You may want to block some of those forwarded e-mails that are cluttering inboxes lately. Rumors of a military takeover and imposition of martial law in Castle Country are greatly exaggerated.
While it’s true that soldiers of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command will be coming to Carbon and Emery Counties in late July, their force will number two teams of two to three soldiers each and support staff for a total of 25 soldiers. That’s the word from Utah National Guard Public Affairs Officer Lt. Col. Steve Fairborn.
The exercise has already been welcomed by the county commission. The county has given permission to the Army to use the airport, old county administration building, North Springs Shooting Range and the County Fairgrounds rodeo area from July 25 through Aug. 2. The basement of the old admin building, which still houses some computer servers, is off limits, according to Assistant County Attorney Christian Bryner.
The purpose of the exercise is to gain experience in unconventional warfare, Fairborn explained. Troops sent overseas to places such as Afghanistan often have to deal with environments not available on Army bases. In Castle Country, they will be dealing with support role players to sharpen their skills before they face the real thing in life-or-death circumstances.
“What better, safer way than in a controlled environment?” the officer said. He compared the training to that of fire fighters and police. Fire fighters learn how to battle fires in specially-built, closely-controlled burning structures, for example.
The Carbon-Emery exercise is a “small footprint,” but the national operation involves thousands.
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