PFPA Officer Alex Thomas Receives the Medal for Valor

Filed under Awards and Recognition Ceremonies by on February 13, 2013 at 7:12 pm {no comments}

The Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Valor today to Officer Alex Thomas for heroic, life-saving actions performed off duty in Prince George’s County, Maryland, Aug. 12, 2011.

“I know that Officer Thomas doesn’t view himself as a hero,” said PFPA Director Steven E. Calvery. “He was just doing what training taught him to do. But I don’t agree with that assumption. He is a hero, and I’m proud to serve with him.”

According to his award citation,

Officer Thomas stopped at a local convenience store, where he witnessed a violent altercation between two men. Officer Thomas witnessed the suspect physically assault the victim, [an elderly man], brandish a firearm, and then threaten to shoot the victim, who was lying on the ground.

Believing that if he did not act immediately, the victim would face death or serious bodily harm, Officer Thomas drew his personally owned firearm, identified himself as a police officer, and commanded the suspect to drop his weapon.

The suspect ignored Officer Thomas’ orders; and, after the suspect turned and twice pointed his weapon at him, Officer Thomas fired his weapon once, striking and mortally wounding the subject.

Officer Thomas secured the crime scene and determined that the suspect no longer posed a threat to himself or others.

He then retrieved medical supplies from his personal vehicle and began performing first aid and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation on the suspect until first-responders arrived on scene and relieved him.

The suspect later succumbed to his wound and died. The victim was not seriously injured.

Officer Thomas’ immediate actions, at the risk of his own life, resulted in saving the victim’s life and prevented the suspect from harming others present at the scene.

As a result of his unselfish and heroic actions, Officer Thomas is hereby awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Valor.

The Medal for Valor was created shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center. It is the highest non-military award given by the Secretary of Defense to government employees and private citizens who act heroically in the face of danger.

To date, 56 Medals for Valor have been awarded by the Secretary of Defense. Twenty-seven of these medals have been awarded to PFPA officers, including Officer Thomas.

Eighteen PFPA officers received the medal for their display of valor on Sep. 11, 2001. Four officers were recognized eight years ago for their heroic actions apprehending a suspect who had killed a fellow Pentagon Police officer, Mark Feltis.

“Another officer,” said Calvery, “saved a neighbor from a burning home. And almost three years ago,” he added, “four PFPA officers were recognized for their valor during an active shooting incident at the Pentagon Metro Entrance Facility.”

PFPA In Action at the Fifty Seventh Presidential Inauguration

Filed under Presidential Inauguration, Uncategorized by on January 22, 2013 at 9:00 am {no comments}

A PFPA police officer inspects the bags of an inaugural parade participant.

CBRNE specialist Terrance Allen (front) conducts a technical sweep of a bus in the Pentagon north parking lot, while a security official from a partnering agency (back) conducts a visual sweep of the same.

The PFPA brass consult with a Pentagon police officer. From right to left: Corinna Robinson, director of the Anti-Terrorism Force Protection (ATFP) Directorate; Lemar Jones, special assistant to PFPA’s deputy director, Jonathan Cofer; PFPA’s deputy director, Jonathan Cofer; and a PFPA police officer.

PFPA Declares ‘Mission Accomplished’ re: the Presidential Inauguration

Filed under Presidential Inauguration by on January 21, 2013 at 5:00 pm {no comments}

 

Sgt. Reggie Kim (right) and Officer Rhodes Johnson (left) consult about Pentagon perimeter security during the Fifty-Seventh Presidential Inauguration.

For the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA), it’s mission accomplished re: the Fifty-Seventh Presidential Inauguration. 

“Things went pretty smoothly. There have been no disruptions on our end,” says the PFPA site commander, Sgt. Reggie T. Kim. 

“All five divisions of roughly 100 buses each,” he adds, “have been screened in a timely fashion, according to schedule, and we’ve maintained a safe venue for them [the buses].” 

Kim led a team of roughly 70 uniformed PFPA police officers charged with securing the Pentagon’s perimeter. This is important because the Pentagon is the staging area for participants in the inaugural parade. 

Other PFPA units — such as K-9; the Hazardous Device Division (HDD); and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) teams — then swept and cleared the buses, personnel, and equipment.

In all, some 600 to 700 buses were staged, swept and cleared in the Pentagon’s north and south parking lots.

To complete its inaugural day mission, PFPA worked with the United States Secret Service, the U.S. Park Police, the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police, Arlington County Police, Virginia State Police, and other nearby law enforcement agencies and departments.

History at the Pentagon, Then and Now

Filed under Pentagon History, Presidential Inauguration by on January 20, 2013 at 9:00 am {no comments}

History is made every day at the Pentagon, and today is no exception. Indeed, the Pentagon is the staging area for participants in the Fifty-Seventh Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013.

The Fifty-Seventh Presidential Inauguration begins at 2:00 a.m. tomorrow at the Pentagon. More than 100 PFPA employees — police officers, investigators, special agents, and others – will join forces with the Secret Service. Their mission: to sweep and clear all of the buses en route to the inaugural day parade.

So it’s a good time to reflect upon the historical significance of this building. The History Channel did a good job of that this week in an online piece, “9 Things You May Not Know About the Pentagon.” Our favorite? Number 6: “There are twice as many bathrooms as necessary.”

Interestingly, the reason for this is Jim Crow-era racial discrimination. The Pentagon, of course, was built in 1941, in Arlington, Virginia, where segregation was then the (state) law of the land.

Initial plans thus called for “separate facilities for black and white employees — including ‘white’ and ‘colored’ cafeterias for the construction crews and 284 bathrooms, twice the number needed for the anticipated staff levels,” reports the History Channel.

But in June 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, which prohibited segregation among federal employees. And so, on the very day it opened (Jan. 15, 1943), the Pentagon became the only non-segregated building in Virginia.

Other interesting facts about the Pentagon reported by the History Channel:

  • The Pentagon has more than 17 miles of corridors and is one of the largest office buildings in the world.
  • “The U.S. Capitol building could fit into just one of the [Pentagon’s] five sides, and, with 5,100,000 square feet, it has twice the office space of the Empire State Building.”
  • The same person, Maj. Leslie Groves, who oversaw the Manhattan Project also oversaw construction of the Pentagon.
  • The Pentagon was built in “record time,” just 16 months. “It’s been estimated that, under normal circumstances, construction should have taken four years,” reports the History Channel.
  • Because of a wartime shortage of steel, the Pentagon was built “primarily of reinforced concrete, 435,000 cubic yards of it.”

The entire article is well worth reading.

TSA Adopts Non-Invasive Screening Technology to Protect Privacy

Filed under Science and Technology Office (STO), Visitor Screening by on January 19, 2013 at 9:00 am {no comments}

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reports that, in accordance with a congressional mandate, it is replacing personally invasive full-body scanners, known as backscatters, with scanners that depict only a generic body image.

Reports The TSA Blog:

You may remember us blogging about new privacy software we rolled out for the L3 Millimeter Wave body scanners. It’s called Automated Target Recognition (ATR); and, with the use of this software, our officers no longer see an image of the person being screened. This is what our officers see if the passenger alarms:

TSA’s new scanners are similar to ones recently tested by PFPA. The recently tested scanners show only a generic body image, and not the actual body of the person being scanned.

The TSA’s new scanners come in the wake of protests by privacy rights groups and members of Congress, who expressed concern about the personally invasive nature of the backscatters.

Consequently, as part of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Congress mandated that all TSA body scanners be equipped with ATR by June 1, 2012, the TSA reports. (The deadline has since been extended to June 1, 2013.)

As part of a 90-day pilot program, PFPA adopted similar scanning technology in June 2012. “Protecting people’s privacy and civil liberties is a priority,” said the agency in a June 18, 2012, press release. Thus our scanners

do not present an image of the person being screened. The only image visible to anyone will be a generic body outline located on the side of the screening system…

[And] once screening is complete, the image will be cleared. No images will be saved. At no point will anyone be viewing an actual scanned image of the person undergoing screening. Therefore, an individual’s privacy is protected.

PFPA is evaluating the results of its pilot program and expects soon to resume using non-invasive screening technology, says Dr. Dan Walsh, director of PFPA’s Science and Technology Office.

PFPA’s ‘Bomb Squad’ Working the Presidential Inauguration

Filed under Hazardous Devices Division (HDD), Presidential Inauguration by on January 18, 2013 at 9:00 am {no comments}

Richard Coleman heads up PFPA’s Hazardous Device Division (HDD) or “Bomb Squad.” On Monday, Jan. 21, he will be working his fifth presidential inauguration, and his second with PFPA.

One of PFPA’s wisest and most experienced employees is Richard Coleman, who heads up the agency’s FBI-accredited Hazardous Device Division (HDD) or “bomb squad.”

Coleman has decades of experience in the world of explosives. His resume includes stints with the U.S. military, FBI, and U.S. intelligence services. And on Monday, Jan. 21, Coleman will be working his fifth presidential inauguration, and his second with PFPA.

In 2008, he says, “we were here at two-o’clock in the morning. There were only two of us plus the military. We did a lot of work that evening. It was a long day.”

This year will be no different. Coleman’s long work day will start at 2:00 a.m. But this time, he’ll have six of his crew on hand to help sweep the buses that stage at the Pentagon before departing for the inaugural parade in Washington, D.C.

“We can do three buses in about 90 seconds,” he says. “It’s dog searching, robot searching, and people are searching, all at the same time. It’s choreographed. And the reason we’re successful is that we have an excellent group of people. They work very hard and they’re dedicated.”

More than 100 PFPA personnel from several different directorates and units — including the Pentagon Police; Investigation and Threats; Security Services; Emergency Response Team; and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives — will be working the presidential inauguration.

“This is where it, [the inauguration], all starts,” says Coleman, “right here at the Pentagon.”

PFPA Deputy Director Jonathan Cofer on the ‘Thin Blue Line’

Filed under Pentagon Police Directorate (PPD) by on January 17, 2013 at 9:00 am {no comments}
Jonathan Cofer

PFPA Deputy Director Jonathan Cofer: “Thank you for being willing to serve, to protect, and for being that thin blue line here in the Pentagon. You never know when that thin blue line will be challenged.”

PFPA Deputy Director Jonathan spoke about the ‘Thin Blue Line’ during a new officer and investigator ceremony in the Pentagon, Jan. 11. His remarks speak to the critical but often unheralded mission of PFPA police officers, investigators and agency personnel. Here’s what Cofer said:

Just a quick thought, and then I’ll let you get on with what you’re really here for, which is to get what you’ve earned: your badge and your credentials.

You know, the thin blue line talks to the line between the law enforcement officer and good and evil. Let me impress upon all of you who are about to take the oath today and get your badge that evil’s out there.

We had evil here on 9/11. We had evil here with John Bedell, who tried to shoot his way in here. And there’s evil in Connecticut and Colorado and movie theaters and elementary schools.

So evil’s out there. Let there be no doubt in your mind: it’s out there. Let there be no doubt in your mind that there’s the potential for something dangerous to happen here — it’s great. It’s happened here before.

I challenge you to be trained and to stay alert. And, as we used to say back in my old Army days, ‘Stay alert, stay alive.’ Right?

Now, if you’ve checked that 500th badge on your eight-hour shift, and your eyes feel a little bit droopy, realize that 801st badge might be the person you need to be concerned about.

We’ve got about 20 active BOLOs right now. You know what’s a BOLO is, right?

New PFPA Officer James Harris: Yes, Sir.

Cofer: What’s a BOLO?

Harris: Be on the lookout.

Cofer: OK, he’s learned well!

We have about 20 active BOLOs right here in the Pentagon today, that we need to be concerned about. So this is not a game. A badge and a gun is a serious thing…

Parents, loved ones, family members — we appreciate your support for these officers, for the mission that they’re about to embark upon. It’s a lifetime commitment, from the time you wear the gun and the badge: because you never know how long that life’s going to be.

I don’t want to scare you. You could have nightmares!

[audience laughter]

I thank you for being willing to serve, to protect, and for being that thin blue line here in the Pentagon. You never know when that thin blue line will be challenged.

Congratulations. And I look forward to seeing all of you, seeing you around. Hooah! That’s Army-[speak] for OK. [Cofer is a retired Army brigadier general.]

[audience laughter and applause]

PFPA’s Financial Management Office Is Money!

Filed under Financial Management Office (FMO) by on January 16, 2013 at 9:00 am {no comments}

As PFPA’s defacto chief financial officer, Carol Jackson deserves a high five. Jackson has established strict financial control measures, which have enabled the agency to better manage its finances.

In the Winter 2012/2013 edition of The Shield, we profile PFPA’s Financial Management Office, headed up by Carol Jackson and the PFPA “budget hawks.”

Here’s the “money quote” from Jackson:

Is it a tough job? Yeah. Do I get a lot of flak? Yeah. Do I get constantly beat up, burned out, and chewed up by everybody in this agency? Yeah.

But in this position, you have to be tough. Because more than being good stewards of the public trust, you’re ensuring that a critical mission can continue… We’re contributing to the safety and security of our workforce, and we’re proud of that.

Read the entire article in The Shield, available from the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA).

Pentagon Shooter Sentenced to 25 Years

Filed under Pentagon Incidents by on January 15, 2013 at 9:00 am {no comments}

In 2012, PFPA earned the prestigious Shield Award for helping put terrorist suspect Yonathan Melaku behind bars. The award is given out annually by the Anti-Defamation League.

Yonathan Melaku has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to firing live rounds at the Pentagon, the Marine Corps museum in Quantico, and other military facilities in the National Capital Region.

Melaku was sentenced Jan. 10 in Alexandria, thanks in part to critical police and investigative work performed by PFPA police officers and investigators.

The agency, in fact, was recognized in September by the Anti-Defamation League for being one of more than a dozen local area law enforcement agencies that made Melaku’s arrest and prosecution possible. PFPA partnered with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Virginia State Police, Arlington County Police, Prince William County Police, and nearby departments and agencies.

According to the Washington Post, Melaku risked an 85-year prison sentence had he rejected the proffered plea agreement. His defense attorneys “uncovered evidence that he was mentally ill,” the Post reports; and “government doctors, [likewise], diagnosed him as schizophrenic.”

Melaku was arrested after National Park Police officers discovered spent shell casings inside a backpack that he was carrying. The shell casings matched those of bullets fired at the Pentagon.

Also found inside Melaku’s backpack was a bomb-making substance, ammonium nitrate, and propaganda for Osama bin-Laden and al-Qaeda.

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