Noman's Land was purchased by the United States military to use as a bombing target. The soldiers were sent to Martha's Vineyard and were told to go to specific locations on the island, primarily on the beaches. Once in position, the soldiers were tasked with setting up mortars and dialing the mortars on to No Man's Land. After the mortars were dialed in, the soldiers used Noman's Land as a practice target area to gain essential experience. These missions took place at all different times of the day and in all different weather conditions. This was so the soldiers would be prepared for any weather condition they would face when landing in Normandy. For the Navy, their training in Martha's Vineyard consisted mostly of assisting the Army in their maneuvers. Martha's Vineyard has many beaches, some of which have very calm waters and other that are known for waves of up to five feet. With the varying water conditions, these beaches gave the Navy plenty of practice for driving the boats in rough and uncontrollable water conditions. This practice allowed for the captains of the boats to test their limits and be able to safely land their boats on the beaches. Once on shore, the naval units joined in with the Army and participated in the capture of the beaches. The Navy also took advantage of Nomans Land. They would practice launching mortars from their small launching boats as well as from their bigger gunboats, carriers and destroyers. This bombing practice continued for more than 40 years and has lasting effects until today. Although Noman's Land is considered a wildlife refuge now there are still live munitions littered on the island, some of which regularly wash up on shore at the beaches of Martha's Vineyard. One of the bigger missions the Navy took part in was submarine destruction. Together with the Air Force, the Navy partook in locating and destroying submarines that were found off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and Cape Cod. The Air Force was responsible for flying and trying to locate submarines through the air while the Navy tried locating them while sailing around the waters. Once located, the Naval ships had to track down and destroy or deter the submarines from the waters around Massachusetts. The Air Force mainly took advantage of Martha's Vineyard Airport. They used the airport for new pilot training and for aircraft carrier training. Aircraft carrier training meant that they put a marker on the runway to shorten the distance to be the length of the deck of an aircraft carrier. This teaches pilots how to gain the most speed in the shortest possible time to be able to pull up and take off from an aircraft carrier, which is a very important task.