Man with explosives detained at Texas airport

30-year-old Trey Scott Atwater

Originally posted by Silcone Synapse
I read this earlier today,and hoped it would be on ATS.
My take on it is this:
A green beret has been used/hired to probe security holes in airports,maybe a few of them.
He gets busted in Texas.
The reason it gets wiped from the media is it was an exercise.

Hopefully nothing more.

I honestly doubt that is it. Homeland Security already does that with their red team....They constantly find holes in security that are never really fixed either.

The sad thing is we will probably never get a chance to hear his side of it either..

www.oaoa.com...

Lt. Col. Tom Bryant, a public affairs officer for the Army Special Operations Command, confirmed that Atwater is assigned to the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, which is at Fort Bragg, N.C.

“The Army and federal and local authorities are jointly investigating, and some point I’m sure there will be some additional information available,” Bryant said

Bryant said Atwater is currently with Special Forces, and that his rank is sergeant first class.

According to Odessa American reports, Atwater is a member of the Green Berets and was a 1999 graduate of Midland Lee High School. He joined the Army under the delayed-entry program at the Army Recruiting Station in Midland and went to Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga., for basic training. Records state Atwater has served at least three tours of duty in Afghanistan.

So now we know its not a exercise. The military along with the US Marshal Service is investigating. Hes got a hold on him for the US Marshals Service.

www.co.midland.tx.us...

Name: ATWATER, TREY SCOTT
Address: 3806 PERMIAN CT, MIDLAND, TX 79703
Attorney:

Offense Class Court County Warrant Number Arrest Date Bond Fines Disposition Years Months Days Hours
HOLD FOR USMS US FED WESTERN DISTRICT DETAINER 12/31/11 $.00 $.00 PENDING DISPOSITION 0 0 0 0

Has anyone heard any more about this? I've had the BBC News on all day yesterday and today and this hasn't been mentioned once.

Rev

Heres a article that brings up some good points. Show and tell with C4 explosives would be kind of stupid considering it would look like nothing more than some clay. Some one who has C4 has plans.
willyloman.wordpress.com...

If you were going to attempt to put a bomb on a plane and then detonate it by remote, seems like the most effective way to do that (barring having someone on the inside like a baggage handler or a technician plant the explosive in the service area of the plane prior to take-off) would be to have several passengers bring on the components separately and then have one of them assemble it during the flight.

There is absolutely no reason for a soldier to take C-4 off base and back to his family get-together for show-and-tell. Maybe a twelve-year-old might think that’s cool, but not a 30 year old man making a career out of the military. The repercussions would mean the end of his military career especially after taking that material on a commercial flight. This is not something a soldier would do lightly.

The online marketers are out in force where ever this story is being reported claiming that it isn’t that odd for a soldier to do something like this because, as they say, many soldiers take things like grenades off base. But grenades and C-4 are two totally different animals. You can show off a grenade to someone and they know immediately what it is. C-4 looks like a block of clay, not too impressive to say the least. You take a grenade and you’re just showing it off, you take C-4 and you have a purpose.

Fort Bragg does seem to keep showing up in the news.

Teen's body and a car found in lake on Fort Bragg
‎The Virginian-Pilot - 4 hours ago
AP Authorities say the body of a 17-year-old boy has been found in a lake on Fort Bragg. Base officials said emergency personnel were called about 8:15 pm ...

Fort Bragg man arrested in fatal campground fight
‎Santa Rosa Press Democrat - 1 hour ago
By RANDI ROSSMANN A fight at a Fort Bragg campground over the holiday weekend ended in murder, reported Mendocino County sheriff's officials. ..

REGIONAL: Fort Bragg man arrested for murder
‎Lake County News - 1 day ago
A Fort Bragg man has been arrested for murder following an early morning fight on New Year's Eve that claimed another man's life. ...

One person killed in collision on Fort Bragg; 7 others injured
‎Fayetteville Observer - 16 hours ago
One person died in a two-vehicle crash early Sunday on Fort Bragg, an official said. Ben Abel, a Fort Bragg spokesman, said eight of the nine people ...

Death of Fort Bragg soldier in Chapel Hill still under investigation
‎Fayetteville Observer - Dec 25, 2011
By James Halpin CHAPEL HILL - Police are continuing to investigate the death of a Fort Bragg soldier found in a Chapel Hill creek last month and say they ...

Fort Bragg man arrested for violating order; attacking woman
‎Santa Rosa Press Democrat - 5 days ago
A 42-year-old Fort Bragg man was jailed Tuesday after he violated a restraining order and attacked a former girlfriend, Mendocino County sheriff's officials ...

Fort Bragg soldier shot in Va. had BB gun
‎NBC17.com - Dec 22, 2011
The chase ended 2 miles away near mile marker 9 when the fleeing suspect, Robert L. Henderson III, 21, of Fort Bragg, NC, stopped in the right lane, ...

Fort Bragg soldier charged in apartment complex shootings
‎Fayetteville Observer - Dec 16, 2011
A Fort Bragg soldier has been charged with attempted murder in the shooting of two people and firing at three others as they fled a Fayetteville apartment ...

Ft. Bragg Soldier pleads guilty to stealing reconstruction funds ...
‎Examiner.com - Dec 23, 2011
According to the criminal information filed on October 12, 2011, WOOTEN was assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group based at Fort Bragg (See: ...

Fort Bragg MPs are busy this holiday season
‎Fayetteville Observer (blog) - Dec 20, 2011
This is the first year MPs on Fort Bragg have conducted an organized holiday visit, according to a spokesman. The MPs will again be from the 503rd MP ...

Bipolar GI liked manic feeling of his disorder
‎TheNewsTribune.com - 1 day ago
That soldier, who was not prosecuted for a crime, told investigators she last saw ... assignment to Fort Bragg, NC, and during his two deployments to Iraq. ...

Slain shooting suspect was Army soldier
‎Progress Index - Dec 20, 2011
Army officials at Fort Bragg confirmed Monday that Robert Henderson III, ... The investigation is on-going by the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal ...

Soldier charged with drugs and assault, explosives also removed ...
‎Patch.com - Dec 16, 2011
The Army's Criminal Investigation Command removed explosives and military weapons from the ... By Kelly Twedell Police serving a Fort Bragg soldier with a ...

Ft. Bragg soldier just home from deployment kills wife, then self
‎NBC17.com - Dec 13, 2011
The investigation determined that 24-year-old Seth R. Andrews shot his wife, ... 26 and Nov. 29, according to information received by Fort Bragg.

patdollard.com...
Fort Bragg Missing Ammo Investigated
September 10th, 2011 (1) Posted By Pat Dollard.
A weapons vault at Fort Bragg
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) – Officials at Fort Bragg say an investigation is under way into the disappearance of nearly 14,000 rounds of ammunition at the Army base.


Its crazy all of the news from Fort Bragg in the past two months. Why was there a dead kid found in car sunk in the lake at Fort Bragg? Why was there 14,000 rounds of ammo weighing almost 400 pounds missing? How did some one get Afghanistan reconstruction funds back to Fort Bragg? Why are soldiers dying of heat exhaustion in the middle of winter? How is it that a soldier gets busted for dealing drugs at Fort Bragg? Why would a soldier love being bippolar because it makes him psycho?

www.newswest9.com...

Atwater explained that his special operating procedure was to carry at least two blocks of C4 on any operation. When he left Afghanistan he packed his bags along with the C4. The bag had been in his garage in North Carolina since he returned home. He used the bag to pack children's items and did not notice any C4 in the bag before flying to Midland.

Atwater was surprised when officials found the C4 in the bag at the Midland airport.

The complaint also says Atwater had been detained by TSA agents at the airport in Fayetteville, North Carolina on December 24 on his way to Midland. TSA located a live military smoke grenade in his bag. The report says Atwater was admonished and the grenade was confiscated, but Atwater was allowed to continue on to West Texas.

So he got caught with a smoke grenade in the same bag the day before Christmas. Then they find two blocks of C4 the the day before New Years in the same bag? Something does not sound right. If they were testing the TSA would this have gone to court? Seems his superiors would have said he was testing the systems.

So, I live near Midland (I eat there weekly) watching the local news, here is the story:

Atwater is a demo expert in the Army. His last op he followed his SOP and packed 2 packs of C4. He then did his op and flew military to his home in NC, forgetting about his pack. Then he flew COMMERCIAL from NC (his homebase) to MAF (Midland). He was detained by TSA in NC for having a smoke grenade. They admonished him, then let him fly...still WITH the C4. He came to mom and dads house in Midland for the holidays, and as he flew back to NC from MAF he was caught with the C4.

He won't be in trouble, i don't think. But even more, another failure by the TSA, who held him for the wrong explosives. It took our podunk little single scanner security team to catch him with his C4. Priceless.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


I don't think he is getting out of it. Even trying to hide what happened christmas eve from the FBI.

www.google.com...

The FBI didn't find out about the smoke grenade until after Atwater's arrest in Midland.

"When I asked him about the December 24 Fayetteville incident after TSA informed me of it, Atwater acknowledged that it had occurred, but said he had forgotten to mention it to us during our initial interview," the FBI agent wrote in the affidavit filed in the case.

I don't think you would forget the hassle of having a gerenade found in your carry on at the airport. Even if you now have that trumped with two bricks of C4. And the smoke gerenade would be a detonator for C4 when taken apart.

reply to post by JBA2848


I am just stating what it appears. And, based on what has happened in the past, he likely will be back in duty soon with the fog of time obscuring the story in memory. Deep, deep under that rug, like all these little DoD slip ups (any news on what ever came of the Barksdale debacle?)

any updates on this story?

reply to post by tired


what i provided last niht was from the evening news from the airport that this happened. If you want more info, browse around this site for stories related to him (there are neighbors describing the kid he is, most of them saying, "Yeah, there has to be more to the story. He wouldn't do something like that.")

www.kwes.com...

On a side note, you can now enjoy the same amateur hour newscast that I get to enjoy, when i am actually watching it.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


Hey, thanks
so many strange things going on any more.

www.washingtonpost.com... VdP_story.html

MIDLAND, Texas — A congressman says two 2.5-pound blocks of a powerful, military-grade explosive were found in a soldier’s luggage at a West Texas airport.

Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway of Midland said Thursday that federal officials gave him details of the Saturday find in Trey Scott Atwater’s luggage at Midland International Airport. Officials previously hadn’t said how much of the material was found.

Conaway also said he takes the 30-year-old Fort Bragg soldier “at his word” that he was unaware the explosives were in his bag.

C4 brick


Smoke gernade.


How would you not notice 5 pounds of C4 in a bag. The weight would say somethings in the bag. They look to be about 12 inches long 2 inches wide and atleast 1 inch thick times 2. Not to mention the size of the smoke gernade.

Does anybody know what kind of power 5lbs of this explosive has?
It seems like alot to me.

reply to post by tired


Um, yea. Quite a lot.

He was released without bail today.

Originally posted by tired
Does anybody know what kind of power 5lbs of this explosive has?
It seems like alot to me.

5 pounds of C-4 in the hands of someone like SFC Atwater would be more than enough to bring down the average house.

The more I read the more I believe his story. These guys are not treated like regular soldiers, they get a lot of respect and are often allowed to skip requirements regular troops can't. You see the CIB and the SF tab and you just assume the soldier is squared away.

The need to keep track of things is less important in the SF community, I've witnessed it myself as a range medic. Regular troops have to turn in grenade pins, brass and any unexpended ammo, but that's because ultimately the CO is responsible and they rarely trust the rank and file troops. The chain of command in the SF community has much more trust of it's troops.

I think that is ultimately why this whole thing happened in the first place. He had his standard loadout that he carried when going out, and he simply forgot there was C-4 in his bag. Blame the Army for not having proper gear bags in the inventory, the troops often buy their own.

I bought my own aidebag because the Army issued bag was too small and hard to organize. I bought alot of my treatment gear out of my own pocket.

reply to post by tired


I think the remains of the Stealth Helicopter from the Osama Bin Laden raid would be a good example.

Not much left to know what was there. The tail section that was left was protected from the blast by a concrete block wall.







Atwater was not released and let go. He was released into military custody. He was escorted back to base by two soldiers probly MP's.

latimesblogs.latimes.com...

Federal Magistrate Judge David Counts released Atwater on a $50,000 unsecured bond, court documents show. He was released into the custody of his supervisor at Fort Bragg, N.C., where the demolitions expert is stationed. Two members of the U.S. Army were in Midland to escort Atwater back to Fort Bragg, according to the office of U.S. Atty. Robert Pitman, who agreed to the conditions of the soldier’s release.

This Navy Seal who was found guilty of weapons smuggling and selling them was released also until sentencing.

www.businessinsider.com...

SEALs are given access to the best weapons. While they get their pick of the newest and most exclusive arms on the planet, the temptation to profit from the access proved too great for Navy SEAL Nicholas Bickle.

Bickle was found guilty Friday of 13 federal charges for moving a catalogue of small arms and five pounds of C-4 explosive.

The former sailor faces up to 125 years in prison and a $3.25 million fine, but sentencing guidelines could offer prison time of less than 20 years.

Bickle is free on bail and under electronic monitoring in San Diego. He faces sentencing January 20.

So just because they are released does not mean it is all over.