Photo By Lt.j.g. Drew Verbis | 210320-N-AS200-0052 EL CENTRO, Calif. (March 20, 2021) Sailors assigned to Naval Air...... read more read more
The event was coordinated and sponsored by Ms. Audrey Mason, vice president, San Diego Off Road Vehicle Collation.
“It was wonderful to have help from the Navy,” said Mason. “People in the community watch the jets and helicopters training on nearby ranges but don’t get to experience Sailors in person and work alongside them. I’m happy they value keeping the desert clean.”
Many Sailors assigned to NAF El Centro spend their liberty time using the off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation areas of the Superstition Mountains.
“My shipmates love to off-road in the Mountains,” said Master-at-arms Seaman Shadow Egan. “The trails get busy on the weekends with locals and tourists. This can create a lot of trash, so it feels great to have this opportunity to give back to the community.”
Superstition Mountain is 13,000 acres of sand dunes, mud hills, rocky trails, hard pack deserts and camping sites.
“We collected dozens of bags full of trash which is a testament to the hard-working men and women of NAF El Centro who love to support their community,” said Capt. William Perkins, commanding officer, NAF El Centro. “We encourage them to experience what the community has to offer, and many choose to enjoy the authorized OHV areas.”
Perkins provided a cautionary note that the recreation area and OHV trails are adjacent to bombing ranges used for a variety of live-fire training projectiles by the Navy and Marine Corps and occasionally by allied partners to support interoperability.
“The COMREL is an opportunity to remind the public that preservation of human life and the environment are a top priority for NAFEC,” Perkins said. “While enjoying the OHV areas, please do not trespass on the range, it causes degradation of protected desert habitat, potential high-risk of bodily-injury, loss of valuable training time and danger to military flight-crews.”
To preserve desert habitat for the flat-tail horned lizard and support safety of civilians and military flight-crews, the Navy is installing a wire fence and additional signage to eliminate trespassers on the bombing range.
“The fence will include gates along Imler Rd and eliminate some OHV routes that are commonly used yet created illegally without the consent of the Navy or the authorization of the Bureau of Land Management,” said Perkins. “Staying safe, keeping the environment clean, enjoying this beautiful community is a goal we can all support.”
Community relations programs work to better the relationships between local communities and the U.S. Navy by earning public support and understanding of operations and missions.
The mission of NAF El Centro is to support the combat training and readiness of the warfighter. This includes air operations support to operational fleet and training squadrons as well as squadrons from other services (Marine Corps, Army, Air Force) and international military partners.
For more information about the planned fence construction, visit: https://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrsw/installations/naf_el_centro/om/air_operations/nafec-bombing-ranges/Target101FenceProject.html
| Date Taken: | 03.20.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.30.2021 10:53 |
| Story ID: | 392590 |
| Location: | EL CENTRO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 189 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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