Twin explosions at Angel Stadium this morning – and they had nothing to do with the Angels’ bats

Today marked day one of a two-day emergency preparedness exercise in Anaheim.  Code-named “Golden Guardian 2007” the annual statewide exercise seeks to improve California’s response to disasters.

This year’s exercise was a full scale field exercise.

Sometime in the past few days, a retired OCTA bus was blown up in a simulated homicide bomber attack out at a San Bernardino Sheriff explosives training range.  The bus was severely damaged, looking somewhat like this bus in Israel that was hit by a terrorist bomber.  

The bus and all its pieces (some blown as far as 65 yards away) was packed up and hauled to the Angel Stadium parking lot where every piece of the ruined bus was placed out in the parking lot in the same relative position it was in after the explosion.

Another retired OCTA bus was tilted on its side where it crushed a passenger car.  This was to simulate the force of an explosion from a car bomb that was to have gone off at about the same time as the bomber hit the bus.  A third bus held a terrorist suspect whose vest either did not blow or who lost their nerve and did not blow themselves up. 

At 9:55 a.m., the CHP shut down the 57 Freeway so as to minimize the likelihood of a spectator crash on the road overlooking the northeast side of the Angel Stadium parking lot. Why might a motorist crash?  Well…

At 10 a.m. the “car bomb” exploded in a huge ball of fire.  This explosion set off a secondary explosion in a nearby car.  In the VIP stand 100 yards away or so, we felt the heat on our faces.  Mayor Curt Pringle, the host of this major preparedness event was in the stands, as was Anaheim councilmember Lucille Kring, City of Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche, Mission Viejo Major Gail Reavis, and Buena Park Councilman Art Brown.  Earlier I saw Anaheim councilmember Harry Sidhu while later I saw Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby.

A few minutes later, the first Anaheim Fire Department engine rolled up.  At the same time, 200 volunteers, most of them having been gone over with moulage kits to simulate injuries, poured out from under a 57 Freeway overpass to assume their positions around the wrecks. 

The first engine crew was extinguishing the fires as the second, third, and fourth fire trucks rolled up, all timed to simulate their arrival through heavy traffic. 

On a nearby train track, a Metrolink train with two engines and five passenger cars remained stopped.  Special SWAT team members would later search the train for explosives. 

As the “injured” were treated and evacuated, law enforcement began to show up.  The area was swept for additional explosives.  I saw bomb dogs, a bomb robot, and a bomb disposal container in action. 

The exercise continues tomorrow with forensic and coroner team members exercising their skills. 

The exercise was paid for with $1.7 million of Homeland Security Training money.  The State of California coordinated the effort (other exercises were occurring in Stockton and San Jose) with some 45 agencies and 3,000 participants statewide.  Officials from the State of California in Anaheim today included Matt Bettenhausen, California director of Homeland Security, and Brigadier General Jack Hagan, the head of the volunteer State Military Reserve force and officials from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.  Even Orange County's John Cruz, the Appointments Secretary, was there. 

I had a small role in planning some of the Golden Guardian effort before I retired from the California Army National Guard in April after 24 years of service.  In addition, as one of the six members of the Budget Committee, Subcommittee 4 on State Administration, I have oversight on the emergency preparedness budget. 

It was good to see California’s considerable human and equipment assets come together to practice responding to an event we all hope will never happen – a terror attack on our ground transportation system. 

Comments

[Oro-agua]

DeVore is the only State Assemblymember that I ever see blogging. I do not point this fact out admirably.

[Chuck DeVore]

Interesting point of view, “Oro-agua.” So, what would you have me do to report to the public what I am doing or what I think about the issues of the day?

The common approaches are:

1) Have staff write a press release that the press will usually ignore.
2) Have staff write an electronic newsletter that would be posted to an official website or emailed to supporters.
3) Spend $50,000 of taxpayer money to mail a newsletter to over 100,000 households telling them what I am doing and what I think about the issues of the day.
4) Say nothing, communicate nothing, and tell no one anything about what I am doing or what I think about the issues of the day.

Do you not think that elected officials owe it to the public they represent to communicate to that public what exactly what it is they are doing and what they think about public policy?

Given your comment, I can only imagine that you would strongly disapproved of Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist Papers and how they were published in the blog of their time.

All the best,

Chuck DeVore
State Assemblyman, 70th District
www.ChuckDeVore.com

[redperegrine]

Hey Chuck, how come you never told us you were a VIP?

[Army of One]

I bet Chuck was just itching to put on his National Guard uniform and go play solider.

[Chuck DeVore]

No, "Army of One", I was more than content to let the next generation of soldiers take over.

BTW, we just marked Veterans Day. I hope you thanked a veteran for their service.

[Army Of One]

Considering that I have both an Air Force and an Army vet in the family I made sure to do just that. Sorry Chuck, I didn’t have any National Guard members in the family. But, if I did, I would make sure to thank them for their brave service in downtown Los Angeles.

[Desert Storm Vet]

9:06 pm, you miserable, worthless, POS. You never served yourself and yet you criticize someone who put in over 20 years in uniform. You are a lowlife MoFo.

[Chuck DeVore]

Whatever, "Army", whatever.

Yeh, I only deployed to Panama a year before the U.S. invaded (was carjacked at gunpoint by paramilitaries as part of Noriega's campaign of intimidation against the U.S. military).

Only went to Korea a few times for exercises.

Only was on active duty for a few months to support the first Gulf War.

And, of course, as you commented, was in South Central L.A. during the riots where I was shot at only once.

My service was fairly typical of a Cold War-era reservist.

Based on your comment, I surmise you never served in uniform. Good for you. We do live in a free nation without a peacetime draft. I’m glad you found other things to do with all your time. Had I decided not to serve for over 24 years, I certainly could have enjoyed a lot of vacations with my family, but, as it was, for over 10 years, I used my vacation time to perform my annual training or go to required military schools. I consider that time well spent helping to defend America – even people like yourself.

Chuck DeVore
State Assemblyman, 70th District

[I heart Chuck]

I love that Chuck is an Assemblymember that blogs, served his country and takes a beating from idiots like Army of one with a smile.
And his wife has the BEST pumpkin pie recipe and it is that time of the year....so all you pie baking, God fearing bloggers should go to chuckdevore.com and download the recipe.

[Desert Storm Vet 2]

I don’t know anyone that I served with that respects a National Guard policy geek.

"I used my vacation time to perform my annual training or go to required military schools. I consider that time well spent helping to defend America – even people like yourself."

Just a point of information Chuck; but I believe it is a law that your employer must give you time off to serve your one weekend a month and two weeks ayear as well as any and all "Required deployments and or Trainings without penalty, loss of seniority or vacation time". Were you self employed or did you work for a company that broke the law? Again, I am not criticizing but asking for a point of information.

[OCGOP]

Whatever, "Army", whatever

Are we little kids?

[Army of One]

Whatever, "Army", whatever

I think Chuck is letting his daughters blog for him.

[jake]

Spending 5 million dollars on a mock terrorist attack that may never come. We have terrorists here in the states and they are called gang members. Apparently focusing on some un seen terrorist activity shows us that the gov't is truly missing the elephant in the room. gangs cost us million more and run the drug industry which is destoying america as we know. The murder rates committed by these thugs in the commission of there crimes kill more than any al queda types could ever dream of. Just look at our U.S. murder rate per the FBI, it will be about 14,000 murders per year, and close to that every year for the last ten years.

[Chuck DeVore]

Wow, "Army" (although you begin to stain the name given the tone of your comments and complete lack of service of any kind) mighty brave of you to bring my 15 and 10-year-old daughters into this while remaining anonymous.

Regarding the previous poster and the law. Yes, employers are "required" to give a reservist time off. That said, the firm I worked for was very small in its early years. Taking two weeks of vacation on top of the typically more than two weeks of active duty every year meant extreme hardship on the firm as well as having negative implications on my civilian career. By working straight through the year (as many Guard and Reserve members do), I was able to make corporate vice president in a firm 25 times larger than it was when I joined it AND I was able to make lieutenant colonel too before I retired from the service.

All the best,

Chuck DeVore
State Assemblyman, 70th District

[DP Resident]

Let me get this straight.... people complain when we have major disasters, and the Emergency Services (Local/State/Fed) don't mesh perfectly. Then we have a training drill to help them work on coordination.... and people are STILL complaining. Or they would rather complain about politicians they don't like.

Anybody out there actually doing anything to be part of the solution? Check out

www.redcross.org
or
www.citizencorps.gov

If nothing else, you might learn how to save your own sorry behind. Or are you going to count on others to do that for you too?

[Wraith]

Korea, Gulf War...no incident.
But South Central L.A., shot at.

God Bless America!

[Oro-agua]

This string of posts by DeVore only proves my point. DeVore's initial post is his attempt to communicate to the public what he is doing, but to have the time to respond to everybody on this blog (a political blog, not community blog) illustrates that DeVore is busy campaigning online and not trying to represent his district's constituents in Sacramento.

How did my initial post indicate that I was for or against the Federalist Papers and how they were published? DeVore's blogging of his attendance at an emergency drill falls far short of the noble cause of promoting the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

[Rifleshot]

Has partisan politics degenerated so far that we now ridicule service in the National Guard? I don't care if it's Chuck Devore or Tom Umberg, volunteering in the Guard is a personal sacrifice. Thanks to all who look beyond themselves and serve our country.

[Jubal]

Oro-agua:

We have an assemblyman who isn't afraid to engage anyone -- pseudonymous, anonymous or using their real name -- in an open, public forum on issues of concern.

And you're complaining?

I can't think of any other OC elected official who is willing to engage any citizen in such a direct public conversation.

[redperegrine]

Yeah, but Goldwater's point was that this engagement of anonymous bloggers might not be the best use of Chuck's time. Of course that's for Chuck to decide.

Personally, I appreciate Chuck's willingness to take on all comers. And I believe that when Sacto politicians aren't using their time to pass laws we're all generally better off.

[Anon]

I'm curious, those of you who thinking that Chuck isn't using his time as wisely as he could be, what do you think he should be doing that would be a better use of his time?

[Oro-agua]

Thank you redperegrine. i do not think keeping close tabs on this blog is the best use of DeVore's time. Instead of passing new laws in Sacramento, I would like him to focus on representing his district's desire for less government regulation.

As much as I, and many others, like to read Red County, this is not the place to engage the average citizen. Please DeVore, focus on the battles in Sacramento, not the comments on the blogs.

[Interesting]

while most citizens complain that they do not not have enough access to their elected officials, "Oro-agua" keeps harping on DeVore's willingness to engage with the average citizen. How exactly would an Assemblymember focus on battles in Sacramento until the session resumes in a few months?

[Jubal]

Since Oro-Agua has deemed himself the best judge of how Chuck's time is most effectiveyl used, perhaps he can do a couple of things for our edification:

1) Demonstrate that Chuck is not currently utilizing his time optimally and that it is the result of the small amount of time he spends posting here and engaging readers.

2) Lay out a plan for how Chuck should be using his time. Be more specific than "reducing the size of government" because I think most would agree Chuck works harder at that goal than most California legislators.