US Navy Range/Roosevelt Roads Naval Station (Former) (Vieques)

Puerto Rico / Humacao / Culebra / Vieques
 military, firing range
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For the better part of 50 years, the entire Eastern half of Vieques has been owned by the US Navy and used for live training exercises, ship-to-shore gunfire, air-to-ground bombing and Marine amphibious landings. Shown here is the Live Impact Area (LIA), about 900 acres, used for targeting live ordnance. The US govt, under increasing public scrutiny regarding accidental deaths and lingering radioactive muntions tested on the island, closed its operations in 2003 and made the half of the island a ecological reserve. This island, along with San Clemente Island off Los Angeles, are the last places on earth to come under fire from the guns of a active battleship.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Roads_Naval_Station
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   18°8'10"N   65°17'35"W
This article was last modified 11 years ago