Military helicopters hover over city again
A helicopter flies above Portland Monday night during a military training exercise. By Associated PressPORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Portland officials say the U.S. military has agreed to move a special forces training operation in urban warfare to a less urban part of the city. With scant public notice, four MH-6 helicopters with men apparently bearing arms began buzzing the city's downtown district Monday, startling people. Jennie Logsdon-Martin of Tillamook said the helicopter was close enough to her 12th-floor hotel room that "you could see the guys' teeth," and the force of the wind blew shut a window. Tom Bethel of southeast Portland said he was certain it was a sign that the United States had invaded Iran. The mayor's office announced Wednesday that the exercise would move to Jantzen Beach Wednesday night in far north Portland along the Columbia River. Mayoral spokesman John Doussard said military officers told Police Chief Rosie Sizer "we can accomplish the same level of training and do it elsewhere." The crews practiced drills including aerial maneuvering, landing and dismounting in an urban setting, said Lt. Nathan Potter - no relation to Mayor Tom Potter, who approved the Defense Department's request to train in the city. The lieutenant said Portland was chosen because it was unfamiliar territory. "We routinely train in places that we're not familiar with," he said. "The first time our guys are in a large, unfamiliar city, it should not be in combat." The crews and the helicopters did not carry live ammunition. Doussard said public notice about the training preceded it by only 20 minutes, and he wished the city had done a better job of telling residents what was to happen. "(Defense officials) like to get in and do their training and get out without a lot of hoopla," Doussard told The Oregonian newspaper. "But when you fly a helicopter over a busy downtown, there is a certain amount of hoopla involved." Lt. Potter said an alert should have gone out a few hours before the exercise. But officials did not want too much notice because it could have attracted a crowd, causing a safety issue. "We were trying to prevent this from becoming an air show," he said. (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) |
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