Security Officer’s Love of Drills (Update)

Harry Clark’s anecdote hasn’t changed significantly over four years.

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/entertainment_life/article_ad6b29ee-87b6-59e5-81b6-c49094f57fcc.html

The Advocate [Baton Rouge, LA]

8 June 2015

Smiley: Late warning

Smiley Anders

[…]

Getting his attention

Dear Smiley: My brother, an Air Force pilot in the late ’50s and early ’60s, tells of a squadron he was in where they had a very ‘gung ho’ security officer.

About once a week one of the pilots would find a matchbox on the seat of his aircraft with a note that said, “This is a bomb. What action will you take?”

Then they had to go through the whole security drill business.

He said they took a large, heavy dummy bomb casing from a display at the armory and put it in the back seat of the security officer’s car.

Attached was a note that said, “This is a matchbox. What action will you take?”

There was an immediate reduction in security drills.

HARRY CLARK

Lafayette

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/entertainment_life/smiley_anders/article_00489efa-ba32-11e9-a6ed-e7a6fb022c85.html

The Advocate [Baton Rouge, LA]

9 August 2019

Smiley: 'I'll have what they're having'

Smiley Anders

[…]

Bombs and boxes

Dear Smiley: My brother was in the Air Force flying F-105 interceptors in the late '50s.

He told me that they had a security officer who was a Barney Fife kind of guy. He would leave a matchbox on the aircraft seat with a note that said, "This is a bomb, what action are you going to take?"

It created a lot of delays and interfered with their scheduled flights.

So they took a 500-pound practice bomb and muscled it into the back seat of his car with a note that said, "This is a matchbox. What action are you going to take?"

It reduced the number of security drills.

HARRY CLARK

Lafayette