Unauthorized drones were recently spotted flying over Louisiana’s Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, causing concern among students as well as a retired veteran from the Barksdale Base.
The sightings took place in early March and resulted in a shelter in place at the base as a safety precaution, considering it could be a possible enemy or threat.
A Barksdale Air Force Base spokesperson commented on the matter.
“Barksdale Air Force Base detected multiple unauthorized drones operating in our airspace during the week of March 9. Flying a drone over a military installation is not only a safety issue, it is a criminal offense under federal law,” the spokesperson wrote. “We are working closely with federal and local law enforcement agencies to investigate these incursions. The security of our installation and the safety of our people are top priorities, and we will continue to vigilantly monitor our airspace.”
After hearing their comment on the matter there were still students concerned about the shelter in place and what that means for the safety of the Barksdale Air Force Base.
A Loyola psychology student, Jayden Jones, voiced his unease.
“You don’t know what’s really going on and then they had to shelter in place. That could make somebody really scared,” Jones said.
Technical Sergeant and Aircraft Systems Craftsman Jamie Smith served for 20 years and was then stationed at the Barksdale AFB for the last five years of his service. Smith explained that shelter in place procedures are precautionary protocols.
“The shelter in place is just a precautionary step and standard operating procedure to defend against the unknown threats. Until the threat is identified and eliminated or determined not to be a threat the shelter in place is enacted,” Smith said.
Smith compared it to the safety drills students often face.
“Have you ever been in a school lockdown drill or actual school lockdown? Think of a shelter in place like a school lockdown procedure,” Smith said.
Smith also gave more insight on the Barksdale AFB as a whole and why it would be a possible target for drone surveillance.
“I know that those aircrafts on the base are able to fly with nuclear weapons. Not sure if they do but it would be a strategic target by our enemies. Also by seeing how many aircrafts are on the base can give you an idea of any possible operational significance there is. I thought it was odd that drones were flying around the base,” Smith said.
The fear of a possible enemy was a common sentiment among students.
“I feel like it may lead people to think different things. I feel like you could potentially think we’re getting attacked by somebody from a foreign country or something,” Jones said. “We don’t know why the drones are here. This could be some technological warfare type of thing or like they could just be recording all of us, taking information. It’s like there’s so many possibilities and it just makes the mind run.”
Angelina Campos, a Loyola criminology major, also voiced her opinion.
“I feel like that’s a little bit scary for the simple fact that we’re not being told things,” Campos said. “As people of America we should at least have some type of understanding of what’s going on in our world instead of turning a blind eye to it.”
