Security of Infrastructure in America (Can apply to other countries as well)

[spacemaverick]

When things here in the good ole USA started taking a turn for the worst, I switched from looking at radiation issues and aircraft accidents over to security of infrastructure.  Some of these items I will be presenting will be:  Transportation of seagoing containers for cargo, security officers, security officer training, railway cargo, railroads, airports (internal and external), water facilities and electrical grid...(EMP).  We are vulnerable in so many areas I think the security of these facilities need to be beefed up in some way.  This in no way will be comprehensive but sort of a cursory glance.

I have a military background with the US Army, US Air force, 20 years in corrections and law enforcement and currently armed security for a railroad.  The presentations will not be exhaustive but merely simple and straight forward based on my experience.  I certainly will accept any input if the input expands on my knowledge and experience so others may be enlightened.

Physical Security - Incoming Shipping containers

Shipping containers come in from overseas by cargo ship. The ships enter Ports along our coast line. They are downloaded into holding yards for inspection and pickup by trucking firms. These trucking firms will either move them to their destination or to rail yards. If they are moving to rail yards then they will be moved by truck to the rail yard. The container may placed on a train for movement to another rail yard for truck pick up or container may leave the first rail yard to a customer. This shows you how many places this container encounters during it's travels.

The government has claimed they can only check 4% of these containers. So, do we really know what is in these containers? There might be anything that could harm people in these containers. Rather than go into a long explanation, let me provide links to the information from the government agencies:

http://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/ship-cargo-containers-%E2%80%93-finding-out-what%E2%80%99s-them-there%E2%80%99s-trouble

http://www.dhs.gov/cargo-screening

http://www.dhs.gov/secure-freight-initiative

http://www.cbp.gov/border-security/ports-entry/cargo-security/csi/csi-brief

The information comes from Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection.

Physical security for Ports

I addressed the issue of shipping containers coming into ports in the last section. Now to look into some of the actual physical security of the ports themselves. A large portion of physical security in some places are handled by private contractors or commercial contract companies. (I work for a company of this type). The larger companies will perform or have performed by medical personnel, drug tests. They do perform national agency checks to see if you have a record. Workers also have to obtain a TWIC card...better know as a Transportation Workers Identification Card.

In Florida we have security licenses for armed and unarmed officers. In most cases to obtain these licenses you are only required to obtain one week of training and that's it. You also go through a background check with Florida's Department of Agriculture (licensing authority) for a background check. If you are wanting to be an armed security officer then you have to be trained by a licensed school that will teach you the laws regarding firearms, how to properly handle the firearm and when you can and cannot utilize that firearm against a person. It is a lot of responsibility that comes with that firearm. You don't have to have any experience using firearms in order to receive that armed license. You just have to pass the test given by the school. (The school has to have a license with licensed instructors). For that armed license you must have a doctor sign that medical form to obtain the license. People are the largest and most important part of physical security.

You can attempt to use only technology but technology can be defeated, break down, shut down due to lack of power etc... There are smaller companies that obtain contracts from larger corporations but do not perform very good background checks if any at all and some of these have other issues as well. So unless the company or corporation hiring these companies checks the contracting company for proper licensing then you have another weak link in the system.

more to come......

[spacemaverick]

Security Schools

The security schools have to be inspected to make sure that they are actually training people and not just signing off on paperwork with no training. This done by Department of Agriculture in Florida by utilizing inspectors. There are lots of schools and sites that require inspection but it boils down to needing more inspectors and that requires more money by the state. Some have been caught just signing off on paperwork and not teaching anything. This is a weak link in the security network as well as security officers monitoring ports that do not have little if any experience. Not enough inspectors to inspect everything is another issue.

Security Officers
I live near a port and can listen to some of the radio chatter between security officers and their communications control. I was listening one night and this officer came upon a vehicle with no one in it and the hood was cold. It had been sitting in this spot for awhile. The officer reported it (they had just changed shifts). The officer was asked if they had received pass on information about the vehicle. The answer was no. What if that car had contained an explosive or some other weapon of mass destruction? Physical security is only as good as the people performing it. As a supervisor at a previous job I always said trust but verify. Check on your people and guide them in the correct way to efficiently perform their tasks. Security is only as good as it's weakest link. Our port also uses security officers as screeners for people boarding cruise ships and various other duties within the port.

The port also has law enforcement from the county handling law enforcement function within the port. Of course the law enforcement officers have much more training than do security officers but the security officer is still the first responder on scene of an incident and not law enforcement. Of course you have Customs and Department of Homeland Security along with Coast Guard at the ports. and this would include divers that can check the bottoms of ships and boats entering and exiting the ports.

In my humble opinion there should be a closer inspection of the contract companies and their personnel to make sure that they are in compliance with all laws and regulations and the security coordinator (if there is one) should be closely observing what is transpiring within his or her realm of responsibility.

Lack of extended training

In the course for armed security officers you are given just the basics. There is no advanced training unless you obtain it yourself. You are shown and must learn when you can use force according to statute but there are no courses in teaching you the mechanics of any type of force. In fact most companies will not even allow you to have less than lethal options because of liability. There are some companies that provide regular training beyond what is required but they are few.

Lack of annual training

The only annual training required by Florida is annual firearms qualification and that is it. It is the licensee holder that must keep up on any changes in the law. Most companies do not provide training unless you are very large company with the funds to provide such training. Begs the question...if I have to use force and I wasn't trained, can the company be held liable for lack of training? You are not taught any type of Close Quarter Combat skills. In some cases where you are placed on a post may be a very dangerous area. Well, all I can say is if this happens...be vigilant and hope for the best. Or you can pay for the training for yourself so you can survive.

[spacemaverick]

Railroad security in the USA

There is currently 140,000 rail miles of track in the USA. There are several large and small rail yards all along these routes in every state in the union. Each railroad has their own police department and most of the time security contractors perform the observation of those rail yards under the supervision of the rail police also known as Asset Protection. The police officers are experienced and have attended police academies. On the other hand, the security officers may have had a 40 hour course if they are armed. Many times that is all the training they have received. There are retired corrections and law enforcement officers that may have crossed over into the security field after retirement.

Often, these security officers perform double duty performing clerical duties for the railroad to which they are contracted. In this case there duties are not 100% security but a mix of admin. and security. Some rail yards have video cameras mounted to maintain surveillance and some do not. For the most part a lot of track cannot be monitored by police or contractors because of the many miles of tracks involved.

Railroads are part of Federal Infrastructure and as such (at least here in Florida) since most yards are equipped with switching circuits to receive cargo onto the yards...Florida statute allows security officers to detain trespassers to find out there intentions. The security people then have to call law enforcement and can only detain until law enforcement arrives on scene. One catch however, If the contract company for security tells you you cannot detain then you must follow their direction. If it is an armed post (for life protection only...you cannot defend property only people) some companies may tell you that you cannot use less than lethal or any type of force except in defense of your life.

Shipping Containers

Remember those shipping containers I was talking about earlier in the article? Some of those may come to a rail yard via truck and placed on the yard to await shipment by rail. Homeland Security had indicated that only 4% of those containers are really checked. So how do we know what is in these containers. Yes, they do have paperwork but each container is not checked physically. Some ports have X-ray scanners and some do not. So this is a possible weak spot.

Railroad tracks

When there is 140,000 rail miles of track to inspect, this is performed by maintenance people for whatever company owns those tracks. They have to be inspected on a regular basis so this is kind of patrol. The maintenance people have radios in those vehicles and can contact dispatch to notify any local police department if they have anything suspicious happening with in their area. This would be an immediate response if needed and the rail police would also be notified to respond to an incident. Rail police are not that plentiful in number so of course it would take longer for their response. The tracks could be vulnerable only if the person inspecting the tracks misses something. Once again, security is only as good as it's weakest link.

Airport Security Overview

Once again I don't know everything about airport security and different airports will have different levels of security.  The airports will certainly not divulge their security secrets as this would not be a prudent move.

We do have a known however regarding the TSA (Transportation Security Administration.  Anyone traveling around the USA has already encountered the security for people boarding aircraft or accessing the areas where people are boarding aircraft.  The TSA success rate of finding devices through testing by their own security teams have found that they do not catch as many fake devices as they should.  From what I understand they actually have teams that try to sneak fake devices through security to test their ability to find them.

What I will be dealing with is 3 subjects where I see problems and those are; Access points from inside the terminals to the outside (used by airport personnel  and ground crews), contractors who provide services on the tarmac (background checks) and perimeter security.

In 2015, TSA used its own security personnel to test its airport checkpoints, where passengers attempted to smuggle prohibited weapons and explosives through security. Of the 70 tests, TSA Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) failed to detect the weapons and explosives 67 times, a 95.7 percent failure rate.Mar 14, 2016

http://travelersunited.org/commentary/do-tsas-impressive-2015-statistics-indicate-success-or-failure/

[spacemaverick]

Airport Contract Companies

Various tasks regarding aircraft operations are handled by companies contracted by the airports and/or airlines. These companies go through a clearing procedure for the company as a whole.

The main problem is with the employees they may hire. What type of background checks are performed for on these prospective employees. Having been a member of a law enforcement agency the background checks were pretty extensive to include psychological, fingerprint check, NCIC check nationally, local warrants check, state check for criminal history and also a visit by a deputy to friends and neighbors.

I have worked for security companies that have used various methods and of course these methods are not all the same. One company did not run a background check at all. One company used a commercial entity to do their checking on background. Another company was debating what method to use and another one just checked the local Clerk of Court website and no national check. No consistency across the board on checking backgrounds. Some of these jobs I was on dealt with infrastructure and some did not.

Consistency regarding how background checks are performed is the key. Supposedly if you are dealing with the government in some way, they will require a much higher standard of background check. Judging from the ability of refugees to enter this country based on a system to check them out is much less than expected, I have my doubts about the system itself. The guy that shot up the Pulse Nightclub is another example. He worked for a company called G4S which is also a government contractor. Now you see why I do not have confidence in the system.

more to come....

[spacemaverick]

Airport Perimeters

Most larger airports have electronic sensors on their fence lines and patrols in place for large airports. Some of the smaller ones with major airlines do not have the sensors. They usually have a road around the airport on which a patrol may drive around on the road and check the perimeter.

I have seen construction taking place on a few near the fence and yet no one watching the area. Very seldom have I seen any patrol at all. We have security on the inside of airports but at the contract level on the tarmac near the aircraft and the perimeters, they are lacking. My opinion is that it boils down to everyone watching the bottom line like corporations do until something happens. In other words, "crisis management."

[spacemaverick]

A documentary about TSA (Transportation Security Administration)

Creation, operating and failures

[spacemaverick]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9s5Epbkods&list=LLFX6Sjncv7IWX5uHGxiSAIg&index=2

Stopping Terrorism - Container Port Security - VOA Story

Deals with nuclear only....

[robomont]

space maverick,you know we dont see eye 2 eye on policing but please dont take this me trolling you.in actuallity we both have the same goals,just opposing views.

we dont need more police,we need more educated people.dumbing down america just makes us more prone to EVENTS,not less.
to me policing just means dumbing down nanny state where even an already licked lollipop could by a nanny state be considered a hazardous object.

as the usa stands right now.if i was motivated,could wreck like all hell.
no amount of security could stop me.i know all trunk lines and microwave and sattelite systems and there vulnerabilities.
i know enough about water and how to disrupt it.nationwide.

what we need is more educated jobs.and less religion.as religion breeds terrorist.not colleges of grand arts.

we dont have terrorist per ce.unless you want to call the cia backed isis terrorist or the cia backed cartels.code word being cia ie christians in action,they,the fbi and the free masons are the only terrorist there are.
and they all formed out of ignorance.
as a ct member signature i once read says,there will be peace on earth when the last politician is strangled with the guts of the last priest.

policing increases cost of goods and slows down delivery.
teerorism here in the usa would cost the rest of the world.we may compete with china and india but one small bump in the usa would create tidal waves around the world.nobody with any common sense wants that to happen.its bad for all.

so that just leaves revenge against cops as reason for terrorism.well cut the little guy some slack and quit sucking the life and wealth out of the poor.as a man once told me,which has more value,a dolly to a little girl or a million dollars to a millionaire.to take a hundred dollars from me for some minor ticket is the same as robbing a bank and killing some one in my mind.that 100 is half my food for the month.you try eating 1 sandwich per day and see how your mind begins to change.
perspective.so to blame terrorism is a COP OUT.
its straight up robbery and attempted murder to fine a poor person and its done on a daily basis here in the usa.the real terrorist are the cops.

[spacemaverick]

Hey Robo....I welcome opposing views and you know me...I am partial to the system having worked in it.  However I know there are increasingly bad issues with the system of late.  Like that one video about TSA....listen to it good and it will bear out part of what you are saying.  Please keep giving your opposing view...people need to hear both sides.  Thanks for chiming in.  (I am increasingly getting to the point where I really am having problems trusting the system and I worked in it.)  Thumbs up brother.

[spacemaverick]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbVM49Y2V58&index=8&list=LLFX6Sjncv7IWX5uHGxiSAIg

Published on Aug 26, 2016
A 35-year-old man scaled a perimeter security fence at Omaha's airport Thursday night and crashed a truck into a plane on the runway. CNN's Rene Marsh reports.

2500 breaches in 1 year America wide.

[robomont]

i suspect they were buzzing his house and he got fed up with it.when my neighbor was frying me with microwave,he had his airforce buddies at local airport ,buzz my house with antigue airplanes at tree top level.as microwave effects the brain an and makes a person highly sensitive to sounds.it was really pissing me off.plus it was happening on an hourly or daily basis.
i also suspect those planes had old radar systems in them that could help target the microwave better.as he couldnt see my house through the trees and bushes.
as i had a giant wood pile in front of my house,it wasnt until i raised the house 4 inches last year,that the microwave was making it inside via top part of front door and bedroom window.
i know sounds crazy but im now gaining weight and feel the sanest ive felt in years.
my neighbor directly behind me is now recovering from cancer.my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer but that has gone away on its own after she temporarily moved away until i busted him with it.he doesnt know it yet but he killed his own daughter because the barn tin on the front of my house acted as a reflector.

[spacemaverick]

Well, we shall find out how delicate our grid and infrastructure are because Hurricane Matthew is aimed right at my county and my city specifically.  Hurricane Matthew is at 140 mph moving forward at 12 miles per hour.  The last hurricane we had that was anywhere close was Hurricane Charlie in 2004 (actually had 4 hurricanes that year) and the winds were 120 mph.  It took them only 5 days in some places to get the grid back up and running.  We shall see what happens to the grid and hopefully I can update after Matthew has departed.

[ArMaP]

We shall see what happens to the grid and hopefully I can update after Matthew has departed.

Stay safe.

[spacemaverick]

Stay safe.

Thanks ArMap...winds will be upward of 145 mph +....and I'm working.....yuck.

[Pimander]

Post when the dust settles so we know you're still breathing.