"With the cuts scheduled for the Colonial Fleet by the Adar Administration it was decided to conduct a weapons test on two decommissioned battlestars, something that had not taken place in years. Previous tests were done on the smaller escort battlestars, this time the Fleet would test their weapons on two regular battlestars. In this case the Columbia-class Athena and the Mercury-class Ares were selected, as they had the least chance of being reactivated. Rear Admiral Scott Tolan's Battlestar Group 66 was selected to oversea the tests. The five to six week event would involve using experimental weapons on the battlestars to ascertain the damage caused for use in the future battlestar designs. Also planned were simulations based on attacks by pirate groups, such as the Eastern Alliance, or terror groups, such the Sagittaron Liberation Army."@en . "With the cuts scheduled for the Colonial Fleet by the Adar Administration it was decided to conduct a weapons test on two decommissioned battlestars, something that had not taken place in years. Previous tests were done on the smaller escort battlestars, this time the Fleet would test their weapons on two regular battlestars. In this case the Columbia-class Athena and the Mercury-class Ares were selected, as they had the least chance of being reactivated."@en . "Operation Pedestal (D5)"@en . . . . . . .