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1 Report to the Secretary of Defense of the Special Panel on Military Operations on Vieques 1 (1999)

handle is hein.prescomm/rsdmovq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE OF THE SPECIAL PANEL ON MILITARY OPERATIONS ON VIEQUES FOREWORD The report of the Special Panel on Military Operations on Vieques is submitted in response to a June 9, 1999 request from the President of the United States to the Secretary of Defense. The President asked that the Secretary establish a panel to: (1) review the need for operations at Vieques and (2) explore alternative sites or methods that would meet the Department's needs. The President also indicated that the panel should consider the views of the Governor of Puerto Rico, the Resident Commissioner, Mayor, and other representatives of the residents of Vieques. BACKGROUND Brief Description of the Navy Footprint on Vieques and the Military Training Conducted on and in the Vicinity of Vieques The Navy owns approximately two-thirds of Vieques Island. The Naval Ammunition Facility (NAF) covers some 8,000 acres on the western end of the island. The Inner Range of the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility (AFWTF) on the eastern end of Vieques includes the 11,000 acre Eastern Maneuver Area (EMA) and the 900 acre Live Impact Area (LIA). There are approximately 9,300 United States citizens who reside in the Municipality of Vieques in the area between the NAF on the West and the Inner Range on the East. The Navy reports that the inner range is used approximately 180 days a year, with two-thirds of total time devoted to advanced phase training involving major fleet and Joint Task Force exercises. The other one-third of training days involves use by U. S. and Allied ships and aircraft and by other Services such as U.S. Air Force attack and strike aircraft and the special operations forces of several Services. Brief Background on Controversy Regarding Navy's Presence and Use of Vieques Naval training operations in Puerto Rico have been the subject of significant controversy since at least the 1960s. The following provides a brief overview: Culebra: From World War II until 1975 the Navy used the island of Culebra for weapons training. (Culebra, also off the eastern end of Puerto Rico, is north of Vieques.) In the late 1960s increased air- to-ground and naval surface fire on Culebra resulted in protests and widespread calls for the Navy to discontinue training in and around Culebra. In 1970, section 611 of Public Law 91-511 directed the Secretary of Defense to conduct a study and prepare a report on weapons training around Culebra. Page I of 11

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