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Estonian bear suspends training exercise
From Baltic News Service, not available onlineTALLINN, Estonia - The Estonian Environment Ministry has asked the defense forcesâ Tapa training center to suspend shelling of the central training ground target area until a bear hibernating there wakes up. The Greens strike again Col. Urmas Roosimagi, chief of the Tapa training center, told the newspaper "Virumaa Teataja" (Viru Times) that on February 5 they had received a letter from the Environment Ministry, saying that there was bear hibernating in the target area and asking them not to use the area for shelling or shooting practise or blasting until May 1. The bear is hibernating in the defense forces central training ground target area where mortar and machine-gun practice is carried out. "What should I tell the Americans? Sould we say, sorry, weâre not going to send a mission to Afghanistan in March but a little later, because we are waiting for the bear to wake up?" Roosimagi said. "What action should I take as unit commander when the question is whether I will send the men as specialists, not as cannon-fodder, or save the bear?" Roosimagi said faulty training could cost the men their lives. But he added that this year there had been no action in the territory in question yet, because there was no government order to permit shelling and shooting practice. They could carry out blasting operations in the training ground, but hadnât done it because of the bear. All such operations had been trasferred to an old missile base instead. Local residents, too, have protested against the defense forces central testing ground on several occasions this year. So a farmer expressed his dissatisfaction against shelling and shooting practise there, saying he had a stable in the area and the horses could panic when shelling began. Roosimagi should remind them how panicked the horses will be if the Russkies decide to come rolling through again Posted by: Scott 2004-03-08 |
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