minuteman project and Waco type events thread
Uh, Wiskey Tango Foxtrot Over!!!!
[/QUOTE]-16 shooting of school leads to suspension of operations
Saturday, November 6, 2004
By WILLIAM H. SOKOLIC
Courier-Post Staff
LITTLE EGG HARBOR TWP.
Operations at the Warren Grove firing range were temporarily suspended Friday after an F-16 fighter jet with the District of Columbia Air National Guard accidentally fired about 25 training rounds of 20mm ammunition at an Ocean County school on Wednesday.
U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., called for the 113th Wing to halt all operations in New Jersey until it determines how and why the plane discharged the ammunition on the Little Egg Harbor Township Intermediate School about 9 p.m. Wednesday.
Lautenberg called the actions of the pilot "totally incomprehensible" and demanded a "guarantee that nothing like this can ever happen again."
New Jersey National Guard officials referred all inquiries to the 113th Wing, based at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, which is where the jet came from.
A spokesman for the District of Columbia National Guard, which includes the 113th, Army Maj. Sheldon Smith, responded to Lautenberg's request by saying, "I think we have suspended flying over there until this investigation is complete."
Smith could not say how long that would take. "They're going to be looking at the gun and anything else they can to determine why the weapon fired, as well as interviewing the pilot," he said. "We want to make sure that if there is a problem we correct it right away."
"We are very concerned, given the fact that we've experienced 14 years of accident-free flying with the F-16s, and we've had them 14 years," Smith said.
The 113th has been in the air over Washington 24 hours a day since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In addition, some of its pilots have flown missions during the Iraq war, and in the no-fly zones above Iraq before the war, he said.ADVERTISEMENT - CLICK TO ENLARGE OR VISIT WEBSITE
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The plane was flying over the range when it discharged the ammunition. Several rounds veered off course and struck the roof and parking lot of the school, causing minor damage.
"Thank God no kids were in the school," said Denise Haino, who lives barely four miles from the Warren Grove Gunnery Range, used for target practice by all four branches of the military. "What would they say to the parents if any of the children were hurt?"
Mike Dupuis, president of the Little Egg Harbor school board, has lived in the township for 40 years without a similar incident.
"But it's always a concern in the back of everybody's mind," he said. Dupuis' wife teaches at the school; his daughter is a student.
Paul Davis, a retiree who has a vacation home in nearby Tuckerton, can recall only a few military accidents in the area. "But it gives you something to think about, with all the building going on here. I think the government should look at that."
The school houses 900 students in grades 3 to 6, but is overcrowded, Dupuis said. A committee is considering various options on how to expand to meet the needs of a growing population.
The investigation into the cause of the accident could take as long as 30 days, with involvement from New Jersey and Maryland officials, said Lt. Col. Roberta Niedt, spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
Dupuis said parents told him they were concerned about potential structural damage. "But our facilities people have gone over the building with a fine-tooth comb," he said.
The projectiles fired from the plan missed any ventilation ducts and pipes, but penetrated the corrugated roof in four locations. The damage was cleaned up by midday Friday and students expect to return to their classes Monday after a four-day vacation for the teachers' convention in Atlantic City.
"You get used to it. But I never thought anything like this could happen," said Kristin McKelvey of Little Egg Harbor Township. Her 12-year-old son Chuck attends the school.
McKelvey has heard noises from the range since her childhood. Chuck has no qualms about returning. "It's creepy, but I'm not worried."
The military will convene an accident investigation board, which will include members of the Air Force and Air National Guard.
The federal government will make good on any damages, Niedt said.
It's likely activity at the range will resume before a determination of the cause, Niedt said.
Officials from the 177th Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard will address the school board at its next meeting on Nov. 15 at the intermediate school.
The 2,400-acre range, in use for more than 40 years, serves 17 units in several states from all elements of the military. About 3,700 sorties from fighter aircraft and helicopters were flown at the range between September 2003 and October 2004.
Warren Grove is the largest site of its type in the United States and is a primary Northeast training site for military operations, Niedt said.
"It's imperative soldiers and airmen train in a controlled environment before going into combat, especially these days," Niedt said.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach William H. Sokolic at (609) 823-9159
[email protected]
Was this an accident or what?? I'd think so, but strafing a school is the poster atrocity of the modern age. Almost seems too perfect to be accidental. And what moron was on radar watch???
'oh: 
