NYT: U.S. Firing Plans for Great Lakes Raise Concerns: Arms on the waters

[DeepModem Mom]

U.S. Firing Plans for Great Lakes Raise Concerns
By MONICA DAVEY
Published: October 16, 2006

GRAND HAVEN, Mich., Oct. 10 — Even in autumn, the cold, silent expanse of Lake Michigan defines this town, where pleasure boats glide into harbor, fishermen wait patiently for salmon and tourists peer up at the lighthouse.

But the United States Coast Guard has a new mission for the waters off of these quiet shores. For the first time, Coast Guard officials want to mount machine guns routinely on their cutters and small boats here and around all five of the Great Lakes as part of a program addressing the threats of terrorism post-9/11.

And, for the first time in memory, Coast Guard members plan to use a stretch of water at least five miles off this Michigan shore — and 33 other offshore spots near cities like Cleveland; Rochester; Milwaukee; Duluth, Minn.; and Gary, Ind. — as permanent, live fire shooting zones for training on their new 7.62 mm weapons, which can blast as many as 650 rounds a minute and send fire more than 4,000 yards.

The notion is so unusual that it prompted United States diplomats to negotiate with Canadian authorities in order to agree that it would not violate a 189-year-old treaty, signed after the War of 1812, limiting arms on the Great Lakes.

Many here in Grand Haven, a town whose history is so lovingly intertwined with the Coast Guard that it holds an annual festival celebrating the service branch, say they think of Coast Guard members mainly as the rugged sailors who race off to search for and save troubled boaters. But even here, in a town that calls itself “Coast Guard City U.S.A.,” some say the thought of members firing machine guns anywhere near these waters strikes them as dangerous to ordinary boaters, potentially damaging to the Great Lakes’ ecosystem and, frankly, a somewhat surprising place to be bracing for terrorists....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/16/us/16lakes.html?hp&ex=1160971200&en=82491e47fdcb661a&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[Nailzberg]

1. There's no need to arm the Great Lakes USCG

If any terrorists try something, they'll be met at the shoreline by the Michigan Militia.

[Benhurst]

2. BushAmerica

What a dump.

[Monkeyman]

3. Don't think Chicago will take it for long

[Thor_MN]

4. The western Lake Superior zone looks to be not far from my dad's house.

I'm willing to bet that it would be visible from his living room. Arming the Coast Guard on the Great Lakes is ridiculous. The very concept of some sort of armed invasion from Canada is a B movie plot. Why would terrorist go through the hassle of procuring a boat suitable for open water when they could cross unchecked at numerous points without the need of a boat? It's not needed and there is no reason screw up some of the best water left on the planet.

Only reason I can think of doing this is if they are looking to get some live fire drills under the Coast Gaurd's belt so they can press them into duty in Iraq or Little Geogie's next folly.

[Up2Late]

8. You might be right about the training being for Iraq, but they've been...

...in Iraq from the beginning, here's a link: <http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,NI_Iraq_0803,00.html>

I'm not sure what their current status is though. Here's one from April 2006: <http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Apr2006/20060427_4953.html>

Oh and here's a good one, one of the Deep water Coast Guard Cutters from Seattle Washington is going now! Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Washington State have an International boarder?

<http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/285014_midgett14.html>
Thursday, September 14, 2006

Coast Guard cutter heads to Iraq

Midgett joins 6,000-member strike group

By MIKE BARBER
P-I REPORTER

A Coast Guard cutter based on Seattle's waterfront is for the first time during the Iraq war being deployed to serve in the Persian Gulf.

The 378-foot-long Midgett, a high-endurance cutter that is part of the service's deepwater fleet, and its crew of 186 will leave Saturday for seven months' duty with the Navy's Expeditionary Strike Group Five, Coast Guard officials confirmed Wednesday.

Other Coast Guard cutters from around the nation have served in the Persian and Arabian gulfs during the Iraq conflict, but not cutters from Seattle. In smaller increments, some Puget Sound Coastguardsmen, notably Port Security Unit 313 from Tacoma, have served in the war zone.

The Midgett will participate in exercises with allied countries and support naval operations, Coast Guard officials said.
(more at link) <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/285014_midgett14.html>

[tokenlib]

5. What a crackpot idea!

There are a lot of pleasure craft that ply the waters between Traverse City and Charlevoix, MI and Beaver Island--what a spot for a live fire zone... These people are totally insane...

[DeepModem Mom]

7. Down in the article, it quotes someone as thinking at first...

the idea was from The Onion.

[Up2Late]

6. This is just stupid! Why so many close to shore on Lake Michigan?

And the rest of them look very close to the shipping lanes, Wtf?

[Richard Steele]

9. I am of two minds on this story...

In the first place, I was very surprised to learn that
the Coast Guard vessels weren't armed already. I have
ZERO problem with them packing a M60. Frankly, I would
want something even bigger if it was part of my job to
intercept criminals in boats.

That being said, all those "target ranges" are just NUTS!

Frankly, they smell fishy to me. (No pun intended)
NO ONE needs such an incredible amount of space just
for an MG target range. And THAT MANY of them? Bullshit,
nope, no way. There's some other reason they want those
areas off-limits, and the "gun range" BS is just a cover
for it.

[DeepModem Mom]

10. In a pre-election 2000 sketch, SNL had "Bush" with a map behind him...

indicating the condition of the country after he was elected. Among other things, Mexico had taken back all of its former territory, and the Great Lakes were on fire. Well, this is close!

[Richard Steele]

11. And, IIRC, B*sh was hiding under his desk....

Yeah, they were pretty close on a lot in that sketch.

[bif]

12. That's insane

But then again, so is everyone in the Bush Administration.