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Thursday, Feb. 11, 1999

Army to reimburse Kingsville

Abandoned police station was damaged in training exercise

By MARY LEE GRANT
Staff Writer

   The U.S. Army will pay for damage to the abandoned Kingsville police station caused by a fire earlier this week during exercises by special operations forces, officials said Wednesday.
   Carol Darby, a spokeswoman for the Army Special Operations Command in Fort Bragg, N.C., said that about 15 percent of the building -- primarily in the area of the jail cells -- was damaged. She estimates the damage at no more than $1,000.
   Several abandoned downtown buildings were used Monday by Army Special Operations Command troops from Fort Bragg and by the Kingsville Police Department for urban training that involved multiple helicopter drops of troops.
   The fire in the old police station, 200 N. Sixth St., started at about 8 p.m. as a welding torch was used to cut through steel as part of the training. Firefighters extinguished the fire in about 20 minutes, but the interior was destroyed and serious structural damage was done to the roof, fire officials said.
   

Training opportunity

   Police Chief Felipe Garza said that the amount of the damage doesn't matter, because the building was abandoned and there were no plans to use it again.
   "We were going to destroy it anyway," Garza said. "That is why we used it for these exercises."
   Garza said he doesn't regret allowing the maneuvers, which also shattered windows of an abandoned Exxon building when grenades were detonated.
   "Absolutely not," he said. "We were aware that things could happen and were prepared."
   "It was a good training opportunity for our officers," Garza said. "It helped us in dealing with hazardous material, clearing people out of an area, directing traffic and working with other departments."
   

An unknowing public

   Many residents were concerned by the activity because they hadn't been notified of the training.
   Darby said the public never is notified before such exercises, because it poses an security risk and also a danger to residents, who tend to gather to watch the exercises.
   She said that there may be other exercises in Kingsville, Corpus Christi and around Fort Sam Houston before Feb. 20, but would not elaborate.
   "As the world grows more urban, it is important for our special forces to practice their skills in a variety of urban environments," she said. "If we use the same training area over and over, it becomes less effective."
   Staff writer Mary Lee Grant can be reached at 886-3752 or by e-mail at grantm@caller.com
   

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  © 1999 Corpus Christi Caller Times, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.