Worried about war/working in DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I worked near the white house for a fed agency. Right after 9-11 we were given advice as to what to store in our office in case we needed to shelter in place during a dirty bomb attack. It was like water, non-perishable food, plastic tarps, duct tape. I also always made sure I had tennis shoes at work after 9-11.

It’s a good idea to have a go-bag at the ready: at a minimum, you want two (2) pairs of sturdy but stylish pants, a good pair of scissors, a small bag of coins, a sufficient length of string or twine, sunglasses, 4 AA batteries, and a wig/hat/or other head covering. Better safe than sorry.

My go-bag has duct tape, a box cutter, whimsical galoshes and some glow sticks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As if we needed one more thing to worry about. I now fear going into DC daily and being trapped if something were to happen. Traffic is already so bad and nearly impossible to get in and out of the city, but in the event of a crisis, I have no viable way to get home. I would hate to be stuck on the metro. I've been trying to think of a contingency plan, but can't come up with anything viable. Implementing telework for safety purposes seems the most practical option, yet I doubt agencies will offer it.

What do you think are good plans?

Most "targets" are outside of DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They are reportedly adding extra security to religious institutions today. Why? Not just working but worship and school is scary.

Who is “they?” Our church in DC always has police presence. It was no different today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks to the crackdown on illegal immigrants and documented DHS is ensuring any threats to America are deported.

Nannies and day construction workers were sleeper cells?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I worked near the white house for a fed agency. Right after 9-11 we were given advice as to what to store in our office in case we needed to shelter in place during a dirty bomb attack. It was like water, non-perishable food, plastic tarps, duct tape. I also always made sure I had tennis shoes at work after 9-11.

It’s a good idea to have a go-bag at the ready: at a minimum, you want two (2) pairs of sturdy but stylish pants, a good pair of scissors, a small bag of coins, a sufficient length of string or twine, sunglasses, 4 AA batteries, and a wig/hat/or other head covering. Better safe than sorry.

Better to drugs that you can take to kill you instantly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are that worried can you leave an old bike at work (with an air pump for the tires).

100%. Anyone who is actually concerned about something like this to the point of wanting to take action to protect themself would do exactly this.

[Anonymous]

On 9/11, people had to walk out of the city. Many women were barefoot rather than do the 5-10 miles in pumps. Always, always keep running shoes at the office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are that worried can you leave an old bike at work (with an air pump for the tires).

Make sure you have at least one gas car to commute in on, and keep the tank full.

You don't want to be driving an electric car during an evacuation. Ask the folks who had to evacuate during the California wildfires. Electric cars running out of charge and blocking the roads make efficient evacuation really tough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As if we needed one more thing to worry about. I now fear going into DC daily and being trapped if something were to happen. Traffic is already so bad and nearly impossible to get in and out of the city, but in the event of a crisis, I have no viable way to get home. I would hate to be stuck on the metro. I've been trying to think of a contingency plan, but can't come up with anything viable. Implementing telework for safety purposes seems the most practical option, yet I doubt agencies will offer it.

What do you think are good plans?

The US has been at war or bombing other countries for all but about four years since the 1970s or 1980s. What did you do those other years we were bombing countries in the same region?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not being a smart ass, but use common sense. On 9-11, I worked in downtown DC. When all hell broke loose, I was shocked at how little sense my coworkers had. They were waiting for our boss to give guidance and authorize them to leave. I was 22 and had enough sense to buzz past him, exit the building, and board the empty train.

I got out of DC easily because I left immediately. Rule #1-- leave at the first sign of trouble, and don't be afraid to use your best judgment. Don't rely on the people in charge to have the best judgment in a crisis.

Same here. I wasn't going to wait for Big Boss to tell me what to do. Good Lord. Big Boss actually said the curtain would protect us from shrapnel.

Shrapnel?? We had bigger problems than that.

I was out of there as soon as I knew what happened. And remember that we had bad internet and no mobile phones with news access. And, because I was a "just" a government contractor, aka second class citizen we had ancient computers that did not have internet access so I had no connection to the news until I went to the cafeteria to watch a television.

After this, they gave gas masks to the federal workers but said government contractors would have to ask for these items after the next tragedy happened. lol Gotta love the treatment of contractors...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should have good shoes and a backpack with water and a hat. Having to walk out could happen for many reasons, including earthquake / power outage that renders metro and garages inoperable.

The bigger issue is what happens to your kids and pets until you get home, or if you never get home. The RTO crowd doesn't like to acknowledge it but it's necessary to have *someone* near your kid's school or daycare in case of emergency - whether that's a parent, neighbor, grandparent, friend's parent. We're all dependent on having someone not working in downtown DC. Find that person and make a plan that doesn't require you to have cell access to initiate it.

Well, MAGA wants the women not to work. That's why they are firing them as "DEI" hires. Once they are fired and unable to find jobs, they can hang around school waiting for tragedy to happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Iran will do nothing.

Ah, yes. The peaceful government of Iran. Thanks for your intelligence assessment.

Well, we did topple their government and install the Shah...If they did that to us, we sure would not like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I worked near the white house for a fed agency. Right after 9-11 we were given advice as to what to store in our office in case we needed to shelter in place during a dirty bomb attack. It was like water, non-perishable food, plastic tarps, duct tape. I also always made sure I had tennis shoes at work after 9-11.

It’s a good idea to have a go-bag at the ready: at a minimum, you want two (2) pairs of sturdy but stylish pants, a good pair of scissors, a small bag of coins, a sufficient length of string or twine, sunglasses, 4 AA batteries, and a wig/hat/or other head covering. Better safe than sorry.

What?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are that worried can you leave an old bike at work (with an air pump for the tires).

Make sure you have at least one gas car to commute in on, and keep the tank full.

You don't want to be driving an electric car during an evacuation. Ask the folks who had to evacuate during the California wildfires. Electric cars running out of charge and blocking the roads make efficient evacuation really tough.

Gas cars running out of gas also make efficient evacuation really tough. There is nothing especially dangerous or inefficient about an EV in this scenario. Just make sure it’s well charged, just like you’d make sure a car has sufficient gas. If it is, no worries.

The best would actually be a hybrid, since you could avoid gas stations and charging stations. And that’s what Californians seem to be attracted to, given that gas stations became very dangerous during the wildfires.

[Anonymous]

I have a 40 mile commute and have to cross bridge, and work near a base.

I drive a large SUV and wondering if I should just keep a go bag, running shoes, and my bike, and maybe an inflatable kayak in the car.