Ohio Mayor to Marines: Training Would 'Frighten People'
Saturday, February 09, 2008

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An Ohio mayor had a stern order for a company of Marine Corps Reservists: Get out.

The Toledo Blade reports that Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner ordered the Marines out Friday as their buses were arriving for a three-day training mission in the city, where they have periodically trained since 2004.

The 200 Marines, based in Grand Rapids, Mich., had planned to participate in urban patrol exercises in downtown streets and a vacant building, according to the Blade, which reports that past exercises have included mock gun fights, ambushes and the firing of blank ammunition to simulate urban combat.

Finkbeiner said that would be alarming.

"The mayor asked them to leave because they frighten people," Brian Schwartz, the mayor's spokesman, told the newspaper. "He did not want them practicing and drilling in a highly visible area."

Toledo police knew of the plan days in advance, but Finkbeiner apparently didn't, the Blade reports. The Marines turned around and went home to Grand Rapids.

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The City Council in Berkeley, Calif., voted last week to send a message to Marine recruiters that they weren't welcome in the city because of the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy toward gay servicemen and servicewomen.

Following a public uproar, Mayor Tom Bates issued an apology Wednesday to military personnel for any personal offense taken by the council's actions, according to a report in the San Jose Mercury News.

Click here for more on this story from the Toledo Blade.

Click here to read more from the Mercury News.