A group of Asian men set off alarm bells in U.S. counterintelligence
circles last week by showing up outside the entrance to a U.S. strategic
missile base in Wyoming.
Between eight and 10 people suspected of being Chinese nationals drove up to the entrance outside F.E. Warren Air Force Base, one of three strategic nuclear missile bases in the United States.
According to defense officials and a base spokeswoman, the group asked to use the rest room at the base’s visitor control center. They then began asking questions about photos of Air Force command leaders posted on a “command board” at the entrance facility.
The suspicious visitors then asked to photograph display missiles near the entrance to the base, and were denied.
The base, home to the 90th Missile Wing that includes a group of Minuteman III nuclear missiles, is located about three miles west of Cheyenne, Wyo.
One security official said the suspicious incident on Sept. 3 appeared to be part of a Chinese intelligence collection operation or perhaps a training exercise for intelligence personnel. Another theory is that the group was part of the population of Asian guest workers residing in other parts of Wyoming or the west.
U.S. intelligence officials have said Chinese intelligence agencies conduct aggressive spying activities against U.S. military facilities and have been known to case the Pentagon’s strategic missile defense base at Fort Greeley, Alaska.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Torie Sabarese said that, despite being told that photographs of the base entrance were prohibited, base officials did not regard the incident as a security threat.
Read more: http://freebeacon.com/spy-games/
Between eight and 10 people suspected of being Chinese nationals drove up to the entrance outside F.E. Warren Air Force Base, one of three strategic nuclear missile bases in the United States.
According to defense officials and a base spokeswoman, the group asked to use the rest room at the base’s visitor control center. They then began asking questions about photos of Air Force command leaders posted on a “command board” at the entrance facility.
The suspicious visitors then asked to photograph display missiles near the entrance to the base, and were denied.
The base, home to the 90th Missile Wing that includes a group of Minuteman III nuclear missiles, is located about three miles west of Cheyenne, Wyo.
One security official said the suspicious incident on Sept. 3 appeared to be part of a Chinese intelligence collection operation or perhaps a training exercise for intelligence personnel. Another theory is that the group was part of the population of Asian guest workers residing in other parts of Wyoming or the west.
U.S. intelligence officials have said Chinese intelligence agencies conduct aggressive spying activities against U.S. military facilities and have been known to case the Pentagon’s strategic missile defense base at Fort Greeley, Alaska.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Torie Sabarese said that, despite being told that photographs of the base entrance were prohibited, base officials did not regard the incident as a security threat.
Read more: http://freebeacon.com/spy-games/
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