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Farallon de Mendinilla bombing extended
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Posted on Apr 18 2002
The bombing exercises by the U.S. military on Farallon de Mendinilla Island was extended anew up to the month of May.
A new advisory on the continuation of the military’s live fire exercises was released by the Emergency Management Office, warning the general public, especially fishermen and tour operators, to stay away from the vicinity within the designated dates.
The last batch of exercises was supposed to end last April 12.
Based on the EMO advisory, the military training was slated from April 16 to 20, from 12:01am to 11:59pm. It would resume on April 21 on a similar daily time schedule, and would last until April 26, before resuming again on April 28 until May 2.
The U.S. Navy’s disposition to continue with the bombing exercises on Farallon de Mendinilla despite a federal court order declaring such practice illegal became more apparent, with the extensions on the schedule of the bombing exercises.
The Navy had been tight-lipped on the bombing issue following the court order issued by U.S. District Court Judge Emmett J. Sullivan, but it had indicated that it would continue with the practice until the court resolves the issue on whether or not the bombings should be stopped.
The office of Lt. Monica Richardson, public affairs officer for the Commander of the Naval Forces Marianas based on Guam, cannot be contacted yesterday for comment as to what the Navy intends to do if the court issues an injunction against the bombing on April 30, considering the training was already scheduled up to May.
