Trey Scott Atwater, the NDAA, and Fort Bragg – Did We Just Dodge a Bullet?

[Jan Klimkowski]

I'm very interested in learning how this story first made it into the press.

Here's one of the early syndicated reports via cbc.ca, suggesting that it was enthusiastically briefed by low level Volkland Security organ, the Transportation Security Administration :

Man With Explosives At Texas Airport Charged

First Posted: 01/ 1/12 07:57 PM ET Updated: 01/ 2/12 04:29 AM ET

Authorities have charged a member of the U.S. military who was arrested after trying to go through a security checkpoint at a Texas airport with explosives in military-grade wrapping, the FBI said Sunday.

Trey Scott Atwater, 30, was stopped at security at the Midland International Airport about 9 a.m. Saturday. FBI spokesman Mike Martinez said Atwater is being held at the Midland County jail and has been charged with trying to bring explosives onto an airplane.

He will remain in custody at least until his arraignment Tuesday, given that the courts are closed Monday for the holiday, Martinez said.

Atwater and his wife and family had been visiting relatives in the area and were on their way back to his base in North Carolina, according to local media reports.

Suspicious item in X-ray

Public records searches list addresses for Atwater at Fort Bragg and indicate he continues to have relatives in Midland, though there was no answer at phone numbers given in both locations. He had a reservation on Flight 3283 operated by American Eagle, which had a scheduled departure of 9:45 a.m. Saturday.

It's unclear whether Atwater was in military uniform at the time he was detained, or how many explosives were in the bag. City of Midland spokeswoman Tasa Watts said Saturday that she had no information on the suspect, but confirmed the explosives were in military-grade wrapping. She said the specific grade wouldn't be known until the explosives were tested.

The Transportation Security Administration issued a statement saying one of its officers spotted a suspicious item in a carry-on bag during X-ray screening. The agency said the checkpoint was closed for about an hour while officers investigated and removed the item.

Watts said Atwater was entering a terminal when he was stopped, and a sweep was done to clear that terminal before normal operations resumed. Court records show Atwater pleaded guilty in February 2002 in North Carolina to misdemeanour possession of a container of wine, liquor or beer by an unauthorized person, and to drinking beer/wine while driving.

Here's a later version, via Reuters, with the higher level mitigation "nothing to see here" plea:

Trey Scott Atwater, Man Arrested With Explosives At Texas Airport, Was Army Trained

Reuters First Posted: 01/ 2/12 05:48 PM ET Updated: 01/ 3/12 09:50 AM ET

By Jim Forsyth

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) A man arrested on New Years Eve at a Texas airport with explosives is an Army-trained demolitions expert and member of the elite Green Berets who served in Afghanistan and is stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, military officials said on Monday.

Trey Scott Atwater, 30, was being held in the Midland, Texas County Jail on a federal charge of attempting to board an aircraft with an explosive, the FBI said.

He was detained after a routine Transportation Security Administration (TSA) check noticed he had explosives in his carry on luggage while trying to board an American Eagle flight from Midland International Airport to Dallas Saturday morning, according to an FBI statement.

Officials declined to speculate on the reason Atwater had the explosives, which city officials said were in "military grade explosives wrapping" in his bag.

"At no time was there any danger to the people at Midland International Airport or the people of Midland Texas," Mark Morgan, Special Agent in Charge of the El Paso office of the FBI said in a statement.

Michael Martinez, an FBI spokesman in El Paso, declined to say what type of explosive he was carrying, or the quantity of the explosive. It is not known whether he was in uniform at the time. Records show Atwater is a 1999 graduate of a Midland, Texas high school.

The address listed for Atwater in the Midland jail records is the home of Bonnie Atwater, Trey's mother. A woman who identified herself as Bonnie Atwater at that address told Reuters "I have no comment," and then hung up the phone.

Lt. Col. Tom Bryant, a spokesman for Army Special Operations Command at Ft. Bragg confirmed that Atwater is an Army Sergeant First Class in the elite Green Berets, assigned as an instructor at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Ft. Bragg, where he is a member of the Special Forces Engineers.

Bryant told Reuters on Monday Atwater is an engineering and demolitions expert, and in that role would be "comfortable" with explosives, although he did not know whether he would have had explosives on his trip back home to Midland.

"I can't say if that might have been required," Bryant said.

Bryant confirmed that Atwater recently returned from deployment to Afghanistan. A notice in the Odessa American newspaper in March of 2010 said at that time Atwater was preparing for his third deployment to Afghanistan.

Bryant said Atwater's arrest had surprised military personnel at Ft. Bragg.

"We in the Special Operations Command take pride in upholding the highest standards. The entire team is disappointed," Bryant said.

The Army is cooperating with the FBI and local authorities in Texas, and he said military punishment is also possible for Atwater, regardless of the outcome of the federal case.

(Editing by Greg McCune)