Security at the Air Force Academy
Filed Under (Chatter) by colin.ake on 31-05-2007
First off, Congratulations to Matt Parker, 2nd Lt., US Air Force on completing four years at the Academy. Here’s to riding in your F-16 someday, buddy. Now, on to my whining about “Authority Issues.”
So apparently the Secretary of Defense is more of a national security priority than President Bush.
It doesn’t make sense, but that’s what I discovered yesterday at the Air Force Academy Graduation.
The official website said that “cameras will be permitted, but be prepared to remove lenses for inspection.” However, once I got there, with my Canon 30D, 24-70mm, and 70-200mm L series lenses (thanks to Jonathan Torrell for loaning me the 70-200), I was told I couldn’t bring in any lenses longer than 4 inches. The 24-70mm is approximately 6-10 inches long and the 70-200mm is probably 8-12 inches long, depending on extension and whether the lens hood is attached.
This makes sense, you say. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was scheduled to speak. The security personnel (I spoke with 3 different people at 3 different gates, trying to get in) said that only Gates himself could bypass the rule. No, I couldn’t stand with the media. Well, the Secretary of Defense was speaking, so that’s why. Another guy said that it was the SecDef as well as 977 brand new officers in the Air Force.
But when you compare that with security two years ago, on Memorial Day, at Arlington, with President and Mrs. Bush there, it’s completely inconsistent and makes no sense. I sat in handicapped seating that day, abut 50 feet away from the President, with a 12-14 inch 70-300mm lens, bigger than both lenses that were turned away yesterday. No big deal - security just looked through the lens and everything was good to go.
So why, then, is security around the SecDef more stringent than security around the Commander in Chief? As a result, I didn’t get pictures of one of my best friends walking across the stage, saluting the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and shaking the hand of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Welcome to America.
On another note, the graduation speech by Gates was incredible, the graduates great, and the Thunderbird Air Show amazing.
Congrats, Matt.
ca
