U.S. jets forced to drop bombs on Australia's Great Barrier Reef

[News_Editor]

QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA (BNO NEWS) -- Two U.S. fighter fighter jets dropped four unarmed bombs on Australia's Great Barrier Reef earlier this week after a training exercise went wrong, the U.S. Navy confirmed on Sunday, but there was no immediate risk to the public or the environment.

The U.S. 7th Fleet said two AV-8B Harrier aircraft were launched Tuesday from the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) to conduct a training exercise as part of Exercise Talisman Saber. They had intended to drop the bombs in the Townshend Island Range but controllers had reported the area was not clear of hazards.

"Due to low fuel and inability to land with the amount of ordnance they were carrying, the on-scene commander determined it was necessary to designate an emergency jettison area for the ordnance," the U.S. 7th Fleet said in a statement. The jettison took place approximately 16 nautical miles (29 kilometers) south of Bell Cay in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Each fighter aircraft jettisoned one BDU 45 and one GBU 12, for a total of four bombs, in what is the world's largest collection of coral off the coast of Queensland in Australia. The GBU 12s were jettisoned in a safe, unarmed state while the BDU 45s are inert ordnance, and none of the bombs exploded.

"The selected emergency jettison area was in a deep channel away from the reef to minimize the possibility of reef damage," the 7th Fleet added in its statement. It said the jettison area is approximately 50 to 60 meters (164 to 196 feet) deep and does not pose a hazard to shipping or navigation.

The U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps have launched an investigation into the incident in coordination with Australian authorities. "We are coordinating with Australian officials to ensure an appropriate navigation notice is issued until charts can be updated showing the location of the unexploded ordnance," the 7th Fleet added.

(Copyright 2013 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: [email protected].)

[Baloo22]

****Comments from nitpicking post removed.****

At least they used the word "forced" in the title. BBC titled their article with "US jets dropped bombs on Great Barrier Reef". Makes it sound like the U.S. is starting a bombing campaign on the Great Barrier Reef. Thankfully, in their article they did explain it a bit more:

"The two planes jettisoned four bombs in more than 50m (165 ft) of water, away from coral, to minimise damage to the World Heritage Site, the US navy said. The jets had intended to drop at a bombing range on a nearby island, but Tuesday's mission was aborted. The AV-8B Harriers were low on fuel and could not land loaded, the navy added. The emergency happened during the training exercise Talisman Saber, involving US and Australian military personnel."

[briboy]

local news saying that there were civilian craft in the restricted area, there are war games on at the moment in north/central coast area at the moment and no go zones are in place....

[antfish]

local news saying that there were civilian craft in the restricted area, there are war games on at the moment in north/central coast area at the moment and no go zones are in place....

Of course "US jets dropped bombs on Great Barrier Reef" - must be civilians fault.

Are Australians happy with those military exercise? Are there environmentalists out on the streets and protest?

[craigt3365]

local news saying that there were civilian craft in the restricted area, there are war games on at the moment in north/central coast area at the moment and no go zones are in place....

Of course "US jets dropped bombs on Great Barrier Reef" - must be civilians fault.

Are Australians happy with those military exercise? Are there environmentalists out on the streets and protest?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_Talisman_Saber#Opposition_and_protests

[jackr]

Aussies get hammered all-round by the sounds.

[Maestro]

I removed an off-topic post about the Thai navy and the replies to it.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[chooka]

In Australia we have a little thing we do, when we leave a place we take our rubbish with us. Don't forget to clean up your mess America we don't want your rubbish in out front yard.

Cheers

[ABCer]

Things happen... It would have been nice for the Allies to promise to collect those safe unarmed bombs before somebody fishes them out and ...

[Scott]

I believe there is a plan to salvage the bombs. There was a post that was deleted due to fair use policy, I believe, but here's a link from it:

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/us-drops-bombs-great-barrier-reef-marine-park

[coma]

Typical.It is the Greens jumping up and down making this story a 'storm in a tea cup. Using the term " dropped bombs on reef " in an effort to put an image of exploding bombs detonating on the reef into the minds of thier blind followers. If the word jettisoned was used it would sound a lot more realistic.

[Baloo22]

In Australia we have a little thing we do, when we leave a place we take our rubbish with us. Don't forget to clean up your mess America we don't want your rubbish in out front yard.

Cheers

They didn't seem to mind too much in 1942!

Reality is that there are some thinking people in Australia that can see a similar threat from the north developing in the near future. That is why Australia and the United States are developing an even closer relationship as allies. And why Australian and United States military forces are training together to enhance their ability to operate together.

[Sayonarax]

Clean it up!

[Sayonarax]

Typical.It is the Greens jumping up and down making this story a 'storm in a tea cup. Using the term " dropped bombs on reef " in an effort to put an image of exploding bombs detonating on the reef into the minds of thier blind followers. If the word jettisoned was used it would sound a lot more realistic.

Do you have any idea how valuable the reef is? Was a bomb dropped? Yes.

Misleading.. hardly.

[coma]

Typical.It is the Greens jumping up and down making this story a 'storm in a tea cup. Using the term " dropped bombs on reef " in an effort to put an image of exploding bombs detonating on the reef into the minds of thier blind followers. If the word jettisoned was used it would sound a lot more realistic.

Do you have any idea how valuable the reef is? Was a bomb dropped? Yes.

Misleading.. hardly.

Yes. And I also know the difference between detonated and undetonated ordanace. " Storm in a tea cup ".

[geriatrickid]

Clean it up!

Agreed. Have the people that violated the no go zone been identified so that they can receive an invoice for the costs of the retrieval?

[geriatrickid]

The biannual training exercise is an important event.

The mission of Talisman Sabre 2013 is to test the U.S. and Australian forces abilities to plan and conduct combined task force operations to improve combat readiness and interoperability on a variety of missions from conventional conflict to peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance efforts.

Unfortunately, when humanitarian aid is to be delivered in a war zone, defensive activities have to be undertaken, including strategic bombing. In order to minimize non combatant casualties, the military has to practice. Sometimes, things do not go as planned.

[NeverSure]

In Australia we have a little thing we do, when we leave a place we take our rubbish with us. Don't forget to clean up your mess America we don't want your rubbish in out front yard.

Cheers

They didn't seem to mind too much in 1942!

Reality is that there are some thinking people in Australia that can see a similar threat from the north developing in the near future. That is why Australia and the United States are developing an even closer relationship as allies. And why Australian and United States military forces are training together to enhance their ability to operate together.

Eh? No one in Australia considers Indonesia a threat or a near future threat (this includes all country's just above Australia). Just an excuse for the war mongering Americans to set up shop again. Australia's just a one stop sub shop for the US Navy

Would this be the same Australia that literally begged the US for help against the Japanese in WWII and the US saved their butts? Would this be the same Australia which has a treaty with the US for the defense of Australia and which regularly practices with the US in case of emergency?

And you want to complain about a couple of unarmed and unexploded bombs which of course will be retrieved, which bombs were dropped during a joint training exercise with both Australia and the US, an operation called "Exercise Talisman Saber"? You do know they didn't actually hit the reef, don't you?

[JDGRUEN]

In Australia we have a little thing we do, when we leave a place we take our rubbish with us. Don't forget to clean up your mess America we don't want your rubbish in out front yard.

Cheers

They didn't seem to mind too much in 1942!

Reality is that there are some thinking people in Australia that can see a similar threat from the north developing in the near future. That is why Australia and the United States are developing an even closer relationship as allies. And why Australian and United States military forces are training together to enhance their ability to operate together.

Eh? No one in Australia considers Indonesia a threat or a near future threat (this includes all country's just above Australia). Just an excuse for the war mongering Americans to set up shop again. Australia's just a one stop sub shop for the US Navy

Notice in my comment I referred to thinking people. For you, I'll be more specific. I was referring to the PRC. I suppose that in 1941 you would be saying "Don't worry about those Japanese!" Do you think the "war mongering Americans" should have stayed away in 1942?

Also - Military aviation accidents happen.. just like civilian aviation accidents happen ... No one set about in any 'war mongering' fashion to bring harm to Australian reef waters... to assert such is juvenile thought ...

[Scott]

Stay on topic and treat other posters in a civil manner.

No need to re-fight WWII or any other wars or conflicts.

[LomSak27]

Perhaps they were live bombs

Perhaps this is a mission against Osama's Zombie Lobster army that has marched across the Indian Ocean sea floor and now threatens OZ. Perhaps the free world stands at the brink of an unimagined Lobster Zombie apocalypse.

just saying

[OzMick]

local news saying that there were civilian craft in the restricted area, there are war games on at the moment in north/central coast area at the moment and no go zones are in place....

Of course "US jets dropped bombs on Great Barrier Reef" - must be civilians fault.

Are Australians happy with those military exercise? Are there environmentalists out on the streets and protest?

So are you advocating dropping the (inactive) bombs on the civilians who by stupidity or intent had entered a restricted zone?

[OzMick]

Clean it up!

I very much doubt that this will happen. 2 inactive and 2 dummy bombs have no likelihood of exploding and will cause very little pollution in an area of the vast pacific with strong currents. Hard to justify the expense.

Any attempt to recover will be for PR purposes only.

[craigt3365]

A post has been removed from view.

[jamhar]

In Australia we have a little thing we do, when we leave a place we take our rubbish with us. Don't forget to clean up your mess America we don't want your rubbish in out front yard.

Cheers

Joint exercise. We should clean up the mess together.

Actually this has turned into a good exercise for minesweepers and salvage crews. 60M? this should be a piece of cake for those guys.

Turn lemons into lemonaid!

What i want to know is, did they have a contingency plan for aborted missions?

If not, someone should lose some stripes!

[OzMick]

In Australia we have a little thing we do, when we leave a place we take our rubbish with us. Don't forget to clean up your mess America we don't want your rubbish in out front yard.

Cheers

Joint exercise. We should clean up the mess together.

Actually this has turned into a good exercise for minesweepers and salvage crews. 60M? this should be a piece of cake for those guys.

Turn lemons into lemonaid!

What i want to know is, did they have a contingency plan for aborted missions?

If not, someone should lose some stripes!

Seems like prior planning : "the on-scene commander determined it was necessary to designate an emergency jettison area for the ordnance," the U.S. 7th Fleet said"

[jamhar]

Perhaps they were live bombs

Perhaps this is a mission against Osama's Zombie Lobster army that has marched across the Indian Ocean sea floor and now threatens OZ. Perhaps the free world stands at the brink of an unimagined Lobster Zombie apocalypse.

just saying

I'm going long on drawn butter and planning a trip to Oz. I assume the apocalypse is going to start there. I prefer Maine Lobster, but if it looks like a big shrimp, its going on my plate, zombie or not!

[jamhar]

In Australia we have a little thing we do, when we leave a place we take our rubbish with us. Don't forget to clean up your mess America we don't want your rubbish in out front yard.

Cheers

Joint exercise. We should clean up the mess together.

Actually this has turned into a good exercise for minesweepers and salvage crews. 60M? this should be a piece of cake for those guys.

Turn lemons into lemonaid!

What i want to know is, did they have a contingency plan for aborted missions?

If not, someone should lose some stripes!

Seems like prior planning : "the on-scene commander determined it was necessary to designate an emergency jettison area for the ordnance," the U.S. 7th Fleet said"

Thanks for the reference OM. I read that as, they didnt have a prior drops zone established, so the commander had to step in and designate one since it was going to be a diplomatic clusterxxxx. Which the commander should do. He commands that task force, even if it is some jr officer xxxxxx up.

What should have happened, is someone should have contacted the aussies, said, "hey theres a 1 in 8 chance we'll have to drop elsewhere. Do you guys have a preference where that place should be?" Its in the aussie back yard, they should have call on where it should be dropped. But because of improper planning, the commander had to make the call

Of course all conjecture on my part, and armchair quarterbacking is easy on monday (an American saying for "hindsight is 20/20")

But IMO all this pr snafu avoidable. Theres more than enough REAL problems in the world without needlessly generating tension between friends.

[OzMick]

In Australia we have a little thing we do, when we leave a place we take our rubbish with us. Don't forget to clean up your mess America we don't want your rubbish in out front yard.

Cheers

Joint exercise. We should clean up the mess together.

Actually this has turned into a good exercise for minesweepers and salvage crews. 60M? this should be a piece of cake for those guys.

Turn lemons into lemonaid!

What i want to know is, did they have a contingency plan for aborted missions?

If not, someone should lose some stripes!

Seems like prior planning : "the on-scene commander determined it was necessary to designate an emergency jettison area for the ordnance," the U.S. 7th Fleet said"

Thanks for the reference OM. I read that as, they didnt have a prior drops zone established, so the commander had to step in and designate one since it was going to be a diplomatic clusterxxxx. Which the commander should do. He commands that task force, even if it is some jr officer xxxxxx up.

What should have happened, is someone should have contacted the aussies, said, "hey theres a 1 in 8 chance we'll have to drop elsewhere. Do you guys have a preference where that place should be?" Its in the aussie back yard, they should have call on where it should be dropped. But because of improper planning, the commander had to make the call

Of course all conjecture on my part, and armchair quarterbacking is easy on monday (an American saying for "hindsight is 20/20")

But IMO all this pr snafu avoidable. Theres more than enough REAL problems in the world without needlessly generating tension between friends.

The whole thing is just a media beat-up. The GBReef covers >300,000 sq. km and the effect of 4 dud bombs would be less than a flea bite on an elephant. That they were dropped into a channel means that not even one coral polyp was killed, but that won't stop knee-jerk reaction.

[jamhar]

The whole thing is just a media beat-up. The GBReef covers >300,000 sq. km and the effect of 4 dud bombs would be less than a flea bite on an elephant. That they were dropped into a channel means that not even one coral polyp was killed, but that won't stop knee-jerk reaction.

Agreed OM. And I thank you for giving us a vote of confidence. But we both know how easy it is to upset people. Esp when it concerns something dear to their hearts. Its not a practical reaction, its an emotional one.

In either case, We made the mess, people are unhappy. We (both aussies and US) have teams to recover items such as this. This would be a great exercise for them. Hell they probably have mine sweepers as part of the exercise. put them to work and let PR know. Having a successful retrieval is not crucial. But the act of at least TRYING is.

But they could easily do nothing and it will blow over in days.

Lessons learned: Have a contingency plan, regardless of how trivial it may be.