News

Actions

Camp Williams to hold artillery training over weekend

Posted at 7:59 PM, Oct 26, 2012
and last updated 2012-10-27 00:57:10-04

Houses around the Point of the Mountain are used to military training at Camp Williams. But Utah National Guard officials say this weekend the noise will be heard further out.

Twice a year Camp Williams hosts training with M109 Alpha 6 Paladin Howitzers. Soldiers from all over the western United States are in Utah to learn how to safely use the major artillery.

The group will fire off 438 rounds. Each one is 155 mm and weighs  97.3 lbs. For the training the soldiers are shooting at targets 8,000 meters (approximately 5 miles) away. Because of weather conditions, the sound will carry further then usual.

“When it’s cold, the sound tends to carry a little bit further," said Lt. Col. Coy Bryant with the Utah National Guard. "When it’s overcast and cloudy, that sound will sometimes rumble underneath the clouds all the way to the east bench, homes on the east bench."

The Utah National Guard’s 640th Regional Training Institute will conduct artillery training exercises between 8 a.m to 5 p.m. Saturday, and possibly Sunday.

Residents in Bluffdale, Riverton, Herriman, Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs and Lehi will be affected.