Marine Corps Base Quantico
Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia (MCB Quantico) is a one of only fifteen Marine Corps bases in the world (USMClife.com). On MCB Quantico, the Marine Corps house the Marine Corps Training and Education Command, which consist of The Basic School and Officer Candidates School. This is where young men and woman are taught how to be leaders as a Marine Officer, the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Staff Training Program which teaches senior leaders how to properly plan any and all operations Marines may come across, as well as the Advanced Warfighting Command. MCB Quantico also trains all Marines from Sergeant to Gunnery Sergeant at the Marine Corps University on leadership traits. It is also where Marine One, which is what the President of the United States flies on is stored and maintained. Lastly, Quantico also allows the Federal Bureau of Investigations to train on the compound. On average MCB Quantico will have around 12,000 personnel on any given day (marines.mil).
After the attacks of 9/11, all military bases security became extremely tight. When attempting to access any base, you must enter through a secured gate that is guarded by military police and must show proof or credentials that you are allowed on. For military you show your military identification card (Common Access Card or CAC) and for an agency you show your credentials (Identification Card and badge). This has ensured that personnel working or living on the base can go on with their day with a sense of security as the likelihood of an attack is minimalized. Things are a little different on MCB Quantico though. MCB has an area known as “Q-Town” that is surrounded by MCB Quantico, which is a civilian area of the base. Q-Town is extremely small, only housing around 480 people in 2010. Q-Town has everything like any other town might have ranging from barbershops to restaurants, to a postal office and train station. Individuals who live in Q-Town may enter through what is known as the North Gate with a picture ID (townofquantico.com). Once on, they have access to the actual Marine Corps Base through a gate that is always open without a sentry near the Marine Corps University. This has presented a problem that takes away from the security of the base. Now currently in Q-town, the majority of the people who live there are retired military, but not all. A civilian who is anti-military, anti US, or is just having a bad day can access the base and cause a security breach.
All personnel on that base are at risk at any given time. Just like any medium to large size town, MCB Quantico has a shopping area. There is a grocery store, a store similar to a Wal-Mart, and even a movie theater. Individuals can gain access from even the train station into Q-Town and enter the base through the unsecured gate.
Roughly about three weeks prior to starting this class, I left MCB Quantico. When I was stationed there, I was working near on the base near Q-Town at the Marine Corps University. I always asked my fellow Marines what their thoughts were on the possibility of an attack from someone who came on through the gate from Q-Town. I was extremely surprised by the responses. The majority of the Marines who I spoke with stated that they weren’t really worried about it. They stated that the area has been like this long before they got here and there hasn’t been an issue. I understand what they are saying, but to me know one really thought the United States of America would ever be attacked either.
Now there aren’t any documented attacks on MCB Quantico from individuals entering through Q-Town, but in September of 2009 a Muslim convert was planning an attack on Quantico, but no other non-classified facts are available as to what his plan was (Conery, 2005).
Overall, I wish to see the gate from Q-Town to MCB Quantico not only closed, but a solid wall built. Just closing a gate only slows a possible attack by seconds, where a wall would take a lot more time. The business owners in Q-Town would not like this as Marines who are stationed on MCB regularly visit the barbershops and restaurants during the day and this would take business away. So to make everyone happy, putting a sentry at this gate would make more sense. It would cost the taxpayers more money to add additional personnel at the gate, but in all reality they wouldn’t even notice it.
