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 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 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.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

Anonymous wrote:It’s extremely unlikely that anyone would militarily strike DC. Yes I know we hit Iran- but they’re likely to try and strike US bases in the Middle East before they’d strike here. Plus Israel has been working to destroy Irans defense capabilities- which is one reason our B2s got through so easily.

I also think this is the most likely outcome and I am not concerned about it.

Anonymous wrote:Really hate how deep we are getting on the FAFO of this presidency. Why won’t Congress Act?

There is no Congress.

Anonymous wrote:Iran will do nothing.

Iran assassinated someone in Bethesda before and got away cleanly with it. The news also reported extensively on Iran trying to attack Trump in response to Solemani.

Iran is a lot more capable than Iraq or Afghanistan. They have funded terrorism all over the world. They killed or injured over 1000 US soldiers. We are at very high risk now for a terrorist attack. It's literally Iran's MO.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep comfortable shoes and whatever kind of mask you want in your office and have a plan to walk. As with any emergency, know what to grab immediately and what to leave. Know what routes you'd prefer and maybe an alternate in the other direction.

My coworkers were Midwest out of towners at a conference at a low-rise hotel near the World Trade Center on 9-11. They followed the crowds to the shore then took a ferry to New Jersey. From there, they figured things out. Our White Plains, NY office located a rental car and they got to it somehow.

Didn't you get a gas mask and accompanying training? I did as a fed years ago.

Agree with the comfy shoes statement. Also some eye protection and a mask.

I left federal service (DOL - HQ Frances Perkins Building) in 1998 and moved away from DMV. I was working in a skyscraper in a not affected city during 9-11. A lot of my coworkers were very freaked out that whatever was happening was coming for us. I was less concerned because I didn't think we'd be on anyone's top 100 target list. I was asked to find a company car to help an onsite VIP drive home (since total air closures were announced fairly quickly). So I was at the back of the traffic jam heading out of the city.

One lesson I learned from this and a blackout a year later is to always keep your car fueled up.