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New Mexico Town Gets New Life
Explosions, screams for help and hovering Black Hawk helicopters broke the stillness as this nearly abandoned copper mining town took on a new role as an anti-terrorism training center. A wide-ranging mock terrorist scenario played out Thursday before hundreds of onlookers as the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology officially began training here. Playas has been virtually empty for months, since the mining company that built it packed up and moved out, taking most of the town's jobs. But the institute - the town's new owner - is bringing new life in the form of terrorist response. "This is a rebirth of a town. The university is very excited," said Van Romero, the school's vice president of research and economic development. Helicopters from the Homeland Security Department dropped off SWAT teams in full tactical gear, then took to the air as officers swarmed a home where bomb-making had been reported. As a robot removed and detonated a bomb, a suicide bomber set off an explosion in a bus. Thirty-seven first-responders operated a command center during the exercise, and the SWAT teams were made up of local law enforcement agencies such as the Dona Ana County sheriff's office. Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Steve Pearce, both New Mexico Republicans, were among VIPs removed to a nearby airport as part of the exercise. Domenici recalled his first reaction to turning the town into a training center. "I couldn't believe it when they called me up and said they wanted to buy Playas," he said. "I said, 'Are you crazy?'" But he said he soon realized the town's advantages for training. The 640-acre township built by Phelps Dodge Corp. in 1972 includes a 25-unit apartment complex, community center, grocery store, medical clinic and air strip, as well as 1,200 surrounding acres. Plans to transform it into the National Emergency Response Training, Research and Development Center have been in the works for months. The institute finalized the deal to buy the town for $5 million in September after getting the go-ahead from the Homeland Security Department. "It holds great promise for New Mexico and the rest of the nation," Romero said. Phelps Dodge employee Tommy Townsend, who still lives in the town, said he welcomes the institute as the new owner and was impressed by the first exercise. The remaining residents now live at one end of town, and Townsend doesn't expect the training explosions to be a problem. "The fact is, it's gonna bring some jobs to this part of the world, so you can put up with some explosions," he said. The institute has done military research for decades and has helped train thousands of police and firefighters as first responders in emergencies. Its classes cover response tactics applied to real-life scenarios and situations involving suicide bombers, bioterrorism and car bombs. Playas provides an ideal classroom to train first-responders in simulated terrorist attacks and other disasters. Romero said the community's isolation in a remote area of southwestern New Mexico works in its favor. "Nobody's going to sneak up on us," he said. Posted by: Steve 2004-12-03 |
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