Coast Guard's "Bang, Bang" Caused Uproar

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: In The News

(AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

Vice Admiral John P. Currier, the Coast Guard chief of staff, said at a noon press conference that a Coast Guard training exercise in the Potomac River near the Pentagon that sparked rumors and confusion this morning was a "low profile, normal training exercise" in which no shots were fired.

News outlets reported this morning that the Coast Guard had fired 10 rounds at a suspicious boat located near the bridge crossed by the president's motorcade as it went to the Pentagon.

"What we've seen is a reaction to a training exercise that was really just that," Currier said. He said that the furor was sparked because a civilian intercepted unencrypted communications on a discrete Coast Guard channel during a training exercise.

He said the communications – which included the words "bang, bang" – were taken out of context.

"It's quite possible that they said I've expended x number of rounds" on the frequency, Currier said, suggesting that "8 or 10 rounds" may have been mentioned. But he said that the fact that a drill or exercise is underway is normally stated as part of such an operation.

Somebody said "bang, bang on the radio at the appropriate time in the training exercise," he said, adding that "verbalization of gunfire and orders between the boats" is normal practice.

"This being a normal training exercise, preplanned, the coordination was minimal with other federal agencies," he added, stating that such excercises take place on a regular basis.

Currier stressed that there was no criminal activity taking place and said the president was never at risk or in the area during the exercise. He said that during a real operation the Guard would have used encrypted communications, not an open channel.

After the early media reports, departures from nearby Reagan National Airport were temporarily halted as a precaution, the Federal Aviation Administration said. FBI agents rushed to the scene, unaware that a training exercise was underway.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said following the reports that "we're safer" because of such exercises, adding that he does not question law enforcement efforts to keep the city safe.

In a shot at the media outlets that initially reported the incident, he said, "before reporting things, checking would be good."

"It appears as if a lot of this could have been avoided," said Gibbs.

The Coast Guard vowed to review how it conducts its exercises in the wake of the uproar.

Senator George Voinovich released a statement saying he is "extremely concerned about the report of a Coast Guard training exercise being conducted on the Potomac River as September 11 memorial ceremonies were in progress nearby at the Pentagon."

"The anxiety caused by this situation on such a solemn day is extremely disturbing," he said. "I look forward to hearing from [Homeland] Secretary [Janet] Napolitano about the decision-making process leading up to today's events. It sounds very much like the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing."

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by brucearnold September 27, 2009 9:22 PM EDT: On 9/11/01, the all-powerful bankers behind New World Order globalization unleashed their oil and money hungry military-industrial dogs of war to orchestrate the fall of 3 (not 2) WTC towers--the third, not struck by a plane, housing 3 floors of damning SEC records. On that day, we lost 3000 lives (with 1000s more to follow) plus 4 commercial airliners (with all on board) ... and stood by helplessly as something (not wide enough to be a 757) bored a hole in the side of the Pentagon. Yet even today, two elections and a new administration later, our Big Brother government expects us to believe that all of that masterfully-plotted and perfectly-timed destruction was accomplished by 15 Saudis and 4 of their cousins using nothing more than box cutters and big balls. If you believe that, or if you believe we have been told anything close to the Truth about 9/11, then I ask you to Google "911 truth" and "911 peak oil", and objectively evaluate what you find at websites like AE911Truth.org.; Reply to this comment


by sunspro September 11, 2009 4:26 PM EDT: Voinovich is ridiculous.
It's the media's fault that this exercise was reported incorrectly!!!!
The Coast Guard did nothing wrong!; Reply to this comment


by gangesdak September 11, 2009 4:09 PM EDT: News media is hungry after news- any news. They are the ones who caused the panic. Coast guard did nothing wrong. News media is losing jobs already. I hate to say, but someone in the news should lose the job for resorting to such silly news.; Reply to this comment


by nomealaska September 11, 2009 3:57 PM EDT: Our safety is not based on our security and vigilance, but upon building strong relationships with the rest of the world.

We are less safe today than eight years ago, because our strategy is to blockade our borders, spy on our citizens, and start endless wars with other countries. We should have kicked the Taliban'a butt during the first month, then we should have sent constructive people out to help our neighbors around the world. We have done nothing to help anybody in the world, and we have practically destroyed the entire world's economy in the process of trying to tear down perceived threats. Osama bin Ladin may have initiated this cycle of events, but the US goverment along with the military have done far more damage than the Taliban could have ever imagined doing themselves. We are destroying our own way of life, under the guise of trying to protect it. The "reds" have played on, and amplified" our initial fears into an all out attack on American freedoms (privacy, liberty and justice).; Reply to this comment


by old-enough September 11, 2009 3:25 PM EDT: What drivel..... The Coast Guard didn't cause the uproar. It was caused by the "Chicken Little" news media that just had to be the first to announce that the "SKY IS FALLING" without bothering to check on the facts. -- It's called "YELLOW JOURNALISM", and has always been considered a mark of poor journalistic ethics. Someone should lose their job for such shoddy reporting.; Reply to this comment


by Lawyers-Guns-n-Money September 11, 2009 2:25 PM EDT: by mljohns00 September 11, 2009 2:10 PM EDT
An Obama administration called this "felony stupidity". We've had a lot of that the last ten years. But with so many felonies, why isn't anybody in jail?
====================================

Being stupid isn't a felony; hell, it's not even illegal. Considering our current crop, it does, however, seem to be a required trait for those seeking elected to office.; Reply to this comment

by mljohns00 September 11, 2009 2:10 PM EDT

An Obama administration called this "felony stupidity". We've had a lot of that the last ten years. But with so many felonies, why isn't anybody in jail?

Reply to this comment


by gangesdak September 11, 2009 4:12 PM EDT: Obama administration is sticking their finger in the air to figure out which way the air is blowing. Coast guard has done nothing wrong.

by timdgrim September 11, 2009 1:58 PM EDT

It would have been better if they conducted this particular exercise on another day since our citizens still remain very paranoid on particular days. (9/11).
However, there is a reason why they call Military Intelligence an oxymoron.

Reply to this comment


by gbdmd September 11, 2009 4:28 PM EDT: You miss the ENTIRE POINT. NO ONE AT THE COAST GUARD OR ANY OTHER AGENCY DID ANYTHING WRONG!!!!!! The exercise was incorrectly reported by the media. Robert Gibbs is correct. Before reporting on something, it might have been helpful to have checked the facts first. Some hair brained reporter or news agency reported an "incident" without actually knowing what they were reporting about.

As far as feeling paranoid. GET OVER YOUR PARANOIA. There's nothing to be paranoid about.


by HGOODGUY September 11, 2009 1:57 PM EDT: Why is it that government agencies are always breaking new ground in the pursuit of stupidity??
Want to do something stupid??
Fly a 747 over the statue of liberty!!!
Conduct a "training exercise on 9/11 in the Potomic!!!; Reply to this comment


by pandamonium6 September 11, 2009 1:34 PM EDT: "before reporting things, checking would be good."
"It appears as if a lot of this could have been avoided," said Gibbs.

This sound a bit like the "Attack of the Martians." I guess we have not learned that lesson yet.

Moral of the story...RELAX. All these scare tactics do not do anyone any good!; Reply to this comment