Navy drill May 1-5 includes blanks fired from boats on St. Johns River

Entrance gate of Naval Air Station Jacksonville (Provided by NAS Jacksonville)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If you hear gunfire from military boats on the St. Johns River next week, don’t worry: It’s only a drill.

Naval Air Station Jacksonville sent out an alert Friday that Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron 10 will be holding blank fire exercises on the St. Johns River May 1-5.

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The drills will run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day on the river, north of Doctor’s Lake inlet and south of the Fuller Warren Bridge.

NAS Jax warned that residents in the area may hear loud noises and see special boat operations during the training.

The primary mission of the Maritime Expeditionary Security Force is protection -- with deployed operations occurring around the world. Anti-terrorism and force protection missions include harbor and maritime infrastructure defense, coastal surveillance and special missions.

Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron 10 is based out of NAS Jax, which is under the Virginia Beach group.


About the Author

A Jacksonville native and proud University of North Florida alum, Francine Frazier has been with News4Jax since 2014 after spending nine years at The Florida Times-Union.

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