Travelers on their way back from the U.P. may get an eye full over the next two days as military vehicles on land, sea and air take part in a training exercise.
Coming off the heels of last month’s training exercise that took place at Camp Grayling in Crawford County last month, the Michigan National Guard, in cooperation with the Mackinac County Office of Emergency Management, will be participating in a simulated mass evacuation of Mackinac Island.
“This is a simulated exercise only,” stated a press release from the Deputy Public Information Officer at the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
The exercise will take place from the Mackinac County Airport to British Landing. The release went on to explain:
“Many aircraft and boats participating in the exercise will be traversing the waters between the Mackinac County Airport and British Landing on both September 7 and 8. There will also be some traffic pauses at the end of the Mackinac County Airport on the I-75 Business spur while the bridging bays will be flown to British Landing. We are asking the public to avoid the safety zone that will be in place and to be aware of potential travel delays.
“The exercise will include the MING 1437th Engineer Company out of Sault Ste. Marie, who will be building an alternate port for evacuation of Mackinac Island during an emergency. The 1437th is a multi-role bridge company that provides personnel and equipment to transport, assemble, disassemble, retrieve and maintain all standard and nonstandard U.S. Army bridging systems for wet or dry gap-crossings.”
There will be a viewing area for media and spectators at British Landing (see map below).
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