Who Secures Our Nation?

Last month Sister Megan Rice who is 82 years old, along with two friends aged 62 and 57, broke into the Y-12 National Security Complex. The New York Times reported the three “carried out what nuclear experts call the biggest security breach … making their way to the inner sanctum of the site where the United States keeps crucial nuclear bomb parts and fuel.”

When asked whether it was easier or harder to break into the facility then planned, Sister Megan Rice responded “Far easier”. On Saturday, July 28, 2012 she and her companions walked ½ mile past signs telling them that deadly force was authorized. They cut through some security fences and walked past security cameras. It was early morning so the trio carried flashlights. They reached the building where more than 100 tons of highly enriched uranium is stored. They spent several hours defacing the building; they hung banners, spray painted graffiti and splashed the building with human blood. They left a note at the building explaining their reason for the break-in that began; “We come to the Y-12 facility because our very humanity rejects the designs of nuclearism, empire and war.”

The trio has been charged with trespassing, malicious destruction of property and "depredation" of the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. If convicted, the three face fines up to $100,000 and up to 10 years in jail.

But how did an 82 year old breach this security? They set off alarms when they cut the fences; however, the guards ignored the alerts. Apparently, the alarms were frequently activated by raccoons and deer rendering them useless. And, the security cameras weren’t working.

The Y-12 facility opened March 2010. According to the Y-12 website “Y‑12 has become the complex that the nation looks to for support in protecting America’s future by applying our state-of-the-art capabilities.”

The Energy Department spends about $1 billion a year on security for nuclear materials. So, who secures our nuclear energy? The same British company that bungled security for the 2012 Summer Olympics, G4S, runs the security at this facility with its US branch, WSI. According to the G4S website they are the largest employer on the London Stock Exchange, with operations in more than 125 countries and over 657,000 employees. According to G4S’s 2011 annual report, last year it had revenues of about $12 billion, and profits of about $317 million.

G4S is wonderful for its shareholders but how well does it secure? One whistleblower, former G4S employee Sarah Hubble, told the press G4S had not done any criminal checks on the clerks that vetted security guards for the Summer Olympics even though they were given access to the candidates personal information, like national insurance cards, passport information and banking information. G4S saved money by not vetting employees who are responsible for vetting security guards but at what cost. Some out of many unfortunate examples are listed below:

• Overseas Civilian Contractors reported that Danny Fitzsimons, a G4S ArmorGroup security guard in Iraq was convicted of shooting and killing two G4S colleagues, after a Baghdad bar fight. His family insisted he suffered from post-traumatic stress and was so unstable he should not have been hired.
• G4S employee Travis Baumgartner stole at least $330,000 but may be as much as $1.9 million after killing 3 co-workers and severely injuring one other. With costs in mind G4S is asked the public to give to a fund they created for the families. Apparently the families of the dead/injured have to take G4S to court to get any compensation from them!
• ABC News reported that another whistleblower, James Gordon will get $1.35 out of a 7.5 million dollar settlement from G4S. He disclosed that their security subsidiary in Pakistan apparently held drunken parties, engaged in sexual hazing and frequented brothels in Kabul.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will give the Y-12 management team 30 days to explain why the G4S contract should not be terminated. Guards that were on duty during the breach have been suspended and the G4S/WSI Y-12 general manager has been replaced.

My question is will G4S refund our country for its positively poor performance?

Perhaps we should not outsource our own national security!