unbereevabul
;)
And this is news, LMAO
This has been going on for over 27 years!:doh:
U.S. Rangers' training in area causing some sleepless nights
By CHARLENE SLAUGHTER, T&D Special Assignments | Tuesday, September 11, 2007
3 comment(s) | Default | Large
Sara Gleaton called the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office early Monday morning to complain about planes circling over her neighborhood. She and her neighbors had endured noisy, low flying planes - so low that items in her home shook - since about 1 a.m.
Gleaton said she thought, "'I know they ain't trying to find drug patches this time in the morning.' That's the first thing that ran across my mind."
During her conversation, Gleaton said the planes were steadily circling.
"What is that I'm hearing?" the dispatcher asked.
"That's them airplanes," Gleaton said.
J.D. Neville also wondered what was going on Saturday when military planes circled his Cordova neighborhood.
"It started about midnight or a little after Saturday," he said Monday. "They were making big circles around and kept going. Last night three of them -- they were military planes -- kept flying in circles ... big planes. And my neighbor called the Charleston Air Base, and they said it wasn't them. They wake you up, then five minutes later come back around."
The big military planes in question are from the United States Rangers for the 1st Battalion, 75th Regiment, based at Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia. They are conducting a military exercise between Georgia and the North Auxiliary Air Field through Sept. 16.
"Soldiers will use training ammunition and other training devices to make the exercise as realistic as possible," states a release from the 75th Ranger Regiment Public Affairs Office. "There will be periods of increased air traffic to include low-flying aircraft, both helicopters and airplanes, during hours of darkness. Increased air traffic and noise may be associated with a large airborne operation involving the Rangers. ...
"This is routine training conducted periodically to maintain a high level of readiness for the military personnel involved."
The release goes on to state that the Rangers are extremely "sensitive" to the impact such training has on local citizens and they intend to train "safely and courteously" and be mindful of noise associated with the training. Standing in her yard in the middle of the night, with most neighbors turning on all lights in protest, Gleaton would beg to differ.
"We could not sleep," she said. "We cut all the lights on outside. It lasted until 4:20 a.m. and started before 1 a.m. They were crisscrossing and circling. The time you hear it going away, it came right back. I couldn't figure out what it was. We've had two days of this. ... I stood in the yard and watched them crisscross and come back across. We lit our world up over here last night, letting them know we couldn't get no sleep."
While public relations officials apologized for the disturbance Monday, they said it is necessary. Describing the 75th Ranger Regiment as the "U.S. Army's premier light infantry force," the statement said the Rangers must be ready to deploy worldwide on a moment's notice.
"Therefore, tough, realistic training conducted regularly gives the Rangers a decisive edge for real-world missions," the statement said. "Training such as this is the best method to test their readiness capabilities."
"But I wonder why they chose this area?" Neville said.
Gleaton said she didn't mind the airplanes so much on Saturday, but has to get up for work at 4:30 a.m. She polled her neighbors last night. Her son said his house was shaking, too. Another said the noise woke her up before 1 a.m.
But one woman and her husband, an elderly pair with some hearing loss, managed to get their usual night's sleep.
"She said, 'I kept hearing something, I thought,'" Gleaton said.
eleki
wrote on Sep 11, 2007 9:11 PM:
" Count your blessings. What you are hearing is the sound of freedom. "
lb0802
wrote on Sep 11, 2007 4:23 PM:
" Yes name is Larry Briggman I'm A X RANGERS OUT OF Ft Lewis WA. Keep up the good work "RANGERS LEAD THE WAY ALL THE WAY" "
countrygirl1979
wrote on Sep 11, 2007 8:49 AM:
" While I can understand the loss of sleep, I would much rather lose it knowing that our troops are training and doing their best to defend each of us. A little inconvenience is the least we can sacrifice. How about our servicemen and women in Iraq? When was the last time they had the luxury of a great night's sleep. With a son in the USMC and a husband in the USAF Reserves, I welcome the sounds of aircraft and training. It allows me to know that they are perfecting their skill and :)
http://www.timesanddemocrat.com/articles/2007/09/11/news/12743843.txt
