By SRC’s security expert, Mike McMaken.
Two Jordanian nationals tried to force their way through a gate at Quantico Marine Base on May 3, 2024. They claimed they were making an Amazon delivery to the town of Quantico, which can be accessed through the base. After being told to park in a holding area so they could undergo normal vetting procedures, they tried to proceed through the gate anyway. The sentries had to deploy the vehicle denial barriers at the gate to stop the truck from getting farther onto the base.
Marine Corps CID took the pair into custody and turned them over to ICE for deportation. Oddly, the Marine base command did not inform the Marines and residents of the base about the incident until May 16, which has raised a few eyebrows and caused some concern about what their reasons for delaying notification were. The Quantico spokesperson said no notification was made to preserve security, but understandably, there is speculation that it was to hide something.
All that aside, the actual incident has some aspects that should raise concerns.
- Reportedly, the two men are Jordanian nationals who entered the United States through the southern border illegally.
- Jordan has a large Palestinian population.
- One of the men is reportedly on the United States terrorist watch list.
- The men actively lied to the sentries in an attempt to get on the base.
- Was there anything in the truck?
- Was this a dry run to see how difficult it would be to get on the Marine base or any other military base?
The Quantico Marine Base Command has been contacted several times by local and national journalists for more details about the incident but has not responded to the requests. The incident has attracted the attention of Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lindsey Graham, who has questioned DHS, and specifically Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, for details about how the men entered the country illegally, and to verify whether or not they are on a terrorist watch list. If so, it wouldn’t be the first time.
The Border Patrol has encountered at least 340 illegals on the terrorism watch list who were trying to cross the border since the mass crossings began three years ago at the beginning of President Biden’s term. In at least eight instances, overwhelmed Border Patrol agents have had to hastily hunt down watch-listed illegals who had been mistakenly allowed to enter the country.
To many of us who have either worked in private security or served in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan, the incident has every hallmark of an attempt to test the security of the base in preparation for a terrorist attack. I have personally seen the aftermath of truck bomb explosions at gates and in compounds, and of complex terrorist attacks in buildings, and it isn’t pretty. Had the truck contained explosives or a group of armed men determined to become martyrs, they could have wreaked a great deal of havoc before being brought down. Doing a dry run to test the defenses of a target in advance is a common tactic.
Granted, unauthorized people have tried to enter military bases in the past, but the fact that these were foreign nationals in the United States illegally, at least one of whom is on a terrorist watch list, pushes this event out of the realm of a mundane incident. Add to that the fact that there have been other recent attempts to force entry into U.S. military bases.
A Chinese national tried to enter the Marine base at Twentynine Palms, California on March 27 of this year. After being denied entry by the sentries, he tried to proceed anyway and was stopped by military police. He was detained and turned over to Customs and Border Patrol.
On April 28 a driver tried to force their way into the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek–Fort Story, Virginia. The vehicle disregarded the security check and tried to force the gate at high speed. They crashed into the hydraulic barrier and were killed when the vehicle burst into flames.
There is no indication that any of these events are related, and it could all be coincidence. But with our open southern border, it is easier than it has ever been for bad actors to gain illegal entry to the U.S.
