A rock and a hard place. That's what the U.S. Coast Guard finds itself between after announcing plans to hold live-fire training on the Great Lakes. They certainly didn't expect the moderate uproar that occurred after the announcement.
A Coast Guard spokesman, Petty Officer Robert Lanier, showed his mastery of understatement last week when he said, "It's pretty clear we didn't do a good enough job of educating the public."
The Coast Guard, long considered a laid back, easy going military service mostly occupied with rescuing stranded boaters, has been given a more intense role in the past five years. The "War on Terror" has increased the potential for combat for the service.
Such activities require training … continuing training … and training that approximates the real thing as much as possible.
Should terrorists decide to strike the U.S. away from the population centers of the East and West Coasts, the Great Lakes might suit their needs. The Davis-Besse nuclear plant on Lake Erie might make an effective target.
The CG is well aware of that.
But where do you train for a defensive role that could involve a shootout on the water … interception of a fast moving bomb, air borne or water borne?
You need to train in the venue where the potential threat is.
On the other hand, the Great Lakes are busy places "during the season" with ferries, pleasure boaters, freight, sport and commercial fishermen moving back and forth across HOMES.
They also are a somewhat fragile environmental area … home to lots of migratory and indigenous fowl, fish and mammals.
So organizations that involve boaters, fishers and environmentalists quickly cried, "Whoa!"
Establishment of the live fire zones was quietly announced August first in The Federal Register, which, since it doesn't have its own TV channel, is easy to overlook. The announcement also said that the public would have only one week to comment.
The hue and cry soon led the CG to extend the comment period to 60 days. Although, as a part of The Department of Homeland Security, the CG does not have to offer a comment period or conduct any environmental impact studies at all.
Environmentalists worry that all that lead from the rounds being fired would pollute the water. They also point out that waterfowl hunters have been prohibited from using lead shot for years. Steel shot pellets now are required, since the lead pellets that fell back into the marsh are sometimes ingested by the birds, giving them lead poisoning.
That's probably not much of danger from the live fire training plans of the Coast Guard. I would stay away from the duck anyway that can swallow a round from a 50 caliber rifle or an M16.
Four live fire training areas have been designated in Lake Erie … 30 more in the other four Great Lakes.
Organizations raising protests say that the planned live fire areas include ferry boat routes, prime fishing spots, and often-used routes between popular ports. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources wants a moratorium on the training between April 15th and November first to avoid bothering wildlife that use the lakes.
To counter, Lanier pointed out that all of the areas are at least five miles offshore and that patrol boats would be used to make sure that no one strayed into the impact area. He also pointed out that the exercises would only be conducted a few days each year.
Ken Alvey, head of the Lake Erie Marine Trades Association, has offered a voice of reason. He pointed out that, "There's a lot of lake out there."
True, and we want it kept safe.