NWS Earle Doing Harbor Protection Exercises This Week

LEONARDO, NJ — Do not be alarmed if you see U.S. Navy boats maneuvering in the water off Leonardo this month.

Naval Weapons Station (NWS) Earle will conduct harbor protection exercises for the next three Thursdays in July — July 12, 19 and 26 — in the waters surrounding the Navy's pier in Leonardo, N.J.

The exercises will involve marked U.S. Navy harbor patrol boats and sentry towers conducting training with blank ammunition, as well as aggressive boat maneuvering in Sandy Hook Bay, the U.S. Navy said on Tuesday. All of the training will take place within the NWS Earle Waterfront Restricted Area. Communities that may be affected by the noise of blank ammunition include Leonardo, Atlantic Highlands, Belford, Middletown and Sandy Hook National Park.

The training is not in response to any specific threat, but is regularly scheduled.

As a reminder, the waters surrounding the NWS Earle Pier are a restricted area. The Marine Security Zone is shown on navigational charts for Lower New York Harbor and are patrolled by armed Navy Security Forces. Violators will be prosecuted.

U.S. Navy file photos