2 people detained with weapons at MacDill AFB

[Jolie Rouge]

2 hrs 2 mins ago
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100615/ap_on_re_us/us_macdill_weapons

TAMPA, Fla. – The military says two heavily armed people are in custody after trying to enter MacDill Air Force Base outside of Tampa.

The base is home to U.S. Central Command, which runs the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Base public affairs officer Senior Airman Katherine B. Holt reports a man and woman were unable to show proper identification Monday evening, and their vehicle was searched. Security found military-style gear and weapons in the sport utility vehicle but no explosives. Holt says she didn't know how many weapons were removed but they were rifle-type.

The suspects names were not released.

The military is investigating and says the base is operating normally.

[gmyers]

Glad they caught them before they did any harm.

[Jolie Rouge]

Explosives found in vehicle at Army base in Ga.
8 mins ago

FORT GORDON, Ga. – The FBI was investigating after a civilian was arrested with explosives in his vehicle on an Army base in Georgia that is headquarters to the service's global communication and information systems, authorities said Wednesday.

Military authorities were not treating the case as a terrorist threat, said Buz Yarnell, a spokesman for Fort Gordon near Augusta.

The arrest Tuesday came a day after an AWOL serviceman was arrested in Florida for trying to enter an Air Force base there with fake ID and weapons, although authorities did not link the two and the Florida case was also deemed not terrorism.

Yarnell gave few other details. A news conference was scheduled at Fort Gordon later Wednesday.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Savannah named the man arrested Tuesday as Anthony Todd Saxon, 34. It said charges were expected to be filed Wednesday.

Yarnell said a search of the civilian's vehicle Tuesday uncovered a knapsack containing military hand grenades. He said the man arrested is a suspect in a theft of military equipment from Fort Gordon in April.

FBI spokesman Steve Emmett in Atlanta said federal charges are forthcoming but he does not expect them to involve explosives or terrorism. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are also investigating.

Yarnell says the vehicle was parked in a remote area when it was discovered. He says it did not pose a threat to command operations or military housing.

Fort Gordon is the home of the Army Signal Corps and the Eisenhower Army Medical Center, one of largest military hospitals in the Southeast.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_fort_gordon_explosives/print

2 comments

I applaud the effort to not automatically brand terrorism upon an act connected with a military arrest. Disgruntled discharged soldier and civilian types do exist without extremist agendas. However, being found with a bag of grenades does demand a thorough investigation - it could have been a bad scene had he not been caught.

--

How many 'loyal' soldiers go AWOL? How many soldiers, who are AWOL, carry 'explosives' in their car onto a military base? Truth serum by the gallons on this guy.

[gmyers]

Dang I wonder what they would call a terrorist act then. The person had a fake ID and went awol and then was found tryng to get on a base. And one of them got the grenades from the military base by robbing it and is fouind with explosives but they're not going to bring explosive charges against him. That doesn't make sense.