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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (176)	11/9/2004 3:51:01 PM
From: Ann Corrigan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224718

Oops!!Residents Angry Over F-16 School Strafing Tuesday, 09-Nov-2004 Story from AP LITTLE EGG HARBOR, N.J. - Residents angry that an Air National Guard F-16 strafed an intermediate school last week castigated the military Monday night, demanding it cease live-fire operations at a nearby target range. The military is investigating last Wednesday's incident in which a jet fighter on a nighttime training exercise over southern New Jersey fired 25 rounds from a 20 mm cannon, some of which struck the Little Egg Harbor Intermediate School. A custodian was the only person in the part of the building that was hit at about 11 p.m., and no one was hurt. Maj. Gen. David Wherley, commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, said no disciplinary action has been taken against the pilot, whose fitness to fly is still being evaluated. At a community meeting called to discuss the incident, residents and township officials sharply criticized the military, demanding assurances it would not happen again. "The fact that it hit a school is terrifying," said Becky Myers, who held her 8-month-old daughter as she spoke. "Little Egg Harbor Intermediate is not out in the middle of nowhere. It could have hit across the street and gone through somebody's living room while their little kid was sleeping." "It's very, very scary," added Kevin O'Rourke, whose son attends the school. "The kids showed up in class today and saw holes in the ceiling." The military has temporarily halted operations at the Warren Grove range, where the pilot was supposed to be aiming at a stationary target on the ground about 3 1/2 miles from the school. Township Committeeman Arthur Midgley called the incident "an outrage, totally unacceptable." He called for the military to change its flight patterns in the area. Brig. Gen. Maria Falca-Dodson, deputy adjutant general for the New Jersey National Guard, said the military shared residents' anxiety. "We, too, find this unacceptable," she said. She estimated it would be at least 30 days before the investigation is completed. The jet fighter belonged to the 113th Wing of the District of Columbia Air National Guard.