ENN Report; Security Alert at NORAD HQ in CO

ENN Special Report, Issued 04/16/97 - 16:00CDT

Security Alert Underway at NORAD/Space Command

By C. L. Staten, ERRI Senior Analyst

Colorado Springs, CO (ENN) -Officially confirmed reports have been received in regard to a major security alert at the U.S. Space Command HQ and at the the North American Air Defense Command facilities. Reportedly, the entrances to both facilities have been sealed and security patrols reinforced, in regard to an "specified threat."

An Air Force spokesman, Dave Knox, reportedly did say that they didn't believe the alert was related to the April 19th anniversary of the Waco, TX incident, nor to the trial of Timothy McVeigh..which is going on in Denver, CO. Knox wouldn't comment further, except to say that the alert and security precautions were in response to a "specific threat."

ERRI continues to monitor this situation and others surrounding the Waco anniversary (April 19th) and possible increased paramilitary extremist activity. ERRI has been in contact with and is assisting authorities in the Atlanta, GA area, where a letter from the shadowy group, "The Party of God," allegedly threatened additional domestic terrorism there.

The Emergency Response and Research Institute (ERRI) has been urging additional awareness and caution for emergency service agencies, for the later part of this week. More as it become available.

Excerpted from the ENN DAILY INTELLIGENCE REPORT - Thursday, April 17, 1997 Vol. 3 - 107

Threat Against NORAD May Not Be Credible

By the ENN News Staff

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AIR STATION, COLORADO (ENN) - Tighter security was put into place at the North American Aerospace Defense Command on Wednesday after an intelligence warning indicated a threat that was said not to be immediate or clear cut. By Wednesday afternoon, commanders at the mountain complex that is the nerve center of U.S. and Canadian air defense and space surveillance believed that they may had overestimated the threat.

Heightened security at the complex was evident by a 24-hour guard watch at a secondary entrance to the center that is normally only monitored by video cameras and other electronic sensors. U.S. Air Force Major-General Jeff Grime, the commander of the complex said that there had been no specific information about an attack, but they were taking precautionary steps.

The official threat condition inside Cheyenne Mountain was posted as "normal." Outside the main entrance, which located near Colorado Springs, an additional pop-up steel barrier to stop intruding vehicles had been installed and three concrete barriers were placed in a zig- zag pattern at a security check point. Members of the 721st Security Police Squadron were checking the identification cards of everyone entering the complex.

After implementing the security precautions, officials by late Wednesday afternoon had said that they had determined that the information about the security threat was less credible than what was initially believed. Vice Admiral Lyle Bien at nearby Peterson Air Force Base said that while the information was not completely discounted, it had come third-hand and had indicated a potential for some kind of attack on Cheyenne Mountain, which is one of the most secure facilities in the United States.

Bien said that it didn't look like the source of the information was terribly credible. He said that he did not know who made the threat, but an intermediary who had relayed the information was initially judged to be highly credible. Upon further examination, the source's credibility came into question.

When asked about a possible connection with Saturday's second anniversary of the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City, the Air Force said that the intelligence information that was received did not specify any particular association with any event.

NORAD in Cheyenne Mountain monitors aircraft over North America and tracks all missile launches around the world. It identifies and monitors manmade objects in space and collects intelligence information from U.S. military satellites. The Mountain complex was built in the early 1960s and is said to be able to withstand a direct hit from a nuclear bomb. Its main entrance is shielded by two 25-ton blast doors.

The ENN DAILY INTELLIGENCE REPORT is a subscription publication of the EmergencyNet NEWS Service, which is a part of the Chicago-based Emergency Response and Research Institute. This publication specializes in Security/Terrorism/Intelligence/ Military and National Security issues.

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