A national guard training camp in Jericho will not host a controversial missile defense system, the Pentagon announced Friday. The news comes months after the Missile Defense Agency said publicly that officials were considering basing a missile site at the 11,000-acre military installation.
In September, the agency announced that Camp Ethan Allen was one of five locations in consideration for the missile basing, which would be capable of launching interceptor missiles designed to destroy incoming nuclear missiles mid-flight.
Pentagon officials conducted preliminary site visits on the five candidate locations before determining which would be subject to a more in-depth environmental impact study.
Vermont’s was the only site of the five candidates to be removed from consideration after the first step. The state’s entire delegation was highly critical of the idea, criticizing the reliability and questioning the necessity of the missiles.
Sen. Patrick Leahy applauded the decision.
“The ground-based interceptors being contemplated for an East Coast missile defense site cost huge sums of money, without delivering reliable capability,” Leahy said in a statement. “I welcome the news that Vermont’s Camp Ethan Allen will not be considered as a site, and I continue to pursue redirecting those funds toward projects that have more proven and cost-effective success in keeping Americans safe.”
