In a world where almost anything is vulnerable to terrorist attack.
I had a quick look around my home town to see how hard of a target we would be and how we might be effected by a domestic terrorist incident.
I was troubled.
My first stop was the City Water Supply. I used my motorcycle to see how close I could get to this area before I was challenged. It was my hope that before to long a Shiny Black City Cruiser would pull up and I would be questioned by one of my friends in uniform.
The Reservoir, Treatment area and storage tanks were readily accessible. Only a flimsy fence and an open gate to protect the area. Oh I did see signs stating it was private property, that I'm sure would discourage the Terry Nichols and Tim McVeigh type.
I wore all black and never removed my black helmet, it was obvious to me at least that I looked like I was conducting a recce, camera in hand. I felt for sure some worker in the area would show up to run me off.....that didn't happen. Vulnerable! Even slight damage to this facility could mean real trouble to my community.
Next Stop, A Main Electrical Trunk on the main road, again I never removed my helmet and made it clear to every passing car that I was taking picture of the utility not some roadside flowers.
Not to be a nervous Purvis, but as I see it this area was vulnerable to high power Rifle attack. I did not see the security measures one might expect. No passing car called 911, I hung around and played with my camera. Once again problems for the community. Vulnerable!
Even if these communication equipment boxes were armored against ballistic attack,( and I doubt they are) a chain saw would have taken the pole down in less then a minute. The area needs Mercury vapor lighting and CCTV, Vulnerable!
Next Stop,
The Local Radio Station.
Off the beaten path on an unlighted back road, the transmitter tower is vulnerable to sabotage. Although the tower structure is fenced, the main power and antenna cables are above ground and Vulnerable!
Next Stop,
The Sewage treatment Plant.
Now here, I had a bit of a problem. Three construction workers in customary orange safety helmets gave me a long look from deep within the compound. I still managed to take a few shots but I had their attention. I left the area before I had a confrontation. Strange how only the Sewage guys gave a crap!
So, I guess there is some work to be done if we want to harden our infrastructure against disruption. As I always said, as far as security is concerned. Some problems CAN be solved by throwing money at them. I know the tax payer will balk about spending money for such seemingly needless things, but when the lights go out, the water stops, the toilets back up and no one knows why because the radio station is off the air, they'll want someone to do something about it. Of course by then it will be to late.
In the final analysis, no community is ever safe from incident, particularly domestic terrorism. I'm sure my home town is ahead of many many other communities, the fact is however , that in a climate if rising threat, do we do everything we can to protect our infrastructure or do we bury our heads in the sand and hope for the best???
Communities need to HIRE ADEQUATE SECURITY, put them on the city payroll to relieve the burden of local law enforcement.
They should be a model to other communities to be proactive before it cost us Big time. Send the message to the three C's (the Criminals-Crazies and Crusaders) that we are not a soft target and will protect our way of life.
Watch Your Six
RJ
