Posted on 06/14/2010 6:26:06 PM PDT by VRWCTexan
Via twitter - BREAKING
CNN: 2 people are in custody after trying to get onto MacDill Air Force Base, the home of U.S. Central Command: Air Force spokeswoman
(Excerpt) Read more at twitter.com ...
SNIP
The man and woman were stopped because they presented fraudulent identification to the security guard at the gate, Vice Commander Col. Dave Cohen of the 6th Air Mobility Wing said in a Tuesday morning news conference. An inspection of their vehicle turned up several weapons and military-style clothing.
The man is currently AWOL from his military unit, Cohen said. The woman appears to have no military affiliation at this point.
Cohen described both suspects as Caucasians in their 20s who are both American citizens. Their names have not been released and they are still in custody, speaking with investigators.
MacDill officials are speaking with the male suspect's military command, but have not released any further information about where he was based.
SNIP
If he’s awol how the heck did he have ‘fraudulent’ identification.
Thanks for the update. The fact that they’re American citizens doesn’t preclude them from being terrorists as we FReepers know. Another example from another incident just last week in NJ/NY; name of second man should be noted: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/two_nj_men_arrested_for_terror.html
(In the print edition, there was a two-column sidebar focusing on the Iman they had in common with Major Ft-Hood. Sorry; can’t find link just yet)
Did you end up going to Monroe Junior High School?
Correct. I'm a DoD civilian contractor who drives/flies into bases all the time. I've worked at MacDill before (and Hood, Andrews, McGuire, McChord, Bragg, etc.) Security has definitely tightened up over the past year. The random searched seem to have increased, with good reason.
If the man in the vehicle was indeed AWOL military, then luckily he did not have a current CAC card. Perhaps the Security Forces guard just sensed something wrong with the picture. The guards at these bases are generally well trained, disciplined and very observant.
Without giving details, I can tell you that there have been probing attempts at a few bases this year. I hope the investigation on these two is exhaustive in looking at their associations...
I doubt he'd attempt to enter a military base with his military ID while AWOL. Thus, a fraudulent ID makes sense. And gives some idea as to his intentions...
Sure. Simple, Unmotorized Vehicle. :-)
they don’t generally do a computer search of valid military IDs. So he probably would have gotten in if he had a valid ID.
I agree about the rest though, why go near the base with all of that unless you had something bad planned.
Something's odd here...
Thanks. That pretty much eliminates the lost-camper explanation.
—Fraudulent IDs
—One of subjects was military, listed as AWOL
Not looking good for a benign explanation, is it?
According to Cap74 in post #105, someone AWOL wouldn't have a current CAC card. That's what I was going by. And it seems odd to me that guards wouldn't have data on AWOL personnel, where using one's own pre-AWOL CAC would raise a flag... My last visit to a military post was many years ago pre-9/11, at the Rock Island Arsenal. I was with my fIL who was retired military and we went to the arsenal PX. So, I'm not at all familiar with current policy. I'm simply trying to understand...
I’ve been through this gate numerous times but not as military. They check IDs most of the time. During certain periods they will run checks on the people coming in. If he took his CAC card with him when he went AWOL then he’d still have it.
If the guy was AWOL was probably nervous and triggered the guards radar. They don’t need probable cause to search a vehicle so the guard really doesn’t have to explain.
Perhaps they knew he was in the area and were watching for him.
If he took his CAC card with him when he went AWOL then he’d still have it.
True, but I just thought he might come up on a list, making his using his CAC a dangerous move. The idea they might have known he was in the area is intriguing. Though it's probably more likely he triggered some suspicion.
For active or retired military they don’t usually check a list or run them through a computer. So unless the cop knew the guys name there was little chance he would be caught.
Regardless it seems the lost theory isn’t accurate and this guy might have been planning something bad.
Oh, yeah. I heard on Fox over the lunch hour, that they're still in custody. This isn't some 'Hey, where am I?' issue. And with the amount of arms and ammo discovered, it goes beyond a disgruntled guy going for revenge, IMO.
To clarify, I'm not sure if he would or would not have a CAC card due to being AWOL. If he simply deserted, I guess he'd still have one and it'd at least look proper as long as it wasn't expired. I agree with the other poster that if he was AWOL, he probably didn't present a military ID.
Also, the checkpoint guards don't just look at IDs, they can also scan them. I don't know the procedures used for active-duty personnel. As a civilian contractor (in a personal vehicle dressed in civilian clothes,) my CAC card is usually scanned by a hand-held scanner. Like a drivers' license, these cards have barcodes that can be read - this is to prevent a scenario where a contractor is fired/banned/etc. but still has a valid card from gaining access to an installation.
It is interesting that the reports say the driver had a 'fradulent' ID. Not expired or invalid, but fraudulent. To me, this suggests that this was certainly a planned incident and that there may be others involved in the planning...
Thanks for your clarification. It came to mind, could 'fraudulent' mean he presented his military ID, which then turned up his AWOL status? That term would imply something more sinister, but could it be misapplied in this case to mean an ID that was flagged as AWOL?
Frankly, this is all speculation, and we'll know more (hopefully) once they end their investigation. Then again, we may not be told...
You’re right. There’s a lot of information that we don’t have and initial reports can be murky. There will be some tell-tale signs when more is revealed (not necessarily publicly) as to whether this was a disgruntled and/or crazy situation or if it was something to be more worried about.
Turning this over in my head, I must say an AWOL soldier would be a bad choice to carry out a coordinated/terrorist attack. A more likely recruit would be a civilian with a clean record and valid access to a base. This duo seems to have had very bad intentions, but it seems unlikely that there’s foreign involvement at the moment. We’ll see.
TAMPA — A man who tried to enter MacDill Air Force Base with a cache of military gear and weapons Monday evening is an active duty member of the military listed absent without leave, a base official said Tuesday.
The official, speaking at a news conference, did not identify the man and woman....Their motive for accessing the base remains under investigation
“At this point there is no indication that it is a terrorist act,” Cohen said.
...the man and woman, both white and in their mid 20s, approached the entrance. A security forces guard determined that their identification was fraudulent, Cohen said.
“There was something not right about (the IDs),” he said.
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(AS USUAL - they deny up front any possible terrorist motive)
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