Nope, it's not a quake - just training at YPG

A training exercise that sent rumbles through the Yuma area will be repeated Thursday at Yuma Proving Ground, but base officials say it shouldn't be as noisy.

The exercise made use of explosives to simulate combat conditions between the hours of 7 and 8 p.m., said Yolie Canales, acting YPG public information officer.

Canales said atmospheric conditions and clear skies caused the noise to travel throughout the Yuma area Tuesday night, but that the next planned exercise is not expected to take place under the same conditions.

That exercise is set for noon on Thursday.

"But (base officials) do not foresee the same noise to travel as far as it did last night," Canales said Wednesday.

Canales said the exercise, known as Special Operations Terminal Attack Controller Course (SOTACC), is conducted six times a year and trains 75 students in air assault.

The exercise trains special forces troops from the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps to conduct missions on the ground in conjunction with air support missions, Canales said. She said it's important because communication between the ground and air troops helps avoid friendly fire casualties.

This kind of exercise is exactly what the troops need right now, said a senior noncommissioned-officer-in-charge at the school.

"This is one of the most critical skill sets any special operations soldier can have," the officer said in an e-mail release. "Right now, there are many soldiers overseas performing what they learned here at SOTACC."

Canales said the training provides the most realistic close air support training available anywhere. Aircraft fly in from nearby military installations and drop 750-pound bombs from a B52H bomber.

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Stephanie A. Wilken can be reached at swilken@yumasun.com or 539-6857.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The YPG exercise will begin Tuesday, Jan. 8.