LOS ALAMOS SECURITY: FT. HOOD DEFENDER WEIGHS IN
Former Military Police captain Phil Carter served as the anti-terrorism/force protection officer for the 4th Infantry Division. In that job, he helped write the plan to defend Fort Hood, the world's largest military base in the world. Here's what he had to say about Los Alamos' security:
We're not talking about the training area at Fort Hood (or Camp Pendleton). Los Alamos is a national-level asset and it ought to be locked up as tight as a facility befitting the kind of stuff it has. In more concrete terms, Los Alamos should employ some sort of layered security scheme similar in concept to what the Secret Service does for the President. There should be at least three layers of external security for a site like this:
- Outer layer: sensors and armed patrols conducting mounted and dismounted reconnaissance of the area
- Mid layer: perimeter fence, access control, guards walking fenceline, military working dogs
- Inner layer: access control to the most sensitive sites; 24-hour surveillance of those areas; sophisticated detection systems
If done right, a layered system provides some redundancy. It also creates the ability to respond to threats as they're detected by the outer layer. (We infantry guys call this a 'defense in depth') In theory, an intruder like Mr. Shachtman would be detected by the sensors or patrols at the outer layer, and a team would be dispatched to determine whether he's a threat or not.
