"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 was

cold 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.