GL: Great Lakes HSCG Live Fire Training

[Bob Kunath]

As a followup to the posts a few weeks ago, the USCG is planning to establish
safety zones on the Great Lakes for small arms live fire training.  We
attended a public hearing last night in Waukegan, IL, here's a summary of
their presentations:

1.  There will be 34 zones in the Great Lakes, including 14 in Lake Michigan.
            Comment was that so many sites are required to be near all USCG
stations
2.  Zone sizes vary widely, average about 75 square miles
3.  Zones will are planned about 5 miles from shore, in at least 30 feet
water, away from shipping lanes and water intakes.
4.  USCG small boats will be equipped with 7.62 mm machiine guns, requiring
live practice
5.  Zones will be closed and used mainly in off-season (around April and
October), several days per year, 4-6 hours per session.  Special events, such
as yacht club races across the lake and through zones will be avoided.
Notification will be published in advance of exercizes (it was not clear how
that notification will work they said they would use VHF, but many boats
cannot even hear the VHF while underway, and tend to desregard USCG
annoucements anyway).
6.  Two boats will participate in each session:  One to practice fire, the
(with radar) to watch for traffic.  Sessions may be at night.
7.  Environmental impact from lead bullets into the water expected to be
minimal.

In conversation with some of the officers, I noted that there are two zones
each in the path of both the Badger and Lake Express ferries.  Their response
was that they would keep lookout and suspend firing as the ferries pass.

Their comment was that the range of the guns was 4000 yards, well within the
effective visible and radar range of the lookout boats.

When asked why Graet Lakes guardsmen need to be tranied in machine guns, the
answer given by Captain Bruce Jones (Sector Commander of all 24 stations in
Lake Michigan) was that "all guardsmen everywhere need to be trained to handle
a stiuation anywhere."  He recalled the Katrina emergency where properly
trained personnel from the Great Lakes were sent to New Orleans to assist in
that emergency.

For more information, here's the USCG info site on this issue:

http://www.uscgd9safetyzones.com

Comments may be submitted at this site until November 13:

http://dms.dot.gov   Document Number: 25767



Bob Kunath
Waterway Guide Cruising Editor, Lake Michigan

Bob & Carol Kunath
Sans Souci
Pacific Seacraft 38T
bobkunath@att.net
Tel: 847 540 8175
cell: 847 921 8175