-Caveat Lector-
Press charges rough treatment
Latest fireworks
in Texas Army training exercise
By David M. Bresnahan
© 1999 WorldNetDaily.com
FORT SAM HOUSTON, SAN ANTONIO, Texas --
Two members of the press claim they were harassed,
intimidated, abused and arrested trying to cover a
military training exercise. The Army denies the charges.
Operation Last Dance, which began Feb. 8 and
continued through the weekend, conducted a large
mock raid by members of the highly trained elite Night
Stalkers and Delta Force out of Fort Bragg, North
Carolina.
Criticism of the training event has centered around the
use of civilian locations, exposing innocent bystanders
to the use of live ammunition and explosives. The
military has also been criticized for not providing people
in the area of the exercises with advance warning. Many
reported being badly frightened by what they thought
was a real battle.
The exercise conducted Thursday night took place on
the Army base, where the past concerns could be put
to rest. The Night Stalkers flew members of the Delta
Force to an abandoned hospital on the base, according
to public affairs officer Phil Reidinger.
"There was a group of people, unidentified, who got
into possession of some classified material without a
hand receipt," Reidinger explained to WorldNetDaily of
the scenario for the exercise. "So they came to get it.
That's what it was (laughing).
"You have to have some kind of scenario. We prepared
the building. We took out all the original windows in the
building and put mock windows up there so they could
rappel off the roof and jump into them like you see in
the movies. And we took all the original doors off and
put plywood doors up so they could practice getting
through obstacles."
Reidinger explained that the entire base was placed on
a special alert status, which was still in effect on Friday
after the exercise was over, but clean up was under
way. That status was what got the reporter and
photographer in trouble.
"We're still under a threat condition alpha, anti-terrorist
status right now, OK? So, since we are under a
recognized, authorized threatcon, then anyone who is
taking pictures or doing whatever, then the MPs have
cause to question them. And that was their cause for
doing that," explained Reidinger.
During the exercise itself, the media were permitted to
observe the event from a designated location controlled
by Reidinger, or from locations outside the base under
the control of the local police. Safety was given as the
primary reason for controlling press access.
"For example. These troops were in night vision goggles
using night vision devices both in the aircraft and
outside. So we had a no light policy," said Reidinger.
Unlike previous exercises in Texas towns, the local
residents were given warning of what would happen.
"We alerted the people in the neighborhoods around the
post. We alerted them that we were going to do the
exercise. It was a lawn chair and picnic basket event for
them," he said.
Reidinger confirmed that the same soldiers who had
been conducting training exercises in at least five
different locations around Corpus Christi were the ones
who were involved in the Thursday night event. He
would not confirm that it was part of Operation Last
Dance, but he did not deny it either.
Alex Jones, talk show host from KJFK radio, had gone
to the base with his photographer, Mike Hanson to
document what had happened. Both men said the base
was open to the public. No signs were posted indicating
there were any special restrictions, and there were no
security guards posted at the entrance.
Both men said there were many civilians in the area
taking pictures and looking around. They believe they
were unfairly singled out, and treated improperly.
"There's these muscular guys walking around with short
haircuts and sunglasses, and there's these guys on the
roof who see us. Look like spooks. They point at us.
All of a sudden the MPs come pulling up. Jump out.
Run up," described Jones.
"They run up and say, 'National security.' We set the
camera down. Then they grab the camera. Then they
arrest Mike, and put him in the back of the car," he told
WorldNetDaily.
"This is Fort Sam Houston. The home of Army
medicine. This is not a secure base. It's wide open.
There's businesses in there and stuff. It's a medical area.
It's for retirees. There's even a museum," he added.
"When they came up I turned the camera on them, like
we usually do on these kinds of stories," described
Hanson. "They said, 'Turn the camera off. Turn the
camera off. This is national security. National security.'
"If it's national security, then why don't they have guards
at the entrances," asked Hanson.
"He got real mad and reached down and took the
camera out of my hand and started pushing on the eject
button. He couldn't get it. He was so embarrassed that
he couldn't get it out of the machine that he just threw
the camera down and broke the cordless mike off of
the top.
"Then he said, '
