Research Topic Proposal

 

My inspiration to do a research topic related to military history started when I took Dr. Biggs History 20 class and he talked about some of the lasting impacts of agent orange on some of the jungles of Vietnam. This triggered me to be more thoughtful about what impacts military conflicts or actions have on the environment as a whole, then leading me to think about the destruction of WWI. Entire ecosystems were decimated, reduced to nothing but mud and fire. I wanted to explore some of the exclusion zones in France that are still deemed too toxic from the war but Dr. Biggs was able to turn me onto a much more doable topic right here in California.

Doing a topic about the closure of a pistol weapons range in the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station stood out to me as I have actually been personally borne witness to the activities of the network of bases in the weapons station, being intimately familiar with the Seal Beach Surface Naval Weapons Station Detachment in Norco California.

The Pistol Range would seem innocuous enough as is, with most Americans being accustomed to pistols or other handguns as seemingly “nonmilitary arms” but the amount of usage seen in the facility has generated incredibly toxic amounts of lead, copper, and other metal contaminants to seep into the nearby marshlands, impacting the local communities.

I am excited to dive into the topic and examine the federal processes they have of investigating environmental damages caused by the Department of Defense, ranging from accepting the fact there is an issue, to conducting social and scientific examinations of the area, to opening forums for public opinion to comment and more.

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