The Army has officially verified that live ammunition was used in
exercises conducted recently in a small Texas town. The explosives
and gun fire were from ground troops, not from helicopters.
Civilians were only a few hundred feet away.
The exercise was not unique. Live-fire training in civilian areas is
becoming more and more common as elite troops try to hone their
skills and be better prepared for action anywhere in the world. Such
exercises have been conducted previously, and will continue to take
place, an Army spokesman said.
Operation Last Dance began with a dramatic mock battle staged in
Kingsville, Texas, after dark Feb. 8. Additional maneuvers have been reported in at least four other locations in the area since then. One community told the Army to get out and stay out.
Witnesses claimed they saw black helicopters bring many soldiers to
two empty buildings in the center of the city where they then spent
two hours firing weapons and setting off explosives.
Many former and current military members contacted WorldNetDaily to
complain that such an exercise could never happen. Despite accounts
from witnesses, as well as photos of the extensive damage, many
accused WorldNetDaily of fabricating the use of live fire.
When the opening exercise of Operation Last Dance ended, a telephone
pole by a home had been hit by a helicopter, two buildings were
ruined, one nearly destroyed by fire started by explosives, and
the buildings were littered with spent, unspent shells and bullet holes.
Residents were badly shaken by the unannounced, fake, but very
realistic attack.
The Kleberg County Commission held an emergency county court
Monday because of the concerns. That court asked the county judge
to send a letter of protest to the Kingsville City Council and to
the Army, according to commissioner David Rosse.
The mayor, city manager, and chief of police were the only officials
who knew in advance of the plans. They had given approval to the
military months before. Much of the local anger is being directed at
them.
“I know the biggest problem people have is concern that the
helicopters are carrying live ammunition. However, the helicopters
themselves are not carrying or firing live ammunition. We realize
safety is our number one priority in these things,” explained Walt
Sokalski, public affairs officer from Army Special Operations
Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
“The unsurity of using ammunition from any type of aircraft, be it
helicopter, fixed wing, it’s an unacceptable risk that we do not
want to put the citizens that are supporting us in this training in.
“There are some munitions on the ground being used by the soldiers,
but it is what we call training ammunition. So it is two things.
Number one, (they use) plastic bullets. Number two, the powder in each
of the rounds is not a full load,” Sokalski told WorldNetDaily
yesterday.
Residents of Kingsville were badly frightened when soldiers appeared
to attack two buildings in the middle of their town. The sights and
sounds were quite real, and the residents did not know the bullets
were less lethal than normal.
When they heard explosions and saw the many windows in a large
office building being blown out, they did not know the grenades were
a reduced version of the real thing. When one of the buildings
caught fire after a series of explosions, it looked very real,
and very frightening.
The only warning to residents came from flyers distributed
in a limited area shortly before the mock attack began. Very few
residents or business owners reported seeing the flyers.
An inspection of the two buildings by WorldNetDaily after the
exercise revealed significant fire damage, bullet holes, doors that
had been blown up, and virtually every window of a large office
building blown out because of the use of grenades. WorldNetDaily
published photos of some of the damage.
Residents were not told that Army teams had been at the site a day
in advance to put “bullet traps” in place to increase safety.
Sokalski said the traps prevent stray bullets from leaving the
immediate training area. The traps were not visible to witnesses who
feared for their lives.
Army Special Operations at Fort Bragg sent the very elite Night
Stalkers, who are expert at flying undetected at night, along with
the highly skilled Delta Force soldiers to Kingsville for
training. Both groups have been called upon to perform some of the
most dangerous missions in modern warfare around the world.
When eight helicopters skimmed across tree tops at very high speed,
residents were in close proximity to the area. Businesses very close
to the site were open, residents in a retirement home across the
street were outside sitting on benches.
Many of the people who were not kept away by police were extremely
frightened and by what they thought was a real attack with
full-powered munitions. No one warned them, and no one helped them,
according to Tomas Sanchez, emergency management coordinator for
Kingsville and Kleberg County.
Sanchez says some of those people have asked for crisis intervention
counseling. At least two residents have notified WorldNetDaily that
they have obtained legal counsel with plans to recover damages from
the city.
Some of the critics have accused the Army of planning to use
military forces for domestic policing in the near future. The Army
denies that.
“That couldn’t be farther from the truth,” said Sokalski. “We are
forbidden by law from doing any sort of police action in the United
States.
“These are soldiers. The whole reason they’re in the military is to
defend the constitution and the citizen’s rights. That’s completely
against everything we believe in.”
Last May the city of San Antonio denied a request by the Army to use
that city for similar training. Despite the denial, Operation Last
Dance showed up on their doorstep.
Members of the elite Night Stalkers and the Delta Force are now
located at Fort Sam Houston, according to Phil Reidinger, public
affairs officer.
Exercises in and around San Antonio are planned, despite the refusal
by city officials to permit the training. Police Chief Al Philippius
had complained of attempts by military officials last May to bribe
elected officials and others into getting him to grant permission.
Philippius was not told in advance of the current plans. In fact, no
city officials were told.
Reidinger admits that residents will hear gunfire and explosions,
but he said it will be done safely and that residents do not have
any need to worry.
“We’re not going to go someplace where we’re not wanted,” claimed
Sokalski, apparently not aware of the objections raised in San
Antonio, home of the Alamo.
“We realize it’s an inconvenience to the local citizens,” he added.
“We do everything we can to try and minimize it. It’s just something
we have to do. To prepare to meet contingencies on foreign soils.”
Sokalski says that Operation Last Dance is scheduled to end on
Saturday, but he expects it will conclude earlier.
“Once we meet the training objectives that we have for a particular
unit, if we’re done training, we’ll leave,” he said.
David M. Bresnahan, a contributing editor for WorldNetDaily.com, is the author of “Cover Up: The Art and Science of Political Deception,” and offers a monthly newsletter “Talk USA Investigative Reports.”
He may be reached through email and also maintains a website.
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