Bomb scare at MCRD proves to be harmless (San Diego)

Union-Tribune Publishing Co. ^ | September 17, 2004 | David Hasemyer

[Jagdgewehr]

A harmless yet sinister-looking cardboard tube was discovered taped to the undercarriage of a car at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot yesterday, triggering an emergency response plan and snarling traffic around the base for hours.

While Navy bomb squad members worked cautiously to determine the nature of the object, San Diego police halted traffic around the base to keep civilians clear of any danger.

"When a potential threat is detected we have to take the appropriate measures to ensure the safety of people," said Maj. Joe Kloppel, a base spokesman. "That's what happened in this occasion."

The military and civilian response resulted from a Jeep Cherokee, belonging to a Marine, being driven onto the base for an oil change soon after noon.

When garage mechanics put the vehicle on a lift, they saw what they thought was a bomb attached with duct tape to the left rear wheel well, Kloppel said. The heavy cardboard tube was about 1½-feet long and two inches in diameter, with what appeared to be a fuse, he said.

"Once the garage personnel saw the device they backed away and called for assistance," Kloppel said.

He said the emergency response plan put in motion was a strategy refined in the months after 9-11.

A buffer zone was established between the garage and the rest of the base, allowing routine base activities, including recruit graduation, to safely continue.

After cordoning off the garage and closing the nearest gate, the bomb squad removed the device and X-rayed it. It was determined the tube was hollow and posed no threat, and the fuse was something like a common electrical cord, Kloppel said.

The Jeep belonged to a Marine on deployment, who had lent it to a Navy buddy whose wife brought the vehicle in for the oil change, Kloppel said.

Military investigators are trying to determine why the tube was taped to the Jeep and who placed it there.

"Obviously there is a lot we still have to learn," Kloppel said.

While the bomb squad members worked on base, police in cruisers and motorcycles blocked traffic around the base, primarily on Barnett Avenue between Midway Drive and Pacific Highway.

"This is a pain, but what do you expect," said Ron Edmunston, waiting to make a U-turn at a blockade on Barnett. "It speaks for the times we now live in."

[MindBender26]

>Military investigators are trying to determine why the tube was taped to the Jeep and who placed it there.

Can someone say "Bringing cocaine up to San Diego from Mexico?"