From Mike Mount

CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) --Amid protests, the U.S. Navy resumed bombing
exercises Monday at its training range on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques,
a Navy spokesman said.

Five protesters were detained and turned over to local authorities after they slipped
onto the grounds of the Navy's Camp Garcia, site of the training range, said Lt.
Corey Barker, a Navy spokesman.

Security forces used pepper spray on rock-throwing demonstrators and cleared
spikes thrown on the road to burst the tires of vehicles leaving and entering the base,
Barker said.

He said the training started at 8 a.m. EST Monday with air-to-ground bombing
exercises and will eventually move to ship-to-shore gun training.

Ships and aircraft from the USS George Washington aircraft carrier battle group are
the first to use the range since September. The carrier group is expected to be
training at Vieques and other Puerto Rican operating sites as part of a 22-day
program, according to a statement from the Navy.

"All of the exercises will uses nonexplosive or 'inert' ammunition rounds in
accordance with presidential directives following the continued use of this range,"
Barker said.

Residents and activists have been fighting the U.S. drills, saying the noise and
contaminants from the shelling have caused environmental harm and concerns about
human health.