Round-the-clock artillery exercises at Camp Pendleton generating noise complaints

North County Times ^ | 8-17-09 | Mark Walker

[greedo]

CAMP PENDLETON ---- While artillery men generally consider blowing things up a slice of heaven, the loud booms emanating from Camp Pendleton day and night of late has left many outside the gates saying they are experiencing a slice of hell.

"I don't object to noise during normal hours and I don't mind it up until about 10 p.m., but they need to have a little consideration for people who need peace and quiet so they can sleep," said Allen Mortend, a longtime Oceanside resident who lives just outside the base gates.

Base officials say they have received dozens of noise complaints from Temecula to Carlsbad to sometimes San Marcos as the artillery barrages go on.

On Monday, they invited reporters and a couple dozen other civilians to witness crews from the 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment honing their targeting and firing skills and to explain why the shells are being fired round the clock.

"It's the sound of Marines training, and we know it's loud," said Lt. Col. Bob Manion. "But many of these units are deploying soon, and in the artillery there's a low tolerance for mistakes. You can't simulate it; you have to get out and do it."

Manion's boss, Col. Larry Holcomb, the battalion commander, put it a little more succinctly.

"We are a nation at war, and sometimes people forget that," he said.

The unit has been practicing its deadly skills since a week ago Monday. The firing continues at night, battalion commanders said, because their troops need to be proficient in the dark as well as daylight.

Crews are firing M198 howitzers and M777 cannons, a newer version the battalion is incorporating that weighs about 9,200 pounds, nearly half the weight of a howitzer.

[greedo]

A High Mobility Artillery Rocket System is launched at Camp Pendleton by Battery T, 5th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment,
1st Marine Division, July 29, during a centralized fire direction exercise  by Cpl. Shawn Coolman

U.S. Marines assigned to Weapons Company, Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force - Afghanistan, fire a mortar round during combat operations  by Sgt. Ray Lewis

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) M-198 155mm Howitzer gun crew of 4th Battalion, 14th Marines, Mike Battery, Gun 4, left to Right, Sergeant Justin Grafton (gunner), Private First Class Matthew Camp (cannoneer), Sergeant Mike Dasher (section chief), Lance Corporal Josh Rosenberger (cannoneer), Corporal Will McGee (assistant gunner), Corporal Jonathan Layman (ammunition team chief), and Lance Corporal Jonathan Fox (cannoneer). Marines at Camp Fallujah, Iraq, engage enemy targets in support of Operation Phantom Fury.  by Lance Corporal Samantha L. Jones, USMC

---

Camp Pendleton "noise advisory"

[Riley]

While artillery men generally consider blowing things up a slice of heaven,

That would be Combat Engineers and EOD guys. Artillerymen blow things up that are far away.

I'm close enough to Quantico that occasionally I'll hear something go 'boom'. Not close enough to be an annoyance, though.

[R. Scott]

I wonder what was there first, Camp Pendleton or Mr. Mortend. He reminds me of the idiots who move in beside an airport and then complain about the noise.

[GeronL]

Wow, that is some epic crap.

[greedo]

Wiki says Camp Pendleton was built in 1942.

Anybody who bought a house after that knew exactly what they were getting.

[jude24]

I wonder what was there first, Camp Pendleton or Mr. Mortend

This is a growing problem. Consider, as another example, Camp Bullis in San Antonio, Texas. It used to be in the middle of nowhere, but now pricey homes are popping up adjacent to that Army base, and people are complaining about hearing artillery in the middle of the night.

Personally, I say Mission First.

[ardara]

Mr.Mortend is a colossal JERK!
Semper Fi

[tlb]

Facing the same problem, the Germans built the world’s largest silencer.

http://www.panzerbaer.de/images/bw_pzh_155mm_m109_schalldaempfer_wtd_meppen-001.JPG

[albie]

but they need to have a little consideration for people who need peace and quiet so they can sleep,”

...wonder how he’d feel about the “dirty bomb” or a nuclear warhead going off during his “peace and quiet”?

[greedo]

The Marines would only be interested in technology that makes artillery...LOUDER.

[don-o]

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Rock on you Devil Dogs!

[don-o]

Thought you might be interested in the pics, if not the idiocy revealed in the story.

[wolfcreek]

I grew up next to the largest military complex in the free world, Ft. Hood, TX.

That’s the sound of FREEDOM, BABY!

[BlueLancer]

Having lived on or around Fort Hood since 1975, the sound of artillery, close air support, and Abrams and Bradleys firing on their tables is like thunder, both distant and close. When they're really going at it, my house vibrates slightly, like a boat on rolling waves.

Personally, I love it, as does my family and my pets. I live about 10 miles from the ranges, so I must admit that I don't get the crack and bang of close-in fire, but the rolling ground and pounding thunder is something that helps to put me to sleep at night.

When I used to live in Midland, Michigan, when I got up in the morning and smelled Dow Chemical Company doing their stuff, I knew that it was the smell of my father making money.

Here by Fort Hood, it's the sound of freedom.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RESISTOR

Swear allegiance to the flag, whatever flag they offer;
Never hint at what you really feel.
Teach the children quietly for, someday, sons and daughters
Will rise up and fight while we stood still.

Der Elite Møøsënspåånkængrüppen ØberKømmändø (EMØØK)

[DemforBush]

"Crews are firing M198 howitzers and M777 cannons, a newer version the battalion is incorporating that weighs about 9,200 pounds, nearly half the weight of a howitzer."

I saw the M777 on R. Lee Ermey's new show on History Channel (forget the name). That is one *impressive* piece of field artillery.

As for the complaints... my only complaint would be that I didn't get a ringside seat to watch the stuff going BOOM!

[Crazieman]

I live near McConnell AFB in Wichita, KS. Before the B1s were pulled out of it, a wonderful sound was a deep, deep, thunderous rumbling, and sometimes a roar depending on the wind. The B1s were playing with their afterburners again.

I don’t know if there were complaints though.

[R. Scott]

We’ve had a similar case here. Oceana Naval Air Station was out in the middle of nowhere but Virginia Beach slowly encroached. Now it’s surrounded by homes, shopping centers, a mall and a school. People who lived there only a few years organized and wanted to close the base because of noise.
What did they expect?

[HiramQuick]

stationed at the Navy Base, Hensley Field (now defunct) in the late 70’s I would catch 30 - 40 noise abatement calls a night from the then silk stocking neighborhood of Las Colinas 10 miles to our north. 4 squadrons of phantoms, all reservists and doing night ops would come back in, Rwy 17, turnbase leg onto final 3000 feet right over Las Colinas.

The standard response ..”Did you see a red star on the tail ... no ... Thank God we are safe again.”

The same dirtballs that built their million dollar homes in the early 70’s KNEW they were building their exclusive Ben Nelson country club on the flight plan. The same morons formed a group to try and force us to shorten our downwind leg to 5 miles. Couldn’t get it through their thick heads approach in a Phantom is not like pulling into your driveway in your Benz.

RWY 35 was a different story ... our TCA only extended 1000 ft past the field boundary to the north but rose to 30,000 feet. (Regional DFW controlled the airspace from there north) Launching was always a problem, waiting for slots and permission from a godawful busy DFW. Our solution to avoid hour waits for approval ... launch and stand the old F-4’s vertical on burner and reach 20000 within field boundaries. Grand Prairie took the brunt of the noise .. their response .. most of them were on the railroad tracks at the perimeter of the base applauding as we stayed on burner .. it was a heck of a show a heck of ride and not very fuel efficient. Noisy as well.

Freedom always comes at a cost.

[HiramQuick]

Not Ben Nelso, Byron Nelson ... old age ... finding the gingko biloba

[wolfcreek]

My Mom and GM live near the turn-around for jets patrolling the Bush Crawford ranch to boot.

[marine86297]

When I was stationed at MCAS Cherry Point NC they had a huge sign just outside the front gate,

"Pardon Our Noise, It's The Sound Of Freedom."

Nuff Said

[Ole Okie]

Facing the same problem, the Germans built the world’s largest silencer.

Mighty thoughtful of the Krauts. World's largest debanger!

Wonder if it worked?

[WVKayaker]

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x289/redinterceptor/P38F4HistoricFlight.jpg

I was an early teen in Gitmo as a dependant on Oct 22, 1962. I enjoyed watching the planes landing and taking off from Leeward Point, as they stacked the golf course with tents and Marines. The Phantoms were still new.

Many of the jet jockies would make a low level run into the bay, go vertical, then swing around to land on the other side. There's nothing like those F-4 engines screaming. The Enterprise (CVN-65) brought some along for their shakedown cruise.

My dad was in the Fleet Training office, and arranged for my brother and I to go along on sea trials. Not only was I impressed with a ship throwing rooster tails, I loved watching the planes's hitting the deck. I can't imagine how it feels to be in the seat. That memory is still strong in my mind.

But, in Gitmo, there was noise 24/7. Sometimes it was jets taking off, and other times a seaplane would roar out for it's duties. 6-bys ran up and down the roads, while Marines spent time on the fences. MAC flights were infrequent, but fighter planes were constantly coming and going. We rarely heard the sounds of boom, though. That would be a bad thing!

[Badabing Badablonde]

Personally, I’ve never understood people who get all turned inside-out about noise, and claims of “noise pollution.” For years, I lived under the flight path of DFW airport, and I always thought the sound of the jets was interesting. Like someone else on this thread, I would consider the sounds of bomb testing and guns firing as the sound of freedom.

This does make me think of one weird experience we had while visiting relatives at Fort Polk in Louisiana. We took our elderly terrier with us and allowed him to hang out in the back yard. Sometime during the day, something spooked him and he started barking, not loud nor long, but my sister-in-law went bananas and rushed outside to calm him down. Later she explained to us that the MPs, if they had heard him, would have dropped by to issue a warning about the noise he was making, as they have rules about barking dogs. Seemed ironic to me that at a military base where multiple branches of the armed service train together and jets fly and guns fire most of the day, they freak out about barking dogs.

But hey, it wasn’t my ‘hood.

[Ole Okie]

it was a heck of a show a heck of ride and not very fuel efficient. Noisy as well.

Big, big, big carbon footprint. Good for them.

[Rebelbase]

The first time I heard artillery up close was on the edge of Ft. Bragg while visiting someone who lived adjacent to the base. I nearly crapped in my pants.

[70th Division]

I was at 4 forts in the 60s and 70s. It is all the same. the Townie’s would gripe about the service men at the fort and half of the town worked there. The other half had businesses that our troops visited.

[Thermalseeker]

.. it was a heck of a show a heck of ride and not very fuel efficient.

I attended Embry-Riddle down in Daytona '81-'83. During Spring Fling, a big campus party held one weekend every spring with live bands and plenty of beer, the Navy would bring jets in for static display. The ROTC guys got to wash them. Those birds get pretty nasty from all the salt after being at sea for a while. When the Navy guys would depart on Sunday afternoon they played the tower radio comm over the PA system. The Navy guys would call the tower and request an "AB" departure. Things would get real quiet until they lit the afterburners. Those guys would break ground, fly the length of the runway, then go vertical until they were out of sight. It was an awesome thing to watch!

[HiramQuick]

shhhh .. your telling your age. Sad, when I got to Navy Dallas we had teh last of F-8’s doing photo, recon ... ny boss was an 8 driver and loved that plane. The f-4’s were gone from the active fleet, replaced by Tomcats. And when I left Navy Dallas in late 79, VF 201 and 202 were getting Tomcat hand me downs to replace the F-4’s

And now .. the Tomcats are long long long gone .... The phantom and I still have a love affair ... proved that with enough engine you caould make a rock fly. It had a glide capacity of 30,000 feet ... straight down grinning That will cause some damp panties ....

I remember gitmo well ... what did you drive in gitmo. I bought an old 61 chevy station wagon from a departing LCDR. No such thing as slighlty used .. the vehicles never left.

[HiramQuick]

By the way .. thaks for the photo .. what an unusual and incredible picture of a phantom and p38 ... Both were workhorses that always delivered.

[RightField]

I'm one of those within hearing distance of the artillery on Camp Pendleton. We love to hear it ... it's the sound of freedom!

[HiramQuick]

There are few things prettier than a phantom in unrestricted climb from launch.

In many areas, the phantom could outperform the Tomcat .. cept one very very critical situation ... maneuverability at lower airspeeds. That BIG wing and dual stabilizer provided a lot of control.

Think of an old Iowa farm boy .. straight off of the fence post watching corn grow. “Ya mean you are going to let me fly THAT .. and pay me as well???” Best deal I ever heard of .....

[HiramQuick]

We have a small 80 acre place near dripping springs. There was a lot of air traffic in the area those days.

It is my retirement place ... love the hill country ..God’s country.

[greedo]

I have visited friends in Newport News, Va. on a Sunday and at exactly 12:00 high noon, the local church bells AND some kind of artillery from Fort Eustis both get cranked up at the same time.  It really does sound like freedom.

[Tallguy]

Wiki says Camp Pendleton was built in 1942. Anybody who bought a house after that knew exactly what they were getting.

Agreed, but people will be people. I grew up near Willow Grove NAS. When I was a kid they flew a lot of combat jets out of there, F8 Crusaders & A4 Skyhawks. The USAF Reserve flew C119's and eventually C130's. The noise was tremendous, but the houses were not so close.

As time went by the open fields were developed for housing and the tactical jets pretty much left -- at least the one's with afterburners (the A4's hung around until the mid-80's). And flying hours were curtailed between certain hours. People would b*tch when an emergency would cause a relaxation of the rules.

Then the base was BRAC'ed and it was slated to be closed. Gov. Rendell has been trying to keep it open. He even tried to get FedEx to takeover -- now I KNOW that the residents would hate that. Heavy jets flying in, mostly after dark & departing before dawn. Traffic snarls from trucks outside the base gate. Yeah, that would work!

People just don't think. And unspoken 'understandings' are often reneged.

[Arrowhead1952]

I grew up next to the largest military complex in the free world, Ft. Hood, TX.

I spent many days and nights there. We LOVED going to the tank tables and watch the M60A3s with their night fire exercises. Later, we saw the M1A1s and a few M1A2s. One day we were on West Range Rd headed to the field location and an M109A3 fired just over our right side. I almost lost control of the vehicle.

[gandalftb]

The arty is good at bouncing dirt but the real crowd pleasers the last two weeks are Harriers dropping 500 pounders in close air support for raid exercises. You can actually get used to 155's, I sleep right through them, but the 500's have the neighbors reaching for the Sominex.

Lots of live fire coming the next two weeks too, getting ready for deployment. Just think how much the enemy will enjoy ring-side seats.