Military Exercises to be Conducted in Tinley Park Monday through Wednesday

If the prospect of black government helicopters soaring overhead gives you the willies, you might want to stay indoors this week. For three nights beginning Monday, July 20, the Department of Defense and regional law enforcement agencies will use the grounds and buildings of Tinley Park’s shuttered mental health center at 183rd Street and Harlem Avenue to conduct urban-training exercises.

The choppers, including the famed Black Hawks, will use the village’s helipad off 183rd Street, too. Operations, which will include explosions, are expected to end by 11 p.m. each night.

This exercise has been coordinated and approved by the State of Illinois. This training is routine and not in response to any recent events. It has been in the planning stages for several months, according to the village.

Spectators are not authorized at the event. Due to safety and security of the participants, the area will be restricted and sealed to the public. Trained and experienced personnel will use breaching explosives and other techniques that could be dangerous.

Last week in Minnesota, an Army Night Stalker unit frightened residents while conducting nighttime training operations in Minneapolis and St. Paul, reports Military.com.

Tinley Park residents will get an automated telephone call Monday night informing them of the exercises.

Urban combat training exercises were conducted in Tinley Park were in April and July of 2013, and residents were both delighted and frightened by the explosions and the military presence. Some residents watched from the commercial buildings on the opposite side of 183rd Street.