Not so long ago, when gas prices were approaching four dollars a gallon, I tried to talk my wife out of her nineteen mile per gallon minivan. I had flown to Kentucky with one of my sons to look at a school, and while there, I rented a nice little compact car. This car had some neat bells and whistles, but the best thing was that it got thirty four miles to the gallon on the highway and 29 mpg around town. Did I mention that a friend of mine had one of these cars and my wife told him it was cute?
When I got back home, I started in on my sales pitch with my wife to ditch her minivan for this gas sipping wonder. She said that its small size wasn’t practical and that she didn’t care if it made its own gas, she was not giving up her van. When I brought up the cute issue, she said that she just told our friend that to be nice. (That is always in the back of my mind now when she tells me I’m handsome.)
Nevertheless, I decided to push the issue a little more and went to the nearby dealership. The salesman quickly realized that the miles per gallon thing was my biggest attraction to the car and assured me that in reality the EPA estimate on the window was quite low. He told me I could expect forty plus miles per gallon and that driving around town would do little to change that. I knew better because the official EPA sticker stuck on the window was the exact mileage I had experienced.
The project proposed for Ruthsburg is a Hard Skills Training Facility. A lot of people, including the General Services Administration (GSA), don’t like it when that description is used. They no longer find it acceptable to say “hard skills”. The GSA decided a couple of days after the word finally got out on this facility to change the project’s name to the Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC). They assume that their new title sounds much friendlier than “hard skills”. This is nothing more than a new marketing technique.
The fact remains that the official government title of the federal government’s Program Plan for this facility is “ARRA Diplomatic and Consular Programs Hard Skills Training Center”. You will read this on the U.S. Government’s Recovery.gov website which provides easy access to data relating to the Recovery Act. In that document, you will also read that the plan for Ruthsburg is to construct a “consolidated training facility capable of supporting all security related training for the Department and wider foreign affairs community”. (emphasis added by me)
Another document giving an accurate description of the Hard Skills Training Center is the July 10, 2009 AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT of 2009 External Program Plan. It clearly states that the specific goal is to construct a hard skills security-related training facility using “both ARRA stimulus funds and Worldwide Security and Protection (WSP) funding. Currently, the Department has $105.5 million programmed to support this project ($70 M ARRA, $17.55M FY 2009 WSP, and another $18M in WSP) in FY2009. Subsequent phases of the project will be funded through WSP. The FY 2010 budget request seeks an additional $12.5M to bring annual WSP funding for this project to $30 million/year.”
Further certification of the nature of this hard skills training facility is spelled out in the December 3rd Security Training Facility & Services Solicitation.
So exactly what is included in all hard skills security related training for the State Department and foreign affairs community under their authority?
Here are some of the programs:
- SNOE or Security for Non-traditional Operating Environments: Training – improvised explosive device (IED) awareness, firearms familiarization, helicopter operations, and high-threat and off-road driving.
- FACT or Foreign Affairs Counter Threat Course: Training: real world scenarios employing gunfire and explosions (A total of 3,630 U.S. Government personnel, including 268 new Diplomatic Security (DS) special agents completed the training courses in 2008, marking an 8.7 percent increase over 2007), Firearms familiarization, Improvised Explosive Device familiarization.
- ATA or the Antiterrorism Assistance Program: 2008 marked the 25th anniversary of the Antiterrorism Training Assistance (ATA) program, that provides security and counterterrorism training to civilian law enforcement and security agencies of partner nations. In 2008, DS delivered 302 classes to 6,103 foreign nationals from 68 countries.
- HTTC or Diplomatic Security High Threat Tactic Course: Training – Advanced weapons skills (medium machine guns, grenade launcher and familiarization of heavy machineguns, Air operations (Helicopter), Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Recognition and avoidance.
What are some of the weapons and devices are used in this training?
Here is a partial list:
M-4, AK-47, Remington 870 shotgun, M9 Berreta, Glock 19, Sig Sauer 228/229; .50 Caliber rifle and machine guns, 40 mm grenade launcher, miscellaneous bombs (up to 3lb. explosive devices) simulating letter bombs, suicide bombs, car bombs.
What else will be built?
Approved outdoor range suitable to conduct shooting /moving and driving/shooting for all USG/DOS weapons up to .50 Caliber and 40 mm grenade launcher, An outdoor range suitable for training with High Explosives and High Explosive Dual Purpose ammunition, Approved demolition ranges to including training area for explosive ordnance demonstration, Driving tracks to conduct counter-terrorist driving exercises and practical exercises, Urban warfare facility: Military Operations in Urban Terrain Tactical maze.
The GSA is the State Department’s salesman for the Ruthsburg Facility. They are trying to convince everyone that their project has very little to do with hard skills when they know it has everything to do with hard skills. Just like the car salesman, those GSA sales people are misrepresenting documented facts.
We’re not buying!
Sveinn C. Storm
Mr. Storm has done his homework, folks. Facts, facts, facts galore. He and I may not be in sync politically, but we agree that bombs , .50-cal machineguns, and whatnot are not compatible with the Ruthsburg site, which is immediately adjacent (i.e., as in “abuts”) to Tuckahoe State Park and Tuckhoe Creek. Imagine kayaking down the creek some spring day, introducing your kids to Prothonotary warblers, and a three-pound IED explodes nearby. Sayonara peace and quiet!
I think the property owners should take a page from civic-minded Kent Countians and donate their property to the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy.
Mr. Storm has not completed his homework
I appreciate his vigilance, however, I need to point out some misleading information in the posting.
First, it makes sense that there was a name change since the initial program plan because DS is consolidating only PART of the training to the new facility.
The first link above to Recovery.gov lists the exact same training activities that GSA/DS have stated will take place at the Ruthburg facility: Perimeter security, Indoor firing ranges, Live–fire shooting houses, Baffled outdoor tactical combat ranges, Outdoor rifle range, Drive and shoot range, Simulations building, High-speed antiterrorism driving tracks , Mock urban driving tracks, Unimproved road driving course, Administration buildings and Site/utility infrastructure.
Thank you to Mr Storm for proving the government’s statements as consistent.
The link that is included in “Further certification of the nature of this hard skills training facility is spelled out in the December 3rd Security Training Facility & Services Solicitation.” is totally irrelevant to the Ruthsburg facility.
Please re-read the Dec 3rd solicitation in its entirety. This solicitation is looking for EXISTING facilities.
From the solicitation:
“The Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS), is looking for sources to provide training facilities and qualified instructor personnel in support of the Diplomatic Security Training Center’s mission.
Applicable NAICS Codes:
611692 – Automobile driving schools
611519 – Other technical and trade schools
711212 – Racetracks
611699 – All other miscellaneous schools and instruction
Responses are desired from vendors that are capable of fulfilling one, or both of the training requirements, and should stipulate in their response which training requirement they are capable of fulfilling (HTTC and/or FACT). ”
This December 3rd solicitation is NOT slated for the Ruthsburg facility. The government is looking for existing facilities to handle all those hard skills trainings that will not take place at the FASTC.
I truly understand the concerns of the community but I feel it’s irresponsible of Mr Storm to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt by twisting the facts to meet some personal agenda. People are frightened enough by their own imaginations of what may happen, and by pushing out this unrelated information, he is muddying the waters for relevant discussion of the project as has been described by GSA/DS.
Re: comment by “JCG”
In my opinion, identifying yourself with initials only is simply not identifying yourself at all. I think if you engage in public discussion, you should be willing to be public about your identity. There’s a word for not doing so, several in fact.
I have been allowing people to post comments as long as they identify themselves to me. In this case, the person’s email address clearly identifies who they are although that information is not visible to the standard user.
Respectfully Gren, I have received threatening emails from opponents of this project and prefer to keep those to a minimum. By not using my full name I am merely trying to protect myself.
The best way to stand up to phone bullies (also usually unwilling to identify themselves) is not hide from them but to simply monitor the calls and to keep a log of who, when, and what was said. You can also record calls and if they get too spicy, alert authorities. Seems as if I’ve been through a few more strenuous situations than others. In a public fight, some harassment by yahoos and bullies is bound to happen. It’s part of the heat in the kitchen! Take it as a compliment to your prowess.
If farmland is the concern, why isn’t this farm in the land preservation program? Seems money may be an issue? Would you be trying to stop them from subdivision and more houses? I do hope so.