September 11, 2001

12:15 PM

Washington state and the Bangor submarine baseare all also in a state of heightened security. I drove past Subase Bangor and they are in Condition Delta, which is when every person who enters the base is physically searched, as well as their car. As a former member of the US Submarine Service I can tell you from first hand knowledge that the military is being scrambled right now to prepare for heightened security along the coastlines of the US. The entire Puget Sound is reeling from the tragic news... malls are closing, the WA state ferry service is no longer transporting cars, federal buildings are being closed, and major structures such as the Space Needle are being evacuated.
posted by crankydoodle (5 comments total)

(Especially due to server load it would be good to keep front page posts short and to the point. Further information may be posted as a comment to the same post.)

Here in Chicago all federal and local government buildings are closed, as are major malls and tall buildings. I'm in the suburb Evanston and there was a fire call about an hour ago that sounded like the entire city was responding.

The outbound commuter trains are on a "departing when full" kind of schedule, and they've been chugging by regularly.
posted by dhartung at 12:23 PM on September 11, 2001

Indeed.

SecDef has recalled 2 decks, the Washington and another one I don't remember the name of, to the area outside New York.
posted by baylink at 12:56 PM on September 11, 2001

i live in the middle of the canadian prairie and my father is visiting family in chicago right now. his flight home was scheduled for sometime this week (i'm not sure if it's today or what). now i'm not sure when he'll be home. i don't expect he's in any danger, but it would be nice to hear from him. i tried to call my grandma's house (in Elgin, the Chicago suburb where dad is visiting) but i got a "all our lines our currently busy" message from the phone company. harumph. it's amazing how far-reaching the consequences of this are...

there's no more flights allowed in the US, so all incoming international flights are being diverted to canadian airports, which is making a huge headache for these airports who are recieving thousands upon thousands of unexpected people who all have to be individually searched (according to FBI orders) before being allowed off the plane. then there's many of them that don't have clearance to be in canada. and in some cities, there aren't enough hotels, so they're asking civilians to open their homes.
posted by raedyn at 12:57 PM on September 11, 2001

Threatcon Delta means they are expecting or experienced an attack. More than likely, though, the whole thing is over until Bush sets up a counter-attack.

And so goes the circle violence. I only hope someone is smart enough to step in and diffuse the situation, lest we be pulled into Vietnam II.

I hope I’m not drafted in the coming years.
posted by raaka at 1:18 PM on September 11, 2001

I remember the day they got rid of the gate guards between the upper and lower base (late 1989). That was when the defense cutbacks were just starting.
The lower base, where the submarines dock, had always had heavy security and you had to show ID just to get to your sub (even after needing ID to get on the base).
All the cars were still stopping at the empty guard shacks expecting to get stopped by maurauding marines. The guards never returned and no explanation was ever given.

I wonder if they are back now.
posted by Dillenger69 at 2:07 PM on September 11, 2001