Invited Members of the Media Held at Gunpoint by Vandenberg’s 30th Security Forces Squadron

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (KEYT) - The Public Affairs Office at Vandenberg Space Force Base is on damage control following yesterday's embarrassing incident that left invited members of the media and two military members held at gunpoint.

Reporters for your News Channel, Noozhawk, KSBY and the Santa Maria Times arrived at the front gates of the base ahead of Monday's scheduled "Golden shovel" ground-breaking event that the media was invited to.

This was for a new training facility for missile operators.

News Channel reporter Jarrod Zinn said when he and other media crews arrived ahead of the 1:30 p.m. event, they waited to be let onto the base and lined up for the usual caravan, which is standard protocol. They began to follow a military escort vehicle in, but were stopped and ordered out of their vehicles at gunpoint with their hands up.

Sirens went off and barriers went up; this caused our reporter and others to miss the event.

All of the reporters were eventually cleared and let go without further incident.

Base personnel apologized to our reporter for the mix-up.

Zinn reached out to Vandenberg Space Force Base and received the following statement Monday night from a Space Launch Delta (SLD) 30 public affairs spokesperson:

"Vandenberg Space Force Base is experiencing an Increased number of unauthorized entry attempts.  When media entered the installation there was a breakdown in communication and movement continued prior to verification. Every potential unauthorized presence must be treated as a legitimate threat until proven otherwise.  While we recognize this may have been unsettling the security of the base and its personnel is our priority."