April 23, 2023 - Merced County Sheriff’s Office officials announce Merced County wants to advise our residents of an upcoming military exercise being hosted at Castle Airport (formerly Castle Air Force Base). The United States Army Special Operations Command will conduct a routine training exercise at Castle from April 24^th to 30^th.

During this exercise, please expect increased air traffic to include large cargo aircraft, tilt rotor aircraft and helicopters. During this exercise, the military will utilize training ammunition (i.e. blanks) and other training devices. While you may hear shots and/or like sounds, rest assured that no live ammunition will be used during the entire exercise. To this end, the Army will take every step necessary to reduce noise to be least impactful as possible to our community.

Please note there will be no media opportunities or public viewing of this training at the request of the Army out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our residents.