It's final, the Enviro's win - U.S. Navy Concludes Last Planned Bombing Exercises on Vieques Island

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Feb 9, 2003

U.S. Navy Concludes Last Planned Bombing Exercises on Vieques Island By Sandra Ivelisse Villerrael Associated Press Writer

VIEQUES, Puerto Rico (AP) - The U.S. Navy has concluded its last scheduled round of targeting exercises on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques with a ship firing inert shells at the bombing range, the U.S. Navy said Sunday. The guided-missile cruiser USS Ticonderoga stopped firing 5-inch shells at the island Saturday afternoon, said Lt. Cmdr. Kim Dixon, a Navy spokeswoman. She said Navy ships would continue training at sea.

"The training overall went very smoothly," Dixon said. "They accomplished all their missions."

Meanwhile, a 100-vehicle caravan drove across civilian areas of Vieques on Sunday to mark the end of training.

"The Navy is not leaving because it wants to, but because the people have forced them out," protest leader Nilda Medina said.

The caravan passed about 30 pro-Navy demonstrators holding U.S. flags, and the two sides briefly exchanged insults. About 80 police officers were posted in the area, and no violence was reported.

The Navy says it will withdraw from Vieques by May 1, turning over the island's eastern third to the U.S. Department of the Interior and moving training to locations in Florida and elsewhere on the U.S. mainland.

But some protesters have expressed skepticism that the Navy will leave as planned. Activists say the bombing exercises, which began in 1947, have harmed the environment and the health of the island's 9,100 residents. The Navy denies the claims.

The training has been criticized by Puerto Rican leaders since off-target bombs killed a civilian guard on the firing range in 1999. Since then, the Navy has turned to inert ammunition, while more than 1,000 protesters have been arrested for trespassing on Navy lands.

Nineteen demonstrators were detained for trespassing during the latest 27 days of training, while one man was detained for cutting a Navy fence, Dixon said.

AP-ES-02-09-03 1736EST

This story can be found at: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA3WAXKZBD.html

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