The U.S. Navy is holding a training exercise in Gastineau Channel on Saturday, Feb. 29.
They’ll be simulating the search and disposal of underwater explosives. Lt. Kara Handley of the U.S. Navy said no real explosives will be used.
The sailors will split up into groups. One group will use unmanned underwater vehicles to map Gastineau Channel and search for mines. Another group will be the underwater bomb squad. Those sailors will disable or destroy the mines using divers and underwater robots.
Handley said, in the past, Navy sailors have cleared real mines in harbors during the Korean war and defused mines in the Middle East.
Saturday’s training exercise is part of Arctic Edge 2020, a campaign intended to test how the military can operate in cold weather environments. As part of Arctic Edge, sailors were in Adak last year helping update local nautical charts after discovering some shipwreck sites.
Gastineau Channel will remain open to marine traffic during the exercise.
