Where was notification on copter exercises?

Tad Rickman
Denver Daily
Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The City and County of Denver issued a joint statement yesterday regarding the anti-terrorism training exercises going on in Denver right now, and wonder why the public was not informed beforehand.

For those who haven’t heard or haven’t looked up at the evening sky over downtown the last few days, the U.S. Special Operations Command, along with the local SWAT, police and fire departments, are conducting routine anti-terrorism training exercises in Denver this week. The training involves several military helicopters, including the famous Black Hawk model featured in the movie “Black Hawk Down,” flying around Denver skyscrapers.

Not related to DNC

The exercises are not related to the upcoming Democratic National Convention, taking place in Denver in August, Lt. Steve Ruh, a spokesman with Special Operations, told the Denver Daily News Monday. He also said the exercises will last all week.

What did not occur prior to the exercises was any kind of advanced public warning that the exercises were going to take place, and yesterday the office of Mayor John Hickenlooper issued the following joint statement from the City and County of Denver:

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“The federal agencies sponsoring the ongoing multi-agency training in Denver agreed to make the proper notifications regarding the exercises to prevent surprise and inconvenience to Denver residents. There seems to have been a misunderstanding about the reach and scope of these notifications, and they did not occur in the manner expected by the city.

“Although these exercises are in no way connected to the upcoming Democratic National Convention, Denver officials were well aware that there would be heightened sensitivity to an exercise such as this because of its proximity to the convention..

“Denver recognizes that these are our federal partners, and we are fortunate that they have chosen Denver for their training exercises. Should there ever be an emergency here that would require federal assistance, they will be familiar with our city and how best to navigate it.”

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