As previously noted, there are plans to build a new Foreign Affairs Security Training Center at a site on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Today, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which is the State Department's agent in this matter, announced three February public meetings to address public concerns and inform the local community about the project.
Reportedly, GSA has decided that it did not adequately address concerns raised at the previous four or five public meetings, so it has extended the time allowed for public comment until February 19th.
Two public forums will be held at the Queen Anne’s County High School Auditorium, on Saturday, February 6th (3:30-5:30pm) and again on Wednesday, February 10th (6:00-8:00pm). In addition, there will be a small group workshop at the same location on Saturday, February 6th (1:00-3:00pm).
There has been significant local opposition to this development project so far (read about it here), so these last public forums ought to be well attended and lively.
5 comments:
DSS Diplomatic Security Service must have decided to build their training center on top of that Toxic Waste Dump / Large Scale Aluminum Smelting Plant. Sounds like a really stupid idea....the best in law enforcement protecting embassies overseas training, living, sleeping, drinking water on a hazardous waste site... Really dumb.
No, the site that was finally chosen is in a pristine rural area on the Eastern Shore. The contaminated site was Eastalco (see: http://skepticalbureaucrat.blogspot.com/2009/11/contaminated-industrial-site-proposed.html).
The people who live around the chosen location would rather have the training center go up at Eastalco.
Foreign Affairs Security Training Center in MD. is probably the worst idea I've heard in a long time. They are going to be training individuals with explosives, driving cars and SUV's at high speeds and crashing...and they will be firing millions of bullets with various small arms on their multiple ranges, some with crew-service weapons with explosive warheads. These same individuals are are going to be living in the area and fighting wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia. Locations like this you don't publicize in the newspapers, you put them in the desert in New Mexico, where no one lives or you place them on MILITARY INSTALLATIONS or BASES. Why? For security reasons, to protect those who work there and the community they are in. Worse idea I've heard in a long time. Good place for this would be on a former / retired military installation, that was shut down during the Clinton Administration, not in a bedroom community where people don't want it to begin with!
Nice thing is, we are going to have new neighbors, which will include Xe Services formerly known as Blackwater, Dyncorps and Triple Canopy all training on this facility. Anyone who doesn't vote "yes" for this project, is Un-American.
The company who will be designing and building this facility is AECOM. If you're not aware of who they are, they have constructed or headed rehab projects for facilities like DIA & NSA Headquarters. AECOM also delivered a broad range of program management support and technical expertise to the renovation and recovery of the Pentagon following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
They also seem to be involved in a lot of other activities like Kellogg, Brown and Root or Dyncorps. Http://www.aecom.com/What+We+Do/Government
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