2004 CPEO Military List Archive

From: CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>
Date: 5 Feb 2004 22:42:31 -0000
Reply: cpeo-military
Subject: Marines on beach may protect bases
 
Texas
CORPUS CHRISTI CALLER-TIMES
Marines on beach may protect bases
Amphibious landing area could aid in BRAC fight
By Brad Olson Caller-Times
February 4, 2004

A five-mile stretch of land immediately north of Padre Island National
Seashore is being considered by the Marine Corps as a site for
practicing amphibious landings, local officials said Tuesday.

The proposal, organized by the South Texas Military Facilities Task
Force, is designed to establish a multi-branch training presence in each
of the Coastal Bend's three bases - Naval Station Ingleside, Naval Air
Station Corpus Christi and Naval Air Station Kingsville. Task force
officials said the addition would greatly strengthen the position of the
bases - particularly Ingleside - in preparation for the upcoming 2005
base closure round.

Some environmental groups said they had been briefed by the task force
about the proposed use of the land in Kleberg County, and have given the
operations a tepid endorsement so long as they come with contractual
environmental concessions that will protect nesting sea turtles, dunes
and wetlands.

The task force will present a resolution about the proposal to the
Kleberg County Commissioners Court on Monday, after having presented it
to more than 60 defense officials, military leaders and local
politicians.

Gary Bushell, a local consultant for the task force, said the land would
be used by the Marine Corps to practice landings by vehicles that travel
on land and sea. Training also will include military operations on land.

Bushell said the training would take place from Oct. 1 to March 31 to
avoid hurricane season and the nesting season for endangered sea
turtles. If the operations _are approved, they will _take place in 2004
and 2005. The contract could be extended to last 10 years, Bushell said.

The operations would close the beaches twice for two _to three days in a
five-_mile stretch of land about two miles south of Bob Hall Pier.

The Marines would practice landing a decoy force on the land near the
seashore, while other troops take over military bases, in this case, the
three area Navy installations.

The beach in question is owned by the Texas General Land Office in
Kleberg _County.

Corpus Christi Mayor Loyd Neal, chairman of the task force, said
allowing the military to use the stretch of land is one of several
initiatives that could position all three bases as important
installations for the military's future.

"We don't want to be part of the Department of Defense of the 20th
century, we want to be part of the Department of Defense of the 21st
century," Neal said.

To do that, the bases have to provide a capability for all the military
branches to train together simultaneously, Neal said.

This type of joint training has been stressed by Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld as a vital way to prepare different military branches to
fight together, which has been the predominant form of combat in recent
military engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.caller.com/ccct/local_news/article/0,1641,CCCT_811_2628569,00.html

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