The sad story of Trey Scott Atwater

There are no winners here, unless it's those who hate military personnel.

Today is the third consecutive day that the Midland Reporter-Telegram has plastered Mr. Atwater's mug shot on the front page.

According to the article, he told FBI agents that as a special forces demolitions expert he was required to carry at least two blocks of C-4 with him while on operations in Afghanistan. Although he has been back in the U.S. for nine months, he forgot one was still in his bag when he attempted to board a domestic airline in Midland, Texas, after the Christmas holiday to return to North Carolina. Additionally there was a smoke grenade in there which was confiscated on Christmas eve at the airport where he boarded a flight to Midland.

Apparently he has a problem keeping track of stuff. Isn't there a reality TV show about that?

The MRT has the complaint in PDF linked here which provides much more detail.

Mr. Atwater is being charged with violating 49 USC §46505(b)(3) which says this:

(b) General Criminal Penalty.— An individual shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both, if the individual—
...
(3) has on or about the individual, or has placed, attempted to place, or attempted to have placed on that aircraft, an explosive or incendiary device.

There is nothing so far that suggests he intended to use any of this stuff except on official military operations. However, the statute conveniently omitted any requirement that the accused actually has any criminal intent. So he is basically being made a criminal for not being able to keep track of his weapons. But what do you do with someone like that? One would think that the military has rules against taking bombs off the base. And one would also think that since there is zero evidence that he intended to hurt any civilians that a military tribunal should have jurisdiction over any procedure violation. But instead, local officials are making a federal convict out of him.

One more thing. (Added 1/5/12) -- Contrast the treatment Mr. Atwater got at the North Carolina airport with the treatment he got at the airport in Midland, Texas.

The screeners at the airport in North Carolina probably have experienced a lot military personnel accidentally packing military weapons in their carry-on bags. And they seem to have a sensible procedure in place -- confiscate the items and send the soldier on his/her way.

Not here. Civilians treat military personnel as heroes out here. The welcome mat is out.  But apparently the airport screeners have such little experience with them that a careless soldier gets sent immediately to jail.  Not a very warm welcome after all.

Updated 2/20/12: Case dismissed. See Kudos to U.S. Attorneys in the Trey Scott Atwater Case.

Comments

[Bill Holder]

You might pack your girlfiends cell phone by accident, you might forget your toothbrush. But to miss a grenade and C-4, I don't think so. Likely thought it would be neat to take the grenade and C-4 home with him - could prove useful one day. That was a big mistake especially after the last 10 years has made it clear there is zero tolerance for compromised security aboard airlines. We all make mistakes - like getting behind the wheel after drinking. But there are very real penalties for some mistakes - and that's the way it should be. Life is hard and it's harder if you're a dumbass.

[Geo]

The way I understand it, without a detonator the C-4 was harmless. If this was part of a conspiracy then perhaps someone else was supposed to plant a blasting cap somewhere on the plane. But there's no evidence of that. And from what I've read so far there was nothing that put the plane or the passengers in danger.

There have been many instances in which people have attempted to board a plane having forgotten that there was a handgun in their purse or carry-on bag.

The Atwater case seems similar to those. And I believe most of those cases result in a hefty civil fine but no criminal charges.

[TMS]

If you were as used to carrying around grenades and C-4 as most people are used to carrying around cell phones then yes you forget might that they are in your bag and/or on your person.

[Eric]

I'd be interested to know how many pounds of C4 were carried by military personnel on commercial flights prior to 9/11. AFAIK, there has never been an incident related to that practice. Is this another instance where 9/11 has forever colored the way we view situations that were previously ignored?

[Geo]

TMS, that's right. Active service personnel have to drastically alter their habits and behavior once they come home. And it would be easy to overlook something. Not quite like writing 2011 instead of 2012, but it's the same principle.

Eric, excellent point. A simple box cutter proved more dangerous than the package Sergeant Atwater was carrying.

[Kris Thomas]

All it takes to detonate C4 is heat and pressure....a blasting cap is just one way to detonate it. But I'm relatively sure he was unaware of it being in his bag, seeing as how he didn't detonate it on the first flight to Midland.

[joe devola]

No matter the intent or lack of, what this guy did was extremely dangerous and could have killed people. He should be held to account for his carelessness.

[Geo]

Kris Thomas and Joe Devola, thank you for visiting.

I could be wrong, but I believe that C-4 is just going to sit there unless there's something equivalent to a blasting cap to set it off.

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