"Navy may test live bombs in central Florida." Thank God

Navy May Test Live Bombs In Central Florida

AVON PARK, Fla. -- Some Central Florida families could get a rude awakening from the Navy. Jets carrying live warheads could soon race right over Central Florida.

The military is working on plans to expand the Avon Park bombing range (see map), where pilots would test real bombs. The possibility leaves some residents nervous.

June Felt has an excellent memory. She plays piano by ear and knows hundreds of songs, so she can easily recall every detail of the night of August 22, 1944.

"Very unusual, the sound was. I can't even describe how I felt when I heard it. I knew something bad was happening,” she said.

Her hometown of Frostproof, Florida had been bombed by the United States Air Force.

"Well, they came over to apologize when they realized what they had done. And the next week, they did it again,” she saud,

Pilots confused the street lights of Frostproof with the Avon Park bombing range ten miles away. Nobody was hurt, because the Air Force used dummy bombs.

Monday, families living near the Four Corners area worry about bigger accidents. The military plans to expand the range using live bombs.

"Have you ever lived next to a railroad track? Well, imagine a freight train going outside your bedroom window and magnify it by ten,” resident John Long said.

The Navy wants to launch F-35 fighter jets from the Atlantic and race them toward the range at speeds of up to 600 miles per hour over Central Florida.

“That's all Osceola County. The new bombing run is gonna incorporate it all,” Long said.

While it's mostly farmland and forest west of the Four Corners area, there are homes.

"Drywall will crack. Pictures will fall off the wall. Glass will break. People will actually experience roof timbers separating. It's not funny,” Long said.

The jets will drop 2,500-pound bombs and launch several types of missiles. The Air Force and Navy say it is essential to national security.

"You know, those things don't always fire when they push the button. Sometimes you get a ‘hang’ and now you've got a 2,500-pound live warhead hanging by a thread on the bottom of a jet. Now what do you do?" Long questioned.

Back in Frostproof, June Felt is understandably concerned.

"I'm reluctant for the Navy to do this with live bombs,” she said.

But, she says, she's a patriot; her husband August was an Army colonel. She may not like the Navy plan, but says she understands it.

"And if we need to do it, if we need to for training and they feel like there's no other answer, then I support it,” she said.

The Air Force plans to hold public hearings early next year. The Navy still needs to complete some environmental studies. Training could begin within four years.

The military was testing live bombs in Puerto Rico, but closed that range after mass protests.
[link to www.wftv.com]