A series of U.S. Air Force community meetings on a much-publicized plan to conduct air and ground training maneuvers in the Treasure Valley has been canceled, the Air Force announced Monday. The meetings were to be held this week in Boise, Eagle and Meridian.
In a news release sent to media outlets Monday morning, USAF SSgt. Jeremy Mosier of the 366th Fighter Wing said, “Once the scoping meetings for the Boise area have been rescheduled, the public will be updated.”
He cited the availability of a panel of USAF experts as the reason for the cancellations.
“The meetings cover an environmental assessment of a proposed
establishment of air and ground training spaces in support of urban close air support proficiency for F-15 Strike Eagle aircrews,” he stated. A previous USAF news release said the training would involve coordinated flight and ground tracking of targets in urban areas. Ground crews would use GPS and low-power lasers to mark targets, and would not interfere with traffic or pedestrians.
“Training in urban centers is critical to the Gunfighter mission as they provide an environment with the same tactical challenges encountered during operations in a deployed environment,” Mosier added.
Nine local urban centers have been identified for this training: Boise, Mountain Home, Burley, Twin Falls, Grandview, Glenns Ferry, Bruneau, Hammett, and Mountain Home AFB.
Monday’s community meeting was to be held from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Boise Public Library on Capitol Blvd. A Wednesday meeting was to be held in Eagle and a Thursday meeting in Meridian.
Previous meetings were held March 5th in Twin Falls, March 6th in Glenns Ferry, and March 7th in Grandview.
The meeting scheduled for Tuesday in Mountain Home has also been cancelled. No word just yet on when the meetings will be rescheduled.
