Just for your information. I am not trying to take sides but please give this issue a fair hearing:  During the Republican convention, I spoke to Dan Bonamie, one of the spokesmen for opposition to the expansion of Camp Grayling primarily in Crawford County, MI.  Dan is pro-military however he opposes the expansion because it will cause major harm to our communities’ environment, economics, and members health.  While in line to vote, I spoke to other former military personnel from Crawford who oppose the Camp Grayling expansion.  Dan recommended their web site:  https://www.230isenough.com/. 

Opponents have excellent reasons for concern that they are not being told the full or honest story.  The Michigan National Guard has 11,000 military members yet they want to expand Camp Grayling to cover 480 square miles, an area larger than the largest active duty Army bases, Fort Bragg (284.5 square miles, 53,700 troops, 14,000 civilians) or Fort Hood (about 336 square miles, as of 2014, 45,414 assigned soldiers and 8,900 civilian employees).

The military is trying to make the change seem harmless.  “[Camp Grayling Commander Col. Scott] Meyers told Bridge Michigan the National Guard would conduct only “low impact” training on the proposed expansion lands. There would be no new trails built for tanks, no bombing or shooting, no new buildings or fences. Instead, Meyers said, the typical exercise might involve soldiers camping in the woods with satellites, training for electronic and cyber warfare. But a draft map of the proposal also includes proposed “firing points,” which [Tom Barnes, manager of  the DNR’s Grayling Forest Management Unit] described as areas where the military sets up weaponry to fire into existing ranges.”

Dan commented that the military is already firing artillery over civilian areas.  He worries that flares ejected from low flying jet aircraft could ignite the pine forests. He also raised concerns about whether the electronic warfare exercises would affect the local population.  The expanded Camp Grayling would straddle both sides of Grayling city and I-75.

Correction: Dan contacted me with some corrections to the last paragraph. He isn’t a firefighter and nothing landed in anyone’s backyard. When we spoke at the convention there was a lot of background noise so I probably misunderstood a few things he said. That’s why I invited him to double check the page. The concern is warranted by past events:

Six test bombs, one missile accidentally fall from military plane near Grayling (from 2016)

MICHIGAN GUARD TROOPS BOMBARD HOUSE, NOT TARGET (from 1994)