TACOMA, Wash. — The Army wants to stage a test next winter to determine whether soldiers can fire rockets at a Joint Base Lewis-McChord training area without overly disturbing South Sound residents.
The News Tribune of Tacoma reports that officials want to launch 27 training rounds over three days from a range between Lacey and DuPont to gauge how nearby communities might respond to more frequent firing of a weapon called High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.
The rockets have the potential to create a sonic boom and likely will be more noticeable to residents than the howitzer cannons that currently are used in JBLM artillery training areas.