Those copters? It’s just a drill

Training sessions startled some

Don’t worry. We’re not being invaded. Those lowflying military helicopters and aircraft recently disturbing the night calm were involved in training exercises — and there might be more before the week is over.

For security reasons, the U.S. Department of Defense doesn’t announce when or where its personnel will be training. The only notice came from a media advisory posted by the Broward Sheriff’s Office Jan. 5 that said local police agencies will be providing support for urban training exercises taking place “during the next two weeks.”

Another training session is planned in Palm Beach County Feb. 9-16, county officials there said.

Noisy helicopters Monday and Tuesday night startled residents from Boca Raton to Fort Lauderdale. Some under their path, not knowing what was happening, couldn’t help but think about the false missile alarm that went off in Hawaii over the weekend.

“It was particularly

frightening, given the missile alarm system [incident] in Hawaii,” said Bruno Renda, who heard and saw the Blackhawk helicopters from his Imperial Point condo in Fort Lauderdale. “I was like, ‘Whoa! What do we not know?’ ”

In a tweet before midnight, Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca said: “Our @USNavy is flying their best ‘Nighthawks’ over South Florida, training for urban situations.”

Boca Raton police assured nervous residents Tuesday morning that the Broward Sheriff’s Office had confirmed the low-flying aircraft heard circling overhead were part of a training exercise.

Some of the residents who are used to Broward or Palm Beach sheriff’s helicopters doing night searches said there was a different feel to Monday’s activities.

“They never fly that low. This was very low,” said Christine Belleris, who lives in Palm Beach Farms at the southern end of Boca Raton.

“The military aircraft sounds very different than the police aircraft. My windows were rattling,” Belleris said. “I just wish there was some way they could let the public know that this was happening, because we were scared out of our wits.”

The Broward County Courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale was a center of activity, where witnesses saw the dark helicopters doing touch-andgoes from the building’s rooftop.

“It was intense watching it,” said Michael Rajner of Wilton Manors, who had stopped at the downtown Publix a block away. “The helicopter itself looked like it was equipped with some type of guns.”

Rajner said the helicopters would approach at about the sixth-floor level of the courthouse before scaling up alongside the 20-story building and briefly touching down on its roof.

“I couldn’t tell you how many helicopters there were, but it was a constant approach pattern,” Rajner said.

At Imperial Point, a few miles to the north, Renda was with his girlfriend in his seventh-floor condo when the black helicopters swooped by.

“We heard this thunderous noise coming from the west,” Renda said. “It kind of frightened my girlfriend a little bit, because you don’t see that kind of aircraft so often unless it’s the air and sea show.”

The training takes place at different locations around the county, is routine and is conducted by military personnel in cities across the country, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.

“Each training site will be secured to ensure the safety of the general public and the participants,” the Sheriff’s Office advisory said. “Training sites will not be disclosed for this reason. If any members of the public learn of the training locations, we ask the public to remain clear of these areas while training is conducted.”

The upcoming training exercises in Palm Beach County will likely begin Feb. 12, according to a memo County Administrator Verdenia Baker sent to commissioners in December. The Army will be using the North County Airport and an abandoned shipping building in Riviera Beach. The exercises will follow all Federal Aviation Administration rules and regulations and the county will monitor noise levels, Baker told commissioners.

The military has conducted urban training in the region in the past.

In March 2015, police agencies in Broward assisted members of the U.S. Special Operations Forces undergoing urban warfare training at undisclosed locations. At the time, a U.S. Special Operations spokesman said the command, out of Tampa, conducted drills involving about 200 personnel from the Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy.

In 2014, Fort Lauderdale signed an agreement with the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, aka SEAL Team Six, to use an abandoned city-owned building for three days of military training.