Noisy Marine Exercises Rattle Residents

The fighter jet jockeys are bombing here again, and the daily and nightly BA-BOOMs have been loud enough to rattle nerves, terrorize local teacups and prompt scores of fidgety civilians to call police.

“Those are the sounds of freedom they’re hearing out there,” 1st Lt. Kevin Bentley, a spokesman for the vast Marine Corps base, said with contentment.

What police dispatchers are hearing, however, are people from some surrounding communities who are unsure whether the explosions are a cataclysm of biblical proportions or a passing cement truck.

“I worked till 7:30 last night and it felt like we had a couple hundred calls by then,” said Escondido police dispatcher Lynn Zimmerman. “One person said, ‘Should I take cover?’ Another woman said she thought her windows were going to break.”

Aerial bombardment and artillery barrages on Camp Pendleton’s ranges are part of the ambience of the area, where longtime residents generally have mellowed to the military music of 155-millimeter howitzers and 81-millimeter mortars. After all, the Marines have been here since 1942.

Occasionally, though, like last week, the symphony’s brass section goes fortissimo, and so does the number of complaints.

Twin-engine Hornet attack jets visiting from the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station began dropping 500-pound bombs on Monday to practice close air support for the infantry.

The jets had loosed 58 heavy bombs by Thursday, and Master Sgt. John Farrell said “we don’t have any idea how many more they’re going to drop.”

Weather conditions helped carry the booms a greater distance, and some residents from as far as San Clemente and San Diego have been jolted by by the blasts.

“If you’re brand new to the area, that’s a helluva wake-up call,” Sheriff’s Sgt. Glenn Revell said.

Unsuspecting newcomers are quickest to call police, City Hall or military officials. Most callers are curious, others are irate.

“The windows rattle and the bones shake,” said Oceanside spokesman Larry Bauman. “We do get calls, especially from new residents who are unused to bombardment and think it’s an earthquake or a large truck.”