Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi is on lockdown as of noon today, according to all media reports. No one is being allowed on or off the base at this time, but the Air Force is not releasing a lot of specifics about the incident.
WLOX reports that the police were in pursuit of an armed suspect that was seen around Gate 2 of Keesler this morning. It is suspected that the reason for the lockdown may be because the person jumped the fence and is fleeing, but those are just speculations and are not confirmed by officials at this time.
The lockdown is causing a backup on all the roads surrounding Keesler, and the Biloxi police are turning people away at the gates until further notice.
The timing for this lockdown could not have come at a stranger time. According to the Keesler website, the base was put on Force Protection Code Bravo by its Training Wing Commander just yesterday. The bases FPCON was directed to be moved up by the U.S. Northern Command, however, the website also indicates that there were no immediate threats in the local area. All military family and personnel were instructed to remain alert and report any suspicious incidents or objects.
FPCON is a five-tier threat level system that is overseen by the U.S. Department of Defense. The various levels indicate the security concern for the country. According to CNN, a document obtained from the U.S. Air Force describes Bravo as “an increased and more predictable terrorist threat activity exists.” The level means there is information that suggests probable violence in the United States, and there must be extra precaution to deter terrorist planning.
Changing the FPCON level to Bravo could mean more vehicle checks on military bases and extra identification checks of all personnel. One of the reasons military bases have been changing their security levels is due to the continuous threats from ISIS. This incident is not being reported to have anything to do with terrorist activity at this time, but to remains to be seen why there is an armed suspect fleeing from the base.
Keesler is home to 81st Training Wing, 2nd Air Force, 403rd Wing and the 85th Engineering Installation Squadron. The base also has a Medical Center and a Marine Detachment Unit that trains entry and career-level Marines for service with the Fleet Marine Force. Currently, Keesler has not posted any information about today’s incident on their website.
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