Federal Agents Armed With Automatic Rifles, K9 Units Scare Locals During Homeland Security Exercise

Via Millar K. Ives. at The Daily Commercial:

It may have looked like they were ready for war or some deranged person looking for his late Social Security benefits.

But it was only Federal Protective Service officers with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security who were conducting a random training operation early Tuesday morning when they surprisingly showed up at the Social Security Administration office in downtown Leesburg.

With their blue and white SUVs circled around the Main Street office, at least one official was posted on the door with a semiautomatic rifle, randomly checking identifications. And other officers, some with K-9s, sifted through the building.

“I thought someone was upset about not getting there check,” said Laura Kelly, who took a friend to the office on Tuesday.

According to one Homeland official in the Washington, D.C. office, Operation Shield. is an effort that uses routine, unannounced visits by FPS inspectors to test the effectiveness of contract guards, or protective security officers — “detecting the presence of unauthorized persons and potentially disruptive or dangerous activities.”

According to the Department of Homeland Security, Operation Shield is a proactive security measures designed to meet dynamic threat environments:

In an effort to avert or obstruct potential insider threats as part of terrorist operations and criminal activity in and around federal facilities, the Federal Protective Service (FPS) employs Operation Shield. Operation Shield systematically measures the effectiveness of FPS countermeasures. This includes the effectiveness of FPS’ Protective Security Officers in detecting the presence of unauthorized persons and potentially disruptive or dangerous activities.

Operation Shield is a comprehensive operation that combines physical security expertise and law enforcement authority into an enhanced security team to provide a visual deterrent at FPS-protected facilities. The goal of Operation Shield is to demonstrate the preparedness and agility of FPS’ response to the current threat environment within our federal community. Operation Shield includes the following objectives:

• Provide a highly visible law enforcement presence through patrol operations and increased coverage
• Enhance security posture intended to disrupt terrorist/criminal activity
• Maintain a friendly, productive, and helpful customer service-oriented relationship
• Target deployment based on current threat assessment or intelligence
• Reduce social and physical disorder
• Enhance the quality of life for employees, visitors, and community members

Source: DHS