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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...

The Supreme Court, dividing deeply, upheld the Navy’s power to use sonar in military training exercises, even though the technology threatens marine life in the training zone off the Pacific Coast. Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., wrote for the majority; there were three full dissents and one partial dissent. The decision, the Court’s first ruling of the Term, came in the case of Winter (Navy Secretary) v. National Resources Defense Council, et al. (07-1239). The Court partially overturned a federal judge’s order against the use of the active sonar at least until the Navy took additional measures to mitigate...

As part of our special investigation "Mission Creep: US Military Presence Worldwide," we asked a host of military thinkers to contribute their two cents on topics relating to global Pentagon strategy. (You can access the archive here.) The following dispatch comes from Katherine T. McCaffrey, an assistant professor of anthropology at Montclair State University in New Jersey and author of "Military Power and Popular Protest: The US Navy in Vieques, Puerto Rico".

Middletown (WTNH) -- The Army's quest to build a Training Center in Middletown has outraged neighbors living near Boardman Lane. Representatives for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers say they are surprised by how upset many Middletown homeowners are about the proposed Army facility that would be built on Boardman Lane. "Typically we are welcomed with open arms in the community," Diane McCartin, of the Army Corps of Engineers, said. It is for that reason that the Army Corps, as well as the National Guard, hosted a press conference at the Inn at Middletown to provide what they say are...

55 delegates and 8 superdelegates are at stake in Puerto Rico. Basically, the article quotes spokespersons from both campaigns in Puerto Rico saying how the Island might put their candidate over the threshold and how important Puerto Rico is during this Democratic primary process. Obama will be on the Island May 23-25. Hillary will be on the Island from May 24-26.

Breaking News in Puerto Rican Media -- Hillary on the Island for 3 days - from Saturday, May 24th through Monday, May 26th. More details later.

The report, in Spanish, basically states that Her Excellency will be traveling to the Island soon, prior to their June 1st primary (63 delegates at stake).

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. Navy has denied Chelsea Clinton permission to campaign for her mother on a former bombing range on a small Puerto Rican island. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign wanted to use the land Wednesday as a setting to discuss the candidate's clean up plan for the region and call to give some areas to local residents. But Navy spokeswoman Lt. Lara Bollinger said no one is allowed to campaign on federal property. Chelsea Clinton is making her second campaign visit to Puerto Rico in the last three weeks. The U.S. territory has 55 delegates...

Plan to Take Land Spurs Debate On Patriotism, Property Rights WALSENBURG, Colo. -- Herman Moltrer returned from Vietnam to be a cattle rancher on the broad shortgrass prairie that stretches as far as the eye can see in southern Colorado. The rugged work earned him a living and a little something extra for his soul, but now he fears he may have to sell his land, at someone else's price. The U.S. Army wants 418,000 acres of private ranch land to triple the size of its Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, a training area considered suitable -- some would say essential...

Colorado Sens. Ken Salazar and Wayne Allard say they will push to have six helicopters permanently stationed at the unique military aviation training site in Gypsum. The Colorado Army National Guard’s High-Altitude Aviation Training Site, based at the Eagle County Airport, is the only place in the United States where pilots can practice flying in the high-altitude conditions they see in Afghanistan and Iraq. Salazar said the military has to bring in helicopters whenever it sends pilots to use the site. He said more pilots could get the training if aircraft were based there. He hopes to add to add...

As another type of fighter jet is about to begin training over the Navy base on Boca Chica Key, little has been done to resolve neighbors' concerns about the current class of fighter jets that pilots fly while training there. Nearly two months ago, the Navy promised to hold a public meeting to discuss changes to its Air Installation Compatible Use Zones, so-called "AICUZ maps" that show areas of high noise and accident potential, where development is dissuaded. No meetings have been held. The Navy in July asked the County Commission to approve the maps and set land-use guidelines that...

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr came out Monday against the Navy's plan to build a jet runway near a national wildlife refuge in Eastern North Carolina, calling the plan "an untenable proposition." In making the stand, Burr joined growing bipartisan opposition to the Navy's plan for a practice airstrip in Washington and Beaufort counties, putting the project's future in doubt. Burr's letter follows recent statements by Democratic Gov. Mike Easley decrying the Navy's choice of sites and demanding that Congress withhold $10 million for the project. U.S. Reps. Walter Jones and Robin Hayes, both Republicans, wrote letters of opposition, joining several...

The Navy says it won't comply with sonar training restrictions that aim to protect marine mammals off the California coast, arguing that the commission that imposed the rules does not have the jurisdiction to do so. The U.S. Pacific Fleet said in a statement Monday that the California Coastal Commission's rules cannot be applied beyond the scope of state waters, three nautical miles from shore. "The Navy does not take lightly our responsibility to the environment and marine life," said Vice Adm. Barry Costello, commander of the U.S. 3rd Fleet in San Diego. "And we can be responsible environmental stewards...

The decision came despite a lawsuit that says the training will harm marine life. The Navy announced this week that it will perform mid-range sonar exercises off the U.S. coast, including off of Jacksonville's beaches, for two years despite an environmental group's lawsuit insisting the Navy comply with federal laws that protect whales and other marine mammals.Secretary of the Navy Gordon England said Tuesday that he was tapping a national defense exemption from the Marine Mammal Protection Act that will allow mid-frequency active sonar use during major training exercises. Congress included the exemption in the National Defense Authorization Act of...

According to reports, the US Navy may be abandoning the Hawaiian Islands as a base for its new P-8A anti-submarine warfare airplane. This would end a patrol aviation presence in the islands that began in the 1930s and continues to this day. Since the early 1960s the Navy has operated the P-3 airplane from Hawaii, first at the former NAS BARBERS POINT, and more recently from MCAS KANEOHE BAY after Barbers was closed. A hearing on the environmental impact of operating the P-8 in Hawaii is scheduled, a strange idea forced upon the Navy by the powerful “green” lobby when...

"Robert Kennedy Jr., left, labor leader Dennis Rivera, right front, and actor Edward James Olmos, right background, head towards the U.S. Navy bombing range with a hooded fisherman on Saturday, April 28, 2001, in Vieques, Puerto Rico to enter the bombing range in an effort to halt the exercises. Olmos is accusing the Puerto Rican and United States governments on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2007 for neglecting the clean up of the Vieques site after the U.S. military left the site in 2003 after using the site for war training for 60 years."

TRAVERSE CITY, MI (AP) -- Margo Marks is a self-described fan of the U.S. Coast Guard, but draws the line at having a six-mile section of her Lake Michigan ferryboat route designated for target practice with machine guns. "It's probably not real appealing to the general public to be transported over a live-fire zone," said Marks, whose Beaver Island Ferry Co. hauls passengers and freight between the mainland town of Charlevoix and the island, 32 miles northwest. The Coast Guard is stirring up a storm with its plan to establish 34 "safety zones" across the five Great Lakes for the...

Coast Guard Won't Conduct Firearm Exercises On Great Lakes Proposal Withdrawn Amid Criticism From U.S., Canadian Mayors December 18, 2006 WASHINGTON -- Three congressmen said the U.S. Coast Guard is giving up on its plan to conduct live machine-gun firing exercises on the Great Lakes. The lawmakers said the Coast Guard's commandant has told them the controversial proposal will be withdrawn. A Coast Guard spokesman could not immediately comment. The plan has been criticized by several U.S. and Canadian mayors, business leaders and environmentalists who said it could be unsafe and disruptive. Coast Guard officials had stressed in hearings around...

Do you remember when Puerto Rico was raising heck about the US Navy usingthat nothing little island just off the coast of Puerto Rico for bombing practices, which they had used for the past 75 years? Demonstrations were held, Hollywood left wingers, Al Sharpton, and his fellow demagogues went down there to demonstrate to get the Navy out? I am sure it infuriated you just as it did me at the time. Well, here is our revenge. Always be careful what you ask for, you just may get it! One of the many headaches that the U. S. has had...

(English-language translation) The 4th of July commemoration in the Municipality of San Juan will cost some $50,000 and will feature Mayor Jorge Santini, former Governor Carlos Romero Barceló, Senator Pedro Rosselló, and retired Navy Admiral Kevin Green as invited speakers. Santini reported yesterday that the observance will be dedicated to Romero for his defense of the democractic system, and an official representative of the White House is expected. "We celebrate the sixth edition of the traditional 4th of July activities under my administration, a day that commemorates the independence of the nation we are citizens of, an activity that had...

The status question, after years on the back burner, will dominate Puerto Rican politics this year. The event that signaled the launch of intense campaigning on the issue by all three of the island’s political parties was the publication in Washington last month of a report commissioned by President Bush. The report, compiled by an interagency task force, recommended that there should be a federal plebiscite this year on whether Puerto Rico wants to maintain its current status as a territory or commonwealth (estado libre asociado, ELA) of the United States or choose a nonterritorial alternative. In the latter case,...

Remember when Puerto Rico was raising hell about the US Navy using that nothing little island just off the coast of Puerto Rico for bombing practices which they had used for the past 75 years? Demonstrations were held, Hollywood left wingers, Al Sharpton, and his fellow demagogues went down there to demonstrate to get the Navy out? Were you infuriated? Wellllllllllllllll, here is the revenge. Always be careful what you ask for, you just might get it! One of the many headaches that the U. S. has had was the Puerto Rican Island of Vieques. In the waning years of...

    PUERTO RICO HERALD - WASHINGTON UPDATE April 22, 2005 Copyright © 2005 THE PUERTO RICO HERALD. All Rights Reserved. Vieques Trip Raises Rules Questions for House Democrats Two U.S. House Republicans Thursday called for Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to prove that a lobbying firm that represents Puerto Rico commonwealthers did not pay for a trip to Vieques, PR in 2001. The issue is significant because the future of Representative Tom DeLay (R-TX) as House Majority Leader is being widely questioned due to claims that a lobbyist had paid for some of his travel. House Rules prohibit House members...

EIBA, P.R., March 31 — The people of this coastal hamlet never resented making room for the American military, unlike their neighbors on Vieques, the island where the Navy conducted bombing exercises until last year. Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, which opened here in 1943 and later supported the Vieques operations, had long pumped money into the town of 14,000 and kept it lively.So when Congress and President Bush decided last summer to close the base on March 31, much faster than the typical shutdown of a military post, many here feared the worst. That is, until they decided they might...

CIA Fact book on Uruguay and Puerto Rico site there, too. The story of the Puerto Rican flag. I'm wondering where is Hugo Chavez?

<p>WASHINGTON - Wesley Clark was an ardent advocate of live-fire bombing on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques - putting him at odds with virtually every Democrat in New York, The Post has learned.</p> <p>It also puts Clark in conflict on the emotional issue with one of his most important backers in Congress - Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Manhattan).</p>

The Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Sept. 23 — The United States will close its Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in eastern Puerto Rico within the next six months, the territory's congressional delegate said Tuesday. Congress and President Bush are expected to sign off on the closure by the end of next week, said Anibal Acevado Vila, the U.S. territory's nonvoting congressional delegate. The Pentagon did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. The base's closure comes after several years of protests against U.S. military exercises in Vieques, which ended with the Navy's May 1 withdrawal from its bombing...

<p>MIAMI — File this one under "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it."</p> <p>The people of Puerto Rico are facing some unanticipated consequences from a victory they won in 2001.</p> <p>For several years, Puerto Rican protesters demanded that the U.S. Navy leave the island of Vieques (search). Groups staged violent protests outside the main gate of "Camp Garcia," saying they were sick and tired of the live-fire bombing exercises.</p>

<p>Stopping the U.S. Navy from conducting live-fire bombing exercises on the tiny Puerto Rican island of Vieques was a hot cause for leftist activists, Hollywood stars and Democrats in Congress in 2001.</p> <p>The pressure ultimately led to President Bush deciding to end 60 years of live bombing at Vieques — the final wisps of smoke blew in May — and conduct exercises elsewhere, such as the Florida Keys and the North Carolina coast.</p>

<p>Stopping the U.S. Navy from conducting live-fire bombing exercises on the tiny Puerto Rican island of Vieques was a hot cause for leftist activists, Hollywood stars and Democrats in Congress in 2001.</p> <p>The pressure ultimately led to President Bush deciding to end 60 years of live bombing at Vieques — the final wisps of smoke blew in May — and conduct exercises elsewhere, such as the Florida Keys and the North Carolina coast.</p>

The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee recommended a 50 percent cut in funding for the largest military base in Puerto Rico, the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station. The recommendation was made in approving the national defense policy bill for the fiscal year that begins October 1. The bill passed both Houses of the Congress late Thursday. The Committee report "strongly" supported a Navy plan to reduce operations at Roosevelt Roads, which is located on the eastern side of Puerto Rico’s main island. The plan will cut employment at the base by 65 percent and "reduce the number of military operational and...

JUSTICE: Most cases labeled "terrorism" by the Justice Department early this year had nothing to do with terrorists or attacks. PHILADELPHIA - In the first two months of this year, the Justice Department filed "terrorism" charges against 56 people. But an investigation has found that at least 41 of them had nothing to do with terrorism -- a point that prosecutors acknowledge. Among the cases: • 28 Latinos charged with working illegally at the airport in Austin, Texas, most of them using phony Social Security numbers. • Eight Puerto Ricans charged with trespassing on Navy property on the island of...

Burning American flags and shouting anti-American slogans, hundreds of protesters broke through a fence at the Vieques bombing range, smashing military vehicles with sledgehammers. The purpose of these playful citizens was to celebrate the Navy’s departure after 60 years of military training. Vieques was the only base where the Atlantic Fleet could fully integrate Marine amphibious landings, Naval gunfire support, and close air support by F-14 Tomcats and FA-18 Hornets from aircraft carriers. Last year Congressman Bob Filner (D-San Diego), whose district includes the homeport of the Pacific Fleet, wrote President Bush demanding the U.S. Navy unconditionally withdraw from Vieques,...

(English-language translation) The Navy and the Department of Defense "will do all they can" to proceed with a definite closure of the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Ceiba in 2005, according to sources with the Armed Services Committee of the [U.S.] House of Representatives and the Pentagon. "Without the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility operations in Vieques, Roosevelt Roads is not of much value to the Navy. The operations that remain there may be transferred to other bases and the Department of Defense would save money which it may invest in other things, such as the new training system," a...

Burning American flags and shouting anti-American slogans, hundreds of protesters broke through a fence at a Puerto Rico bombing range two weeks ago, smashing military vehicles with sledgehammers. The purpose of these “playful” citizens was to celebrate the U.S. Navy's departure after 60 years of military training. Vieques, Puerto Rico, was the only base where the Atlantic Fleet could fully integrate Marine amphibious landings, Naval gunfire support, and close air support by F-14 Tomcats and FA-18 Hornets from aircraft carriers. Last year Congressman Bob Filner (D-San Diego), whose district includes the homeport of the Pacific Fleet, wrote President Bush demanding...

May 9, 2003: Bowing to political pressure, the Vieques bombing range in Puerto Rico was closed earlier this month. While there are bombing and artillery ranges all over the United States, this was the first time shutting one down because a popular political cause. Eventually the politicians caved. But it turns out there will be consequences. The nearby Roosevelt Roads naval base serves mainly to support ships using the Vieques bombing range. The base is being closed. The base provided 1200 local civilians with jobs, as well as 700 military personnel. The base put $300 million a year into the...

As this week’s edition of the Herald goes onto the web, the dust is settling on "V-Day" in Puerto Rico, May 1st, and the date on which all military training on the island of Vieques ended, beginning a new chapter in the life of the tiny island to the east of Puerto Rico’s land mass. The celebration that greeted V-Day brought singers, activists and politicians to the gates of Camp Garcia, the 14,500 acre U.S. Navy facility that had become a three-year venue for protest against the Navy’s 60-year presence there. And it also brought chaos. When midnight came –...

VIEQUES, Puerto Rico - Hundreds of protesters broke through a fence at the Vieques bombing range, destroying Navy vehicles and burning the American flag as they marked the end to nearly 60 years of U.S. bombing exercises. The militants stole Navy vehicles and smashed the lights and windows with sledgehammers. They turned over a Humvee towing a boat and set them ablaze, and burned two American flags. "Get out, Navy!" they shouted. Vieques Mayor Damaso Serrano blasted the vandalism and pointed out that the damaged vehicles had been donated to the municipality by the Navy.The vandalism by masked youths marred...

(English-language translation) Effective yesterday, the Navy ceased its training maneuvers on Vieques Island officially and permanently. But, to the disgrace of the residents of Vieques and the people of Puerto Rico in general, the controversy over this matter is kept alive by those who want to hand over to the Federal government the bill for Vieques. There is no doubt that, if the interest that gave impulse to the movement in favor of ceasing the bombing maneuvers in Vieques would have been truly and only the peace and tranquility of the island's community, yesterday should have been a day of...

Islanders declare victory over US bombers Navy's pull-out after 60 years in Vieques triggers fireworks and attacks on military vehicles Duncan Campbell in Los AngelesFriday May 2, 2003The Guardian The long and often bitter campaign to end the US navy's bombing exercises on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques culminated in victory for the islanders yesterday, who celebrated the military pull-out with fireworks displays and parties. The former bombing range will be turned into a wildlife reserve. The handover to the US department of the interior was also marked by protests in which the American flag was burned and US...

VIEQUES, Puerto Rico (Reuters) - Fireworks exploded and chanting erupted but there were also incidents of vandalism as the tiny Puerto Rican island of Vieques held festivities on Thursday to mark the formal end of its six-decade role as a staging area for U.S. Navy war games.Just hours after the party got under way, a group of young masked protesters overturned and vandalized U.S. Navy vehicles, destroyed a guardhouse and lit a U.S. Fish and Wildlife boat on fire, according to eyewitnesses.The transfer by the Navy of its bombing range to the U.S. Department of Interior followed four years of...

<p>ASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Al Sharpton was in Puerto Rico yesterday to celebrate the Navy's departure from Vieques, the island used for training exercises for more than 50 years.</p> <p>Sharpton was among a dozen people arrested for trespassing on the Navy firing range on Vieques two years ago to protest bombing exercises there. He served a 90-day federal prison sentence and went on a 43-day hunger strike while he was incarcerated.</p>

Special release from the U.S. Department of Defense WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Department of the Navy (DoN) has transferred all real property on the eastern end of the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, to the administrative jurisdiction of the Department of Interior (DoI) as required under the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Public Law 106-398), as amended by Section 1049 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (Public Law 107-107). Under the law, DoI is required to develop the land for use as a wildlife refuge, with the former live impact...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.In recent years Puerto Rico received much publicity as its islanders insisted on ending more than 60 years of U.S. Navy bombing on Vieques. For many, these often-confrontational efforts have hurt the U.S. territory's relationship with the United States, exposing the existence of a volatile bond between the two. National Geographic magazine fell victim to the U.S. -- Puerto Rico drama in reporting on this phenomenon as the Navy prepares to withdraw from Vieques island in May. In its March issue, the feature True Colors: Divided Loyalties in Puerto Rico generated great...

VIEQUES, Puerto Rico -- A new 256-room hotel opened on Vieques Monday, establishing a business projected to become the Puerto Rican island's largest employer. Until now, the island of 9,100 people has had only small hotels and inns. The U.S. Navy's pledge to abandon its bombing range on Vieques by May 1 contributed to the decision to open the Wyndham Martineau Bay Resort & Spa, the owners and managers have said.

No. 015-03 (703)697-5131(media) IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 10, 2003 (703)428-0711(public/industry) NAVY ANNOUNCES FUTURE TRAINING STRATEGY FOR EAST COAST FORCES Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England today signed the letter of certification to Congress confirming that, as planned, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps will cease military training on the Vieques Inner Range by May 1, 2003. The Department of the Navy has identified training alternatives that will collectively provide equivalent or superior training to the options provided by the island of Vieques. The Navy and Marine Corps will conduct future military training of East Coast units at existing continental U.S....

San Juan-More bombs are coming to Vieques.The Navy informed Puerto Rico's government yesterday that a new round of of military exercises could start as soon as Jan. 13. The Navy said in its letter to the U.S. territory,s government that it would conduct the bombing maneuvers on the island for up to a month. Previous military exercises, which started about 60 years ago, involved ship-to-shore shelling and aerial bombing. Puerto Rico Gov. Sila Calderon, who opposes the training, immediately sent a letter to President Bush calling the plan "patently offensive." Demonstrators routinely have trespassed on Navy property on Vieques to...

The cleanup of Vieques will not be a New Year priority here for the Calderon administration, at least not until after May 1, when the Navy is supposed to end its exercises on the small island, Resident Commissioner Anibal Acevedo Vila has indicated. Congressional action on Vieques is now "closed" - as far as the Navy exiting the island is concerned, said the resident commissioner. He did not foresee trying to rally help for the cleanup in Congress for many months, if at all. "After May, we will have to sit down with federal agencies to talk about a cleanup,"...