Man arrested with explosives at airport was Army expert

[Paslode]

Originally Posted by caveman

In his defense, I forgot I'd left a kershaw blur in my pack when I came home from deployment. I used the same bag to go on leave and had the knife confiscated by TSA. That's pretty much the same thing.

The big difference is your item doesn't fall within NFA Law, BATFE scrutiny and you can't bring down a plane with a knife which C4 does and .MIL Smokes may as well.

[Hammock]

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/0...osives-010312/

MIDLAND, Texas — A soldier accused of bringing explosives into an airport in his carry-on bag may have flown halfway across the country with them the week before, according to what he told investigators in court documents.

Sgt. Trey Scott Atwater, 30, of Hope Mills, N.C., waived his initial appearance Tuesday in federal court, said Daryl Fields, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in West Texas. Authorities say Atwater went through a security checkpoint Saturday at Midland International Airport with C-4, a powerful explosive.

He has been charged with trying to bring explosives onto an airplane, which carries a maximum 10-year federal prison sentence. His attorney, Jason Leach, declined to comment on the case.

Atwater, based at Fort Bragg, N.C., told the FBI he is a demolitions expert who returned from his third deployment to Afghanistan in April, according to court documents. He said his Army special forces team always carried at least two blocks of C-4, but he didn’t know any explosives were in his bag when he returned to the U.S.

He said he didn’t see any explosives in the main compartment of the bag when he packed for his trip to Texas. The bag had been in his garage and hadn’t been used since he returned from overseas, according to court documents.

Atwater was detained at the Fayetteville, N.C., airport on Dec. 24 when security agents found a military smoke grenade in his carry-on bag, according to court documents. The documents don’t say whether officials now suspect C-4 may have been in his bag then but was missed during additional screening, or whether the C-4 was found in the same bag as the grenade, although a week later and at a different airport.

After the grenade was confiscated, Atwater was “admonished” and allowed to continue on to Texas, the documents said. He was stopped at the Midland airport Saturday, when he and his family were heading home. A TSA agent spotted a suspicious item in Atwater’s carry-on bag during screening, and a police bomb squad identified that as C-4.

The FBI didn’t find out about the grenade incident until being informed by the TSA after Atwater’s arrest in Midland.

“When I asked him about the December 24 Fayetteville incident after TSA informed me of it, Atwater acknowledged that it had occurred, but said he had forgotten to mention it to us during our initial interview,” the FBI agent wrote in the affidavit filed in the case.

The Transportation Security Administration did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment Tuesday.

No one answered the door Tuesday at the home of Atwater’s parents in a quiet middle-class neighborhood in Midland, about 320 miles west of Dallas. An American flag between the two garage doors fluttered in the breeze. Relatives have not spoken publicly since his arrest or returned multiple phone messages requesting comment.

A neighbor who lives two doors down, Pam Moore, 55, said she watched Atwater grow up. She said he was a “wonderful kid” who played high school football.

“We were real proud of him when he joined the military,” Moore said. “I feel sorry that he got caught up in this. ... I just hope everything works out for him. I really do.”

[kgoerz]

He is either stockpiling and finally got caught. Or somebody played a very bad joke on him.

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by kgoerz

He is either stockpiling and finally got caught. Or somebody played a very bad joke on him.

Exactly, and he, as well as his family, are about to get a great big proctoscopic exam.

TR

[Snaquebite]

If he was stockpiling why would he be bringing it TO Bragg? I think he's just a dumbass that slipped through the system.

[lindy]

Originally Posted by Paslode

...you can't bring down a plane with a knife...

[Paslode]

Originally Posted by lindy

I thought about that after posting, let me re-phrase that. It isn't as likely that you (going solo) will take a plane down with a knife, but if you have 3-5 trained accomplices to assist it has been proven to work..

[caveman]

Perhaps I should have posted my comment in pink. I thought it unnecessary.

[BigWave]

I'm with you Paslode; Take down a plane or no, a knife being found by TSA is not the same thing as C-4. At least the explosive was not in his underwear or his shoe. :roll eyes:

Seriously, the "real world" will look upon this as an aberration; a poor decision, possibly psychologically induced due to PTSD from years of extreme duty and the recent tour, or, at worst, a criminal act by a psychologically damaged mind. Regardless, for rational people, this is not an act that reflects negatively on the Special Forces community. This is an individual act, committed by an individual, that will be dealt with accordingly by civilian and military authorities as necessary. It is not an act of Special Forces, Ft. Bragg, JFK Special Warfare Center, or anything or anyone else, period. Anyone who tries to make it anything else, and there will be those people, are on a witch hunt and should be dealt with accordingly.

I wish his command the best.

[mdpatterson]

Hate to see one of our Elite (I'm saying Elite because he was SF, not his character or actions here) throw it all away for any reason. At least TSA caught it.....eventually, scary what does get through though. My flight attendant found 3 .22 rounds in a seat back pocket last week.

I know a few rounds is nothing compared to this, but really makes you wonder how much stuff gets through that we'll never hear about.

Mike

[tunanut]

At least he didn't have an ignition source, he can just pleed dumbass and take what's coming. No ill intentions, just a major brain fart.

[Paslode]

Originally Posted by BigWave

Seriously, the "real world" will look upon this as an aberration; a poor decision, possibly psychologically induced due to PTSD from years of extreme duty and the recent tour, or, at worst, a criminal act by a psychologically damaged mind. Regardless, for rational people, this is not an act that reflects negatively on the Special Forces community. This is an individual act, committed by an individual, that will be dealt with accordingly by civilian and military authorities as necessary. It is not an act of Special Forces, Ft. Bragg, JFK Special Warfare Center, or anything or anyone else, period. Anyone who tries to make it anything else, and there will be those people, are on a witch hunt and should be dealt with accordingly.

I wish his command the best.

Shit happens.

I did similar myself, once, a year or two ago. Long drive and having a good time sight seeing on the way back home with the kids. I failed to notice the signs posted 'No Firearms' and I forgot all about something under the seat.

By the time it dawned on me....all I could do was smile, stay calm and hope I didn't get directed to the search lane.

Hopefully this was just a outta sight, outta mind incident for this Soldier.

[BigWave]

With you again and my apologies Paslode, I did not mean to sound too harsh; just meant to say that this should not reflect upon SF as a unit or on the other warriors of SF as individuals.

Right on, shit happens. Flew round trip from Houston to Boston with a handful of .22 rounds in my hunting jacket that I wore onto the plane. Apparently, I never took them out after my last squirrel hunt of the season before. I was fortunate enough that the TSA did not catch it. If they had, I may have had more than just "Dumbass" stamped across my forehead.

Take care.

[Pete]

An M112 Block of C4 is 1"x2"x11" and weighs 1 1/4 lbs.

Two of those would be 2"x2"x11" and weigh 2 1/2 lbs.

A full 1 qt canteen weighs slightly over 2.2 lbs.

How many of you would pick up your AWOL bag and not notice a full canteen in it?

[CloseDanger]

Yes, even I have carried through airport security unknowing myself.

This Soldier was cleared of charges (Thank God).

I bet he does not do it again.