to Vieques for conducting live-fire and other training, and
an official announcement was planned soon, the officials said, speaking
on condition of anonymity.

The Navy has used Vieques as its main Atlantic Coast training range for
56 years but it has been hindered by local protests stemming from an
April 1999 bombing accident that killed a civilian security guard. In
January 2000 the Clinton administration set a May 2003 target date for
withdrawing from Vieques, but Congress required the Navy to certify that
alternative training sites were at least as good as Vieques.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/10/national/main536035.shtml

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