Teens crash gate at MacDill (that's CENTCOM, people!)

[Coexist]

from the St. Pete Times:

With police following, the stolen car tears through a gate and passes the U.S. Central Command before being stopped, raising security concerns.


By Abbie Vansickle
Published September 20, 2006

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TAMPA — Two teens in a stolen car blew through a MacDill Air Force Base guard post early Wednesday, passing the base Burger King, commissary and U.S. Central Command before they turned around at a construction barrier.

<snip>
The incident raised questions about security on the base, which houses the planning center for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The incident will be investigated by our security personnel to look at what happened, to look at how the individuals gained access to the base,” said Lt. Larry van der Oord, a MacDill spokesman.

He said he can’t recall anyone getting so far onto the base without permission.

The spokesman declined to elaborate on MacDill safety measures, citing national security. He emphasized that the teens didn’t damage base facilities and were caught within minutes.

"caught within minutes" - wow it's a good thing they have such a Post-9/11 mindset. I mean, what could a car do "within minutes" at our Central Command?! It's not like people go around filling them with explosives and detonating them at key facilities around the world or anything, huh?! Good thing we're fighting them over there, or we might have to worry about fighting them over here.

Unreal that this happened, people. Unreal.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

1. and were caught within minutes.

and then whisked away to an undisclosed country for questioning. :evilgrin: :scared:

[Coexist]

2. did you read this part?

<snip>
"In September 2004, Oldsmar resident David Vice crashed his car into a base gate. Authorities found ammunition and antigovernment leaflets in the car. He was charged with fleeing and eluding police and was sentenced to two years’ probation.

<snip>
In the last year, military officials completed a $7-million renovation of the base’s gates, van der Oord said. The work was not linked to any specific security breach, he said.

<snip>
When asked about the changes, van der Oord said, “It’s our responsibility to stay vigilant.”

[Freedom_from_Chains]

11. No, I must admit I didn't, I just briefly scanned the article. n/t

[shadowknows69]

3. Military bases are so big

if someone wanted access they could get it and yeah a lot of damage could be done in "minutes"

[Coexist]

4. but right through the front gate?

when this has just been reinforced? and there were two other incidents in the recent past?

[shadowknows69]

6. That is pretty sad security

but technically you only have 2 or 3 guards at a time. If you could zoom through before they punch those barriers. You wouldn't get far but if other bases are anything like ours there is a lot of important shit within a 1/4 mile of the gates. Not plotting or anything here Agent Mike. I own a minivan. My ass aint busting through anything in a vehicle.

[Coexist]

8. How much time does it take for the guards to mobilize?

Maybe it was too late to stop them at the gate, but would the MPs hear this warning, too?

"The vehicle was going 70 mph in a 40 mph zone, she said. It began to pull over for police, then sped away.

The officers radioed a description of the car. Farther south on Dale Mabry, another police unit saw the vehicle and followed closely.

As the Chrysler neared the base, police radioed to warn MacDill authorities, but it was too late, McElroy said. The message arrived just as the car sailed by the guard post, which was staffed."

[sarge43]

7. Let's see.

We have here an Air Force base smack dab in the middle of a major urban center, located on a small peninsula in Tampa Bay - water access on two sides, an international civil airport right up the road.

Military population o/a 5 to 6K, civilian workers 1K to 2K. About 60% to 70% of the military pop have families and most live off base. So, between 0730 and 0800 Monday thru Friday, o/a 4K to 5K people are arriving at three gates and this is not factoring in all the civilian contacted types, such as picking up dry cleaning to stocking the onbase McDonald's.

[DireStrike]

5. This worries me.

Not because the security sucks, but because they could easily stage attacks in order to crack down on dissenters.

[Coexist]

9. :::: VIDEO ::::

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/09/20/terror.base.ap/

[shadowknows69]

10. Interesting

I wonder if its because of CENTCOM. Our base outsources its gate security. Usually no soldiers involved.

[Coexist]

12. Really?

the military outsources base security. That is odd.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

13. Didn't I read a couple of weeks ago...

that some anti-nuke protestors dressed up like clowns broke into a nuclear missle silo and started pounding on the missle with hammers?