Vandenberg Space Force Base’s public affairs office spent this week addressing fallout from an incident that left invited journalists and two of the base’s own service members held at gunpoint, disrupting coverage of a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Sentinel missile training facility.
Photo: USAF
The Aug. 17 event marked the construction kickoff of a 160,000-square-foot complex meant to bring missile operator and maintainer training under one roof for the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, which is set to replace the aging Minuteman III. The project involves Air Education and Training Command and Air Force Global Strike Command’s Sentinel Task Force Detachment 9.
None of the invited reporters made it to the ceremony on time.
According to Noozhawk and News Channel 3-12, both of which had journalists present, the media convoy arrived at the main gate ahead of the scheduled 1:30 p.m. event and followed standard procedure, trailing a public affairs vehicle that pulled over just past the gate to regroup before heading to the site. That pause appears to have triggered the response that followed. A member of the 30th Security Forces Squadron raised an alert describing the group as gate runners, and squadron members converged, raising barricades and stopping each vehicle in turn. Occupants were ordered out individually at gunpoint with hands raised.
Two of those detained were Vandenberg’s own personnel, an enlisted airman and a junior officer, both carrying valid passes and listed for entry. They were handcuffed and placed in security vehicles while the journalists were told to sit on the curb. The standoff lasted more than half an hour, by which point the ceremony had ended. Reporters from Noozhawk, KSBY, News Channel 3-12, and the Santa Maria Times and Lompoc Record were among those held. A security forces member later apologized to the group.
A Space Launch Delta 30 spokesperson attributed the incident to a breakdown in communication amid a recent rise in unauthorized entry attempts at the base, saying movement continued before verification was complete and that any unconfirmed presence must be treated as a potential threat.
Noozhawk editor in chief Tom Bolton called it a failure on multiple levels and said the base owes the affected journalists an apology.
Vandenberg has not said publicly what corrective steps, if any, will follow. Construction on the training unit is proceeding.
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