thedrifter
04-18-08, 05:14 AM
Marines make clean sweep on base
Among objects disposed of was live ordnance
April 17, 2008 - 9:17PM
AMANDA HICKEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Live ordnance, bins used to change oil, couches, appliances - even beer cans from the 1970s.
Those were some of the items cleaned up Thursday morning by Marines aboard Camp Lejeune during Operation Clean Sweep.
Metal, wood, ammunition and refuse were collected from all training sites and delivered to drop points in an effort to clean up the base, said Staff Sgt. David Martinez of Headquarters Support Battalion.
"We protect the environment as much as we can as well as keep it as safe for the Marines as we can," Martinez said.
Finding the live ordnance, Martinez said, wasn't unexpected.
"We expect to find things like that because Marines throw rounds away or drop them," he said, adding that sometimes the ordnance simply does not go off.
At the drop-off point, 45 Marines sorted through the trash, separating the ordnance from scrap metal, wood and other debris.
"People from the landfill or scrap yard will come pick it up and bring new bins," Martinez said of the scrap metal, wood and debris.
The ordnance, however, faces a different fate: emergency ordinance disposal collected the rounds.
Lance Cpl. Susie Reyes, an ammunition tech with Headquarters Support Battalion, was one of those sorting through the ordnance, which she said was mostly small arms and some pyro, including flares.
An 80-yard container had been replaced twice after filling since Monday. The wood bin was replaced four times, and the bin for other debris had also been replaced, Martinez said.
The operation began Monday with four collection sites, but by Thursday there were only two.
"In four days, this area is completely clean, as far as we know," Martinez said.
Clean Sweep had not taken place since 2001, when about 356 tons were collected.
"We had so many Marines out supporting the war on terrorism, they didn't have the manpower to get it done," Martinez said.
As the Marines waited for another load to be dropped off for them to sort through, Martinez said he hoped people would start bringing their trash to the landfill.
"It's kind of sad sometimes when you see stuff that people could have easily gotten rid of at the landfill, where it's going anyway," he said.
Meanwhile, at New River Air Station, about 25 Marines were on their third day of Spring Clean '08, where they gathered trash and debris from the New River shoreline.
"We're collecting trash to clean up base to coincide with Earth Day," said Gunnery Sgt. Justin Lindsey, one of the Marines at the cleanup.
Among items found along the shoreline were a grill, couch, mattress, socks, various other cloth items and bicycles.
"We definitely accomplished what we came out to do," Lindsey said.
Each year, the shoreline gets better, Kirk Kropinack, environmental affairs director for the air station, said.
"It gets cleaner every time. That's not a lot of trash," he said, motioning to the full truck bed.
Cleaning the environment, however, is not the only thing accomplished through Spring Clean.
"The biggest message to me is being a good neighbor," Kropinacki said.
Contact Jacksonville and Onslow County reporter Amanda Hickey at ahickey@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8463. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment on this report.
Ellie
Among objects disposed of was live ordnance
April 17, 2008 - 9:17PM
AMANDA HICKEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Live ordnance, bins used to change oil, couches, appliances - even beer cans from the 1970s.
Those were some of the items cleaned up Thursday morning by Marines aboard Camp Lejeune during Operation Clean Sweep.
Metal, wood, ammunition and refuse were collected from all training sites and delivered to drop points in an effort to clean up the base, said Staff Sgt. David Martinez of Headquarters Support Battalion.
"We protect the environment as much as we can as well as keep it as safe for the Marines as we can," Martinez said.
Finding the live ordnance, Martinez said, wasn't unexpected.
"We expect to find things like that because Marines throw rounds away or drop them," he said, adding that sometimes the ordnance simply does not go off.
At the drop-off point, 45 Marines sorted through the trash, separating the ordnance from scrap metal, wood and other debris.
"People from the landfill or scrap yard will come pick it up and bring new bins," Martinez said of the scrap metal, wood and debris.
The ordnance, however, faces a different fate: emergency ordinance disposal collected the rounds.
Lance Cpl. Susie Reyes, an ammunition tech with Headquarters Support Battalion, was one of those sorting through the ordnance, which she said was mostly small arms and some pyro, including flares.
An 80-yard container had been replaced twice after filling since Monday. The wood bin was replaced four times, and the bin for other debris had also been replaced, Martinez said.
The operation began Monday with four collection sites, but by Thursday there were only two.
"In four days, this area is completely clean, as far as we know," Martinez said.
Clean Sweep had not taken place since 2001, when about 356 tons were collected.
"We had so many Marines out supporting the war on terrorism, they didn't have the manpower to get it done," Martinez said.
As the Marines waited for another load to be dropped off for them to sort through, Martinez said he hoped people would start bringing their trash to the landfill.
"It's kind of sad sometimes when you see stuff that people could have easily gotten rid of at the landfill, where it's going anyway," he said.
Meanwhile, at New River Air Station, about 25 Marines were on their third day of Spring Clean '08, where they gathered trash and debris from the New River shoreline.
"We're collecting trash to clean up base to coincide with Earth Day," said Gunnery Sgt. Justin Lindsey, one of the Marines at the cleanup.
Among items found along the shoreline were a grill, couch, mattress, socks, various other cloth items and bicycles.
"We definitely accomplished what we came out to do," Lindsey said.
Each year, the shoreline gets better, Kirk Kropinack, environmental affairs director for the air station, said.
"It gets cleaner every time. That's not a lot of trash," he said, motioning to the full truck bed.
Cleaning the environment, however, is not the only thing accomplished through Spring Clean.
"The biggest message to me is being a good neighbor," Kropinacki said.
Contact Jacksonville and Onslow County reporter Amanda Hickey at ahickey@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8463. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment on this report.
Ellie