SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — It was a calm Thursday night for Audrey Reynolds and Rob Quigley in their apartments in Downtown San Diego. But it all changed abruptly.
“So, I went and looked and realized it was military helicopter after military helicopter going under my balcony,” said Reynolds.
“There were about a dozen of these one after the other lights off, all black. It was scary. And the damage; I don’t know how much damage has been done to my ears. But these things were at a decibel level that was unbelievable,” Quigley said.
Earlier this week, ABC 10News was first to report that the U.S. Army would be exercising military training in different parts of San Diego until Friday.
“I would like better notice next time. I think everybody would appreciate that,” said Reynolds.
The Army’s said in a previous statement there were in part, “Safety precautions are in place to protect participants, along with planning considerations to minimize impact to the community.”
It also stated that, “This training was coordinated with appropriate officials.”
ABC 10News wanted to know who those officials were to sign off on this training.
Outside of pervious statement, as of Friday night ABC 10news hasn’t heard back from the Army regarding the training’s approval or coordination.
A member of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s communications team told ABC 10News this isn’t something for them to discuss, it’s a military operation and the mayor has nothing to do with it.
San Diego Police previously said that these are pre-planned military exercises. But, after reaching back out again on Friday, we haven’t heard back from them about the approval of this training happening so close to residents.
“Everyone’s like, ‘Oh you live in San Diego you should be used to this. But it’s never been this close to my home,” said Reynolds.
“It just seems like just a simple courtesy. It’s not going to affect their military exercise,” Quigley said.
As we reported, the Army says the training for the air, ground, and combat is to give soldiers a chance to hone their skills in a realistic environment.
