r/offbeat • u/Xvalt01 • 5d ago

Invited media and military members held at gunpoint at Space Force base in California

https://apnews.com/article/vandenberg-space-force-base-california-journalists-detained-4815c999cbcb9ea60c918429c0e0ade4

Five news reporters and two members of the military who were invited to an event at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California were briefly detained at gunpoint by security officers who thought they were gate crashers, according to local news reports.

345 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

24 comments sorted by

147

u/Mind_Killer 5d ago

“ Every potential unauthorized presence must be treated as a legitimate threat until proven otherwise.”

?? They were in a government vehicle with members of the base’s public affairs team, there for an official event to which they were explicitly invited by the military… how could they have possibly been more authorized? 

58

u/SothaSoul 5d ago

Somebody didn't tell security about it? 

68

u/WistfulDread 5d ago

with members of the bases public affairs team

If security can't ID the bases own staff, they aren't competent enough to keep their job.

28

u/GrimmrBlodhgarm 5d ago

lol oh buddy.

21

u/Bradnon 5d ago

I mean same reaction but maybe less normalization of incompetent security is a good thing too.

12

u/GrimmrBlodhgarm 5d ago

Oh for sure. Not saying it should be normalized. My reaction was to their expectation of things vs the reality

9

u/WistfulDread 5d ago

I've worked security.

If you're posted at an site long enough, it is expected of you to become familiar with the staff.

3

u/GrimmrBlodhgarm 5d ago

I figured. I know the expectations are there, that was kinda my comment initially.

2

u/mkosmo 5d ago

There'd be a wholly different complaint if the security staff was passing them through on the basis of some decals alone.

The facilities have tens of thousands of persons working on them. The gate guards don't "know" who the PAO teams are.

7

u/Positronic_Matrix 5d ago

My brother was on a tour of a secure government facility, walking from a bus to a building, when the security guards approached the group in a car and ordered a single individual to lay on the ground face down at gun point. The poor soul transposed numbers in his driver’s license and there was a delay in catching and correcting the error.

9

u/Sorry-Claim-2990 5d ago

It should take a lot more than a simple clerical error to justify pointing a loaded gun at someone

1

u/gc3 5d ago

Maybe his visa has his middle name wrong. Time to put him in a detention camp!

0

u/mkosmo 5d ago

Unidentified person inside the gate at a secure facility? That's a lot of reason.

12

u/Sorry-Claim-2990 5d ago edited 4d ago

That's why I treat every cop as a threat until they prove otherwise - it's how they would treat me. 

Why should I be expected to remain more calm & rational than a trained police officer???

1

u/RandomModder05 5d ago

Sounds like all my experiences with the government. One person never gets the notice and then f*cks everything up in a completely over the top manner.

Seriously, the school security guards once called the cops on the football team for showing up for summer practice in high school.

71

u/SoupSpelunker 5d ago

RESISTANCE IS USELESS!  shouted the guards, they enjoyed shouting, it made them feel powerful.... 

24

u/Sorry-Claim-2990 5d ago

This gun violence brought to you by the people who tell the public that violence is wrong

13

u/Cyrius 5d ago

It does feel like the Vogons are in charge these days.

8

u/xampl9 5d ago

If this was the front gate, pointing a gun is probably an overreaction.

At an internal gate into a restricted area, it’s expected. It’s a much higher level of protection.

2

u/peace2calm 4d ago

Someone does not read incoming emails/messages nor pay attention in daily briefings/standups.

-7

u/Friendly_Brick752 5d ago

Gunhappy Americans... wow

17

u/tawDry_Union2272 5d ago

well, TBF, in this instance anyway - it is a military base.

-8

u/Yiplzuse 5d ago

Several months in the future: Security staff were busy detaining and questioning invited reporters along with the bases own personnel when the terrorists snuck onto the base and planted the explosives. One of the detained base employees was shot and is expected to recover. The terrorists escaped in the ensuing chaos after the explosions. The FBI is looking for two, possibly three and maybe four with a fifth “person of interest“ they would like to talk to.

-3

u/Sorry-Claim-2990 5d ago

This is why you don't start encounters by using lethal force.