Air carrier Captain reported Eglin Air Force Base/Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport; VPS; uses aircraft arresting cables for military aircraft but does not advise if they are on the runway or not in use.

Narrative

VPS uses BAK-12 arresting cables for military operations. The status of these cables changes regularly without warning and in an unpredictable manner. There does not seem to be an SOP regarding their use or placement. During preflight preparations; the ATIS did not include the cable status. We set up for and were told to taxi to Runway 2. I had prepared performance numbers for Runway 2 for takeoff between the cables. It has been my experience that when using Runway 2; we do an intersection departure and are told to taxi across the cables" from Taxiway H. This morning; however; we were instructed to taxi to the end of the full length of the runway; which typically indicates that the south cable has been removed. It should be noted that the cable is far enough down the runway that it is impossible to tell if the cable is in place before commencing the takeoff roll. When cleared for takeoff; the controller will typically issue a takeoff clearance which includes the words "taxi across the cables approved;" but that was not the verbiage. Absent that and our full-length taxi instructions; we commenced the takeoff roll from the runway's departure end; crossing the cables at 100 kt. and in violation of our company manual; which require the aircraft's departure roll to begin after the cables. These cables have been a source of serious contention and difficulty. The facility for some reason refuses to include the cable status on the airport's ATIS. As a result; aircraft approaching have little choice but to guess the cable status. Crews often run several different runway and cable status combinations to be prepared for the uncertainty that they face when checking in with the Control Tower (which is the first time crews on approach can learn the actual cable status since Approach Control is not privy to this information). The problem with this is that there are potentially 16 different runway and cable status combinations and our ACARS has the ability to run only 2 combinations at a time; each time taking several minutes.A simple fix for this would be if the VPS ATIS simply stated the cable status and said ATIS was promptly updated with any changes to the cable status. Inadequate cable status notifications at VPS."