Public invited to get involved in base security (Oklahoma)
By SUSAN WOOLSEY, staff writer Tuesday, March 2, 2004 11:29 AM CST
For now and into the future, we are being asked to be "the eyes and ears of the ammunition plant."
And if we see or hear something that alarms us we should "call our local law enforcement authorities," according to Mark Hughes, media spokesperson for the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant.
Hughes said that all this week, various people will be going up to everyday citizens on the street and asking questions such as "How many gates are there at the army plant?" and "How many guards are at the front gate?" and "How many entrances are there?"
The people who will be asking the questions, he said, are part of a test of McAAP's anti-terrorism plan and not actual would-be terrorists. "I want to emphasize that this community awareness exercise is not in response to any particular or specific threat to the McAlester area or the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant," Hughes said Monday. "This exercise is just one of many that is conducted annually army-wide.
"The purpose of this exercise is to make citizens aware of the role they have in the security of their hometown and of the ammunition plant."
Hughes said the exercise began Monday and "will end at 5 p.m. Friday, March 5."
If someone is asking leading, suspicious questions about security at the plant, Hughes said they should be reported.
"Just politely tell them 'I don't know anything about that.' Get a good look at the person and if they happen to ID themselves with their name, that's great. Just turn right around and call the local law enforcement."
"Again, I want to emphasize that this is just an exercise that is designed to inform citizens on how they can assist local law enforcement officials by being aware of the type of questions that could be asked by unknown individuals."
http://mcalesternews.com/articles/2004/03/02/news/local_news/news04.txt