thedrifter
02-05-07, 05:33 PM
Lejeune closes road access to general public
By Trista Talton - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Feb 5, 2007 17:30:49 EST
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — A highway running through Camp Lejeune that has been open to the general public for decades is being restricted to drivers with Defense Department stickers and base visitor pass holders only.
The move will prevent 500 to 1,000 cars a day — 1,000 to 1,900 on weekends — from using what has become a popular shortcut for commuters, commercial drivers and tourists heading to area beaches, officials said.
“We have no specific information on a specific terrorist threat,” said Col. Brant Bailey, head of base training and operations. “But we have to be ready for that.”
A 22-mile stretch of the highway — N.C. 172 — cuts through the base, giving access to other roads and tank tracks branching throughout the base.
On Monday, Bailey told a group of local leaders representing Jacksonville, Onslow County and small, coastal towns near the base that there’s no way of knowing where a person will go once he passes the guard shack. “We have to protect our combat power,” he said. “We have to protect our critical infrastructure.”
To drive his point home, Bailey showed a short video pulled from a Web site that showed men wiring explosives in the back of a large truck. Video cameras captured the truck as it rolled into a densely populated area of Mosul, Iraq. A loud explosion and a plume of thick, black smoke followed.
Terrorists have relied heavily on vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices to attack troops and civilians in Iraq, and base officials “have assessed and found in fact that this is our number one enemy at Camp Lejeune,” Bailey said.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which prompted military bases world-wide to tighten public access, Camp Lejeune has heightened security with random vehicle checks at entry gates and added automated radiation sensors, chemical detectors and dry filter units to combat potential biological threats. Gates have been redesigned with overhead canopies and inspection areas, and lighting and camera systems have been upgraded and integrated with the base’s 911 center.
The decision to restrict public access to the highway follows the most recent security assessment by base officials.
A new highway bypass that runs through Jacksonville should help those traveling around the base, Bailey said. He estimated that taking the bypass will add 10 minutes to a typical commute.
But Mayor David Russell of Swansboro, a tiny waterfront town just northeast of the base, said that doesn’t take rush hour into account. “Essentially, what 172 did, it connected our county,” Russell said. “In the last 50 years, it’s connected our county. I see a lot of disruption with this. The immediate commute is of minor concern compared to the long-term impacts.”
But others recognized the base’s security concerns.
“Since 9/11, our lives have changed,” said Onslow County Commissioner Paul Buchanan. “Security is important, and we have to protect our base.”
Officials said they do not plan to announce when they will begin restricting access to the highway.
When asked if the road may someday reopen to the general public, Col. Adele Hodges, base commander, said, “Right now, I can’t even fathom it going back to an open base.”
Ellie
By Trista Talton - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Feb 5, 2007 17:30:49 EST
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — A highway running through Camp Lejeune that has been open to the general public for decades is being restricted to drivers with Defense Department stickers and base visitor pass holders only.
The move will prevent 500 to 1,000 cars a day — 1,000 to 1,900 on weekends — from using what has become a popular shortcut for commuters, commercial drivers and tourists heading to area beaches, officials said.
“We have no specific information on a specific terrorist threat,” said Col. Brant Bailey, head of base training and operations. “But we have to be ready for that.”
A 22-mile stretch of the highway — N.C. 172 — cuts through the base, giving access to other roads and tank tracks branching throughout the base.
On Monday, Bailey told a group of local leaders representing Jacksonville, Onslow County and small, coastal towns near the base that there’s no way of knowing where a person will go once he passes the guard shack. “We have to protect our combat power,” he said. “We have to protect our critical infrastructure.”
To drive his point home, Bailey showed a short video pulled from a Web site that showed men wiring explosives in the back of a large truck. Video cameras captured the truck as it rolled into a densely populated area of Mosul, Iraq. A loud explosion and a plume of thick, black smoke followed.
Terrorists have relied heavily on vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices to attack troops and civilians in Iraq, and base officials “have assessed and found in fact that this is our number one enemy at Camp Lejeune,” Bailey said.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which prompted military bases world-wide to tighten public access, Camp Lejeune has heightened security with random vehicle checks at entry gates and added automated radiation sensors, chemical detectors and dry filter units to combat potential biological threats. Gates have been redesigned with overhead canopies and inspection areas, and lighting and camera systems have been upgraded and integrated with the base’s 911 center.
The decision to restrict public access to the highway follows the most recent security assessment by base officials.
A new highway bypass that runs through Jacksonville should help those traveling around the base, Bailey said. He estimated that taking the bypass will add 10 minutes to a typical commute.
But Mayor David Russell of Swansboro, a tiny waterfront town just northeast of the base, said that doesn’t take rush hour into account. “Essentially, what 172 did, it connected our county,” Russell said. “In the last 50 years, it’s connected our county. I see a lot of disruption with this. The immediate commute is of minor concern compared to the long-term impacts.”
But others recognized the base’s security concerns.
“Since 9/11, our lives have changed,” said Onslow County Commissioner Paul Buchanan. “Security is important, and we have to protect our base.”
Officials said they do not plan to announce when they will begin restricting access to the highway.
When asked if the road may someday reopen to the general public, Col. Adele Hodges, base commander, said, “Right now, I can’t even fathom it going back to an open base.”
Ellie