Several humorous security incidents come to mind as I reminisce about my years at Carswell. One was the backfiring tug. The tugs were cartoonish looking antiques that were fun to drive because their four wheel steering
allowed you to "crab" while in motion. We discovered when the engine wascold and you floored the accelerator, then quickly let up, the tug would backfire so violently that flames would shoot from under the hood. This produced a loud bang, mimicking a shotgun blast. Imagine the commotion we caused; the SP's didn't know if someone was overrunning the area or if one of us had cracked and shot themselves.
The funniest thing I recall concerning security in the area was a phantom intruder that was never caught. This specter would sneak around and blow the horn on a particular tug, usually on a rainy night after everyone had gone home. Now, this really got the SP's going. In reality there was no intruder; dripping rainwater was completing the electrical circuit in the horn relay.
Its random activation would drive the cops crazy (and probably scared them half to death too!)
There were also several sobering incidents involving security forces. One potentially life threatening one involved the collision between a truck the SP's were riding in and an empty SRAM launcher adapter. An SP's life can be incredibly boring, so these troops figured they'd spice things up a bit by drag racing. Well, the passengers fared better than the truck; it was a total loss. I imagine those involved became civilians in short order, and their commander forced the remainder of his personnel in the WSA to walk a beat for months.
Mark Williams
I.Y.A.A.Y.A.S.