GWOT 2 Size Up
Feb. 19th, 2019 12:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
drewkittyThe San Jose green zone is bordered on the west by Highway 87, on the south by Highway 280, and to the north and west by a cleared zone made by bulldozing residences.
The checkpoint at 7th Street and 280 is staffed by San Jose Police. J barriers are deployed 300 yards south of the point. There is separate access for pedestrian, light car, and truck traffic. Bollards are installed for the first two. Two concrete trucks apparently loaded with dried concrete are being used as control gates for the truck entry. The checkpoint is well lit, camera equipped, has observation posts - at least one sniper equipped - and is reinforced with two bunkers on either street corner. Police are armed with patrol rifles in slings and what appear to be distraction devices, as well as conventional police weapons.
The Green Zone is patrolled heavily by foot patrols consisting of three to five San Jose Police officers. In each patrol, one is rifle armed, one is carrying a radio, and at least one is unarmed. It appears the foot patrols are partly made up of trainees. I estimate at least seven patrols in motion at all times. They appear to focus on pedestrians carrying parcels.
I observed one bicycle patrol in the Convention Center area, two officers on bicycles conventionally equipped.
I saw at least two sniper-observer posts, one on the two-three corner of the Fairmont Hotel and one on the one-two corner of the Marriott.
A secondary control zone surrounded the office building on Main Street taken over by Homeland. This secondary control zone was three hundred yards radius and included the buildings on all sides. Access to these buildings was strictly controlled and a team of six Homeland officers in full gear was patrolling the perimeter with one attack dog. The spaces between the buildings, except for the approach to the lobby and the loading dock, were fenced off with chain link to create a center no man's land filled with concertina wire, at least ten yards wide and on the south approach, thirty yards wide.
The truck loading dock access was controlled by a newly built concrete bunker, a L shape control line made of portable Rain For Rent containers that appeared filled with water, and two VM-150 armored personnel carriers fitted with heavy machine guns. This was the only location at which I observed soldiers, in US army digital camouflage fatigues with unit patches I did not recognize. At least eight soldiers were present at all times. I noted what appeared to be a heavy machine gun on a tripod mount, comparing this to our references I now know it is a fully automatic grenade launcher loaded with a belt of anti-tank grenades. The Rain For Rent containers were connected with water piping and a fire truck in yellow California OES livery was parked adjacent, hooked up with heavy rubber piping directly to one of the containers. The overhead monitor nozzle was under the control of a soldier as if it were a machine gun. No firefighters appeared to be present. Signage warned that only authorized vehicles and persons were allowed to approach within 100 yards and that deadly force was authorized.
The main pedestrian entry to the Homeland building was controlled by an outer perimeter of San Jose police officers. A maze of waiting line made of portable crowd control barrier linked with barbed wire was the only point of entry. One officer would stand next to a table while four were in a nearby bunker. Any items carried had to be spread out on the table for inspection. This duty changed every five minutes.
I observed three people flash a badge at the officer at the table and proceed inside without any further search. All three were able to activate a card reader at the actual building entry. One was carrying what appeared to be a duffel or gym bag.
The steps to the lobby were protected by zig-zag J barrier laid directly on the steps, in some places sandbagged underneath so that they would fit. A number of them were off level due to poor installation. They would stop a car or light truck but would not stop a bulldozer or armored vehicle.
A single bunker with a hardpoint mounted belt fed heavy machine gun with several ammo boxes pre-linked together was on the north side of the lobby entry. It was staffed by two Homeland officers, equipped as standard, but they were not wearing their helmets and were inattentive to duty.
On entry to the lobby area, more crowd control barrier separated an access to the left for authorized personnel from a waiting area equipped with a number of waiting benches. These benches were all made of concrete and aligned so that they are visible to the receptionist and a guard.
The reception and guard area is separated from the lobby by what appears to be at least 5/8" of either transparent polycarbonate or Lexan. However it was not clear if any armoring had been added to the desk or walls, which appeared to be from original construction.
Communication with the receptionist was through a surface mount intercom only. There were no access holes for paperwork or other items. Any documents had to be held up to the 'glass,' and a powerful light was mounted within to light up a square marked in tape for a visitor to hold up their documents to.
The guard had two buttons under their right hand, one protected by a button cover. Neither was labeled. The guard was extremely alert and attentive at all times, wearing a radio headset, and talking to another location constantly. The guard had no way to interact with anyone in the lobby area.
I would estimate at least six hundred cameras were deployed in and around the exterior of the Homeland building alone. At least two on each corner were PTZ or Pan Tilt Zoom and were in constant motion. They were from a variety of manufacturers but the majority were Pelcos.
The non secure conference room was of ordinary commercial construction and contained a transparent glass table on a metal stand, four chairs, and three wall mounted alarm pull stations labeled FIRE (red) THREAT (blue) ATTACK (green) in that order. I saw this same three switch combination behind the receptionist's desk and on the exterior wall of the loading dock entry.
The secure entry door was a mantrap. A standard badge controlled door led to a second door and at least two doors beyond that. One wall of the mantrap had a transparent window running along the south wall, but it was mirrored.
While we were present, there was a minor security incident where a man in a business suit presented his badge to the first reader, was allowed inside, and red lights lit on either side of the door. This caused an immediate heightening of alert from all Homeland staff present. About a minute later, the door opened and the man in the business suit could be seen talking to a Homeland officer in full battle gear. The Homeland officer took the badge and escorted him to wait in the lobby for a few minutes, where a working badge was brought out to him, and he used the new badge to enter without further incident.
... [report continues for seven additional pages] ...
The checkpoint at 7th Street and 280 is staffed by San Jose Police. J barriers are deployed 300 yards south of the point. There is separate access for pedestrian, light car, and truck traffic. Bollards are installed for the first two. Two concrete trucks apparently loaded with dried concrete are being used as control gates for the truck entry. The checkpoint is well lit, camera equipped, has observation posts - at least one sniper equipped - and is reinforced with two bunkers on either street corner. Police are armed with patrol rifles in slings and what appear to be distraction devices, as well as conventional police weapons.
The Green Zone is patrolled heavily by foot patrols consisting of three to five San Jose Police officers. In each patrol, one is rifle armed, one is carrying a radio, and at least one is unarmed. It appears the foot patrols are partly made up of trainees. I estimate at least seven patrols in motion at all times. They appear to focus on pedestrians carrying parcels.
I observed one bicycle patrol in the Convention Center area, two officers on bicycles conventionally equipped.
I saw at least two sniper-observer posts, one on the two-three corner of the Fairmont Hotel and one on the one-two corner of the Marriott.
A secondary control zone surrounded the office building on Main Street taken over by Homeland. This secondary control zone was three hundred yards radius and included the buildings on all sides. Access to these buildings was strictly controlled and a team of six Homeland officers in full gear was patrolling the perimeter with one attack dog. The spaces between the buildings, except for the approach to the lobby and the loading dock, were fenced off with chain link to create a center no man's land filled with concertina wire, at least ten yards wide and on the south approach, thirty yards wide.
The truck loading dock access was controlled by a newly built concrete bunker, a L shape control line made of portable Rain For Rent containers that appeared filled with water, and two VM-150 armored personnel carriers fitted with heavy machine guns. This was the only location at which I observed soldiers, in US army digital camouflage fatigues with unit patches I did not recognize. At least eight soldiers were present at all times. I noted what appeared to be a heavy machine gun on a tripod mount, comparing this to our references I now know it is a fully automatic grenade launcher loaded with a belt of anti-tank grenades. The Rain For Rent containers were connected with water piping and a fire truck in yellow California OES livery was parked adjacent, hooked up with heavy rubber piping directly to one of the containers. The overhead monitor nozzle was under the control of a soldier as if it were a machine gun. No firefighters appeared to be present. Signage warned that only authorized vehicles and persons were allowed to approach within 100 yards and that deadly force was authorized.
The main pedestrian entry to the Homeland building was controlled by an outer perimeter of San Jose police officers. A maze of waiting line made of portable crowd control barrier linked with barbed wire was the only point of entry. One officer would stand next to a table while four were in a nearby bunker. Any items carried had to be spread out on the table for inspection. This duty changed every five minutes.
I observed three people flash a badge at the officer at the table and proceed inside without any further search. All three were able to activate a card reader at the actual building entry. One was carrying what appeared to be a duffel or gym bag.
The steps to the lobby were protected by zig-zag J barrier laid directly on the steps, in some places sandbagged underneath so that they would fit. A number of them were off level due to poor installation. They would stop a car or light truck but would not stop a bulldozer or armored vehicle.
A single bunker with a hardpoint mounted belt fed heavy machine gun with several ammo boxes pre-linked together was on the north side of the lobby entry. It was staffed by two Homeland officers, equipped as standard, but they were not wearing their helmets and were inattentive to duty.
On entry to the lobby area, more crowd control barrier separated an access to the left for authorized personnel from a waiting area equipped with a number of waiting benches. These benches were all made of concrete and aligned so that they are visible to the receptionist and a guard.
The reception and guard area is separated from the lobby by what appears to be at least 5/8" of either transparent polycarbonate or Lexan. However it was not clear if any armoring had been added to the desk or walls, which appeared to be from original construction.
Communication with the receptionist was through a surface mount intercom only. There were no access holes for paperwork or other items. Any documents had to be held up to the 'glass,' and a powerful light was mounted within to light up a square marked in tape for a visitor to hold up their documents to.
The guard had two buttons under their right hand, one protected by a button cover. Neither was labeled. The guard was extremely alert and attentive at all times, wearing a radio headset, and talking to another location constantly. The guard had no way to interact with anyone in the lobby area.
I would estimate at least six hundred cameras were deployed in and around the exterior of the Homeland building alone. At least two on each corner were PTZ or Pan Tilt Zoom and were in constant motion. They were from a variety of manufacturers but the majority were Pelcos.
The non secure conference room was of ordinary commercial construction and contained a transparent glass table on a metal stand, four chairs, and three wall mounted alarm pull stations labeled FIRE (red) THREAT (blue) ATTACK (green) in that order. I saw this same three switch combination behind the receptionist's desk and on the exterior wall of the loading dock entry.
The secure entry door was a mantrap. A standard badge controlled door led to a second door and at least two doors beyond that. One wall of the mantrap had a transparent window running along the south wall, but it was mirrored.
While we were present, there was a minor security incident where a man in a business suit presented his badge to the first reader, was allowed inside, and red lights lit on either side of the door. This caused an immediate heightening of alert from all Homeland staff present. About a minute later, the door opened and the man in the business suit could be seen talking to a Homeland officer in full battle gear. The Homeland officer took the badge and escorted him to wait in the lobby for a few minutes, where a working badge was brought out to him, and he used the new badge to enter without further incident.
... [report continues for seven additional pages] ...
