Guards: Ammo plant unsecure

WASHINGTON – Guards at a riverfront Army ammunition plant in Tennessee report that boaters have entered restricted areas, holes are often found in a perimeter fence and a government contractor steps up security to impress inspectors.

One time, the guards say, two teenage runaways were found wandering around the 6,000-acre property after getting dangerously close to explosives.

The Army says the plant is meeting Defense Department security standards.

In written statements to lawmakers and in interviews with the Associated Press, about half a dozen security officers discussed alleged problems at the Holston Army Ammunition Plant. The facility in Kingsport, near the Virginia border in northeastern Tennessee about 100 miles from Knoxville, is a major supplier of explosives to the military since World War II.

“We’re really not prepared,” Ron Nitrio, a security officer at the plant for 15 years, said in an interview. “If somebody wants to get in the base – they can get in almost anytime, almost anywhere.”

The company hired to provide security, Wackenhut Services Inc., said it is not aware of security lapses and contends the charges may be tied to wage and labor disputes at the plant. One disagreement involves a complaint by the guards that they are not paid as much as some other contractors at similar federal facilities.

“There are no serious security problems at Holston, not that I’m aware of,” said James Long III, Wackenhut’s chief executive.

The guards brought their allegations to Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who plan to ask the Army’s inspector general this week for a formal inquiry.

“There ought to be a full-scale investigation,” Dorgan said. “Based on what employees have said, it’s very worrisome.

Added Wyden: “Certainly when you see people like this coming forward, which always exposes them to some risk, you ought to pay attention to what they’re saying.”

Long said the Army would not tolerate lax security. “The Army has a very comprehensive system for coming around and reviewing the security posture of all their facilities,” he said. “If they’re not happy with it, they change it.”

Defending Wackenhut’s performance, Army spokesman Steve Abney said the Holston plant is “meeting all of the Army and DOD security standards.”

Wackenhut is one of the largest contractors in charge of security at government facilities. Wyden and Dorgan previously sought an investigation into alleged security lapses by the company at the Homeland Security Department’s headquarters in Washington. The company is no longer the contractor there.

In addition, the Energy Department’s inspector general said a mock attack at a department facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., in January 2003 was “compromised” when two Wackenhut guard supervisors saw plans in advance.

The guards at the Holston plant say they routinely report problems such as holes in a perimeter fence, but that their concerns often are ignored.

The guards allege the company has cut some patrols in response to higher gas prices and say Wackenhut puts extra equipment and people on duty to ensure good marks when federal inspectors are around.

“We put on a facade for the right people,” said Gerhard Marburger Jr., who has worked at the plant for about four years.

The guards also say boaters are supposed to stay out of the part of the Holston River adjacent to the plant. But, they say, Wackenhut does not regularly patrol this area or take it seriously when boaters enter the restricted space or climb on the riverbanks.

Marburger said guards believe terrorists could gain access to the plant this way – and would have an excuse, if caught.

“All they would have to do is pull out a rod and reel and say, ‘Oops, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be there,’ ” Marburger said.