To use an M-60 main battle tank would be like throwing rocks at somebody instead of shooting them," Davis said. Enough tanks exist to run REEFEX all over the country, into 1999. The Army doesn't need the tanks, so they can either be sold as scrap or used for special projects like REEFEX. There are more than 6,000 pieces of surplus Vietnam-era equipment available. The M-60 tanks, whose engines were stripped, arrived at the Port of Tampa by rail earlier this week from Anniston Army Depot in Alabama, where they had been rusting in a field. The tanks are free, but the DEP gave the counties a total of $130,000 to pay for the barge and tugboat. After that, 10 more tanks will go to Sarasota County. Today, another 10 tanks will be dumped into 35 feet of water, 10 miles off the Pass-a-Grille channel in Pinellas County. Later Friday, a tugboat pulled the barge from Hernando to Pasco County, where 10 tanks were dropped into 40 feet of water, 15 miles off Anclote Key. Hernando was the first stop Friday morning for Reef Exercise, known as REEFEX, an artificial reef program sponsored by the Department of Defense and the state Department of Environmental Protection. Within four or five years, the site will be its own ecosystem and a prime place for fishing and scuba diving. And fish such as snapper and grouper will feed off the aquatic life and multiply. Soon, algae, soft coral and sponges will cover the tanks. One by one, 10 obsolete Vietnam-era tanks sank to the sandy bottom off Hernando Beach in Hernando County. Ruth Davis, an Army spokeswoman, snapping photographs on a nearby pontoon boat.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |