Sunday, May 26, 2013

Berryville, Arkansas

The claim: FEMA facility located east of Eureka Springs off Hwy. 62.

What it really is: Using Google maps I've found numerous large buildings in this area, but most of them are commercial properties, and none of them look a prison camp.

Blythville AFB, Arkansas

The claim: Closed airbase now being used as camp. New wooden barracks have been constructed at this location. Classic decorations - guard towers, barbed wire, high fences.

What it really is: Eaker Air Force Base (which is it's actual name) was closed in 1992, and is now the Arkansas International Airport. The only military presence there is the Arkansas National Guard that uses the airport for helicopter training.

Rohwer, Arkansas

The claim: Descha County - site of WWII Japanese camps

What it really is: Only a few structures of this former camp remain.

In 1992 the camp was declared a National Historic Landmark, and is opened to the public.

Jerome, Arkansas

The claim: Chicot/Drew Counties - site of WWII Japanese camps

What it really is: There was a Japanese interment camp here, but it is long gone.

The town itself is very small, with the largest buildings there being a couple of small warehouses that are not surrounded by any fences.

Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas

The claim: This location also is the repository for B-Z nerve agent, which causes sleepiness, dizziness, stupor; admitted use is for civilian control.

What it really is: The site did house BZ, but the facility the housed it was destroyed in 1999.

The site itself, while large, mostly contains small buildings used for storage.

Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas

The claim: (near Fort Smith, Arkansas) - Has new runway for aircraft, new camp facility with cap of 40,000 prisoners

What it really is: Fort Chaffee is a National Guard base for the state of Arkansas.

The base has also been used to house refugees. In 2005 it was used to house 10,000 people affected by Hurricane Katrina. Any one of those people could have seen a prison camp there, if it was there, and yet none have.

Mather AFB, California

The claim: Road to facility is blocked off by cement barriers and a stop sign. Sign states area is restricted; as of 1997 there were barbed wire fences pointing inward, a row of stadium lights pointed toward an empty field, etc. Black boxes on poles may have been cameras.

What it really is: Mather Air Force Base was closed in 1993, and is now the Sacramento Mather Airport.

Barbed wire fences, stadium lights, cement barriers, stop signs, and cameras are all very common things for public airports, and are necessary for both security and safety measures.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Sacramento, California

The claim: Army Depot - No specific information at this time.

What it really is: This army depot was closed down in 1995.

McClellan AFB, California

The claim: facility capable for 30,000 - 35,000

What it really is: The base was closed in 2001. The surrounding area was converted into a business park, and the only military presence left there is the Coast Guard. The airfield is also used by civilians as well.

Some of the base in still off limits due to ground pollution contamination that is still being cleaned up.

Ft. Irwin, California

The claim: FEMA facility near Barstow. Base is designated inactive but has staffed camp.

What it really is: Fort Irwin is an active army base, and is a major training base for the US military.

While it has been deactivated twice in the past, it has been in use since 1980.

Terminal Island, California

The claim: (Long Beach) located next to naval shipyards operated by ChiCom shipping interests. Federal prison facility located here. Possible deportation point.

What it really is: The shipping yards are operated by both the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbor, and not by Communist China (which is, for some people, what ChiCom is slang for).

A Federal prison is there called the Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island, which has a population of 1,150 and is low security.

The naval shipyard there was closed in 1997.

Oakdale, California

The claim: Rex 84 camp capable of holding at least 20,000 people. 90 mi. East of San Francisco. 

What it really is: It's a city with a population of over 20,000 people. The largest buildings there are a few manufacturing plants and shopping centers.

Twentynine Palms Marine Base, California

The claim: Birthplace of the infamous "Would you shoot American citizens?" Quiz. New camps being built on "back 40".

What it really is: First, the actually name of the base is the "Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms" and is located right inside the Morongo Basin and the High Desert region of the Mojave Desert.

Using Google maps I've taken a look at the base and the area around it, and while there are some small buildings around the main part of the base itself, none of them are large enough to hold large amounts of people, nor do most of them even appear to be fenced in.

As for the "Would you shoot American citizens?" quiz, it's still questionable if this was even real, but from what information from I can find (mind you this is from conspiracy theorists, so it might all be a hoax) it was apparently part of a marine survey (and not an actual quiz) done back in the mid 1990's, and according to the claims that I found, the overwhelming majority of them said that they wouldn't.

Fort Ord, California

The claim: Closed in 1994, this facility is now an urban warfare training center for US and foreign troops, and may have some "P.O.W. - C.I." enclosures.

What it really is: This army base was closed in 1994, and is now a national park called the Fort Ord National Monument, and is opened to the public.

Some of the trails do have fences along them, but that is because of possible unexploded ordnance within those areas.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Tule Lake, California

The claim: area of "wildlife refuge", accessible by unpaved road, just inside Modoc County.

What it really is: It is a National Wildlife Refuge that is surrounded by farm land.

Norton AFB, California

The claim: (closed base) now staffed with UN according to some sources.

What it really is: The base was closed in 1994, and is now the San Bernardino International Airport.

Vandenburg AFB, California

The claim: Rex 84 facility, located near Lompoc & Santa Maria. Internment facility is located near the oceanside, close to Space Launch Complex #6, also called "Slick Six". The launch site has had "a flawless failure record" and is rarely used.

What it really is: First, Space Launch Complex 6 has not had a flawless launch record. Second, while the launch complex hasn't been used as much as others, it is still used (the last launch from there was in 2012).

As for the oceanside internment facility, this probably doesn't exist due to the fact that Vandenburg AFB is located two to three miles away from the coast.

Pensacola, Florida

The claim: Federal Prison Camp Everglades - It is believed that a facility may be carved out of the wilds here.

What it really is: First, Pensascola is no where near the Everglades. Second, there is already a prison near the Everglades, it called the Everglades Correctional Institution. It's run by the state, not the Federal government, and it holds minimum to medium security prisoners.

Eglin AFB, Florida

The claim: This base is over 30 miles long, from Pensacola to Hwy 331 in De Funiak Springs. High capacity facility, presently manned and populated with some prisoners.

What it really is: Eglin is a major Air Force base, it is not however over 30 miles long. It is infact only two miles long.

It once did host a prison camp, but it was minimum security, and it closed in 2006.

Camp Krome, Florida

The claim: DoJ detention/interrogation center, Rex 84 facility

What it really is: It's an abandoned site. The only thing that's there are a few decaying building with graffiti on them.

Avon Park, Florida

The claim: Air Force gunnery range, Avon Park has an on-base "correctional facility" which was a former WWII detention camp.

What it really is: The base never hosted a POW detention camp, and portions of the base itself has been declared land surplus over the years and has been sold off.

There is a prison there, but it's run by the Florida Department of Corrections, not the Federal government.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Hammond, Indiana

The claim: large enclosure identified in FEMA-designated city.

What it really is: Located right next to Chicago, Hammond has multiple manufacturing centers located within the city, any one of which could probably be confused as a FEMA camp to a person who thinks that FEMA camps are real.

Newport, Indiana

The claim: Army Depot - VX nerve gas storage facility. Secret meetings were held here in 1998 regarding the addition of the Kankakee River watershed to the Heritage Rivers Initiative.

What it really is: The Newport Chemical Depot did store VX nerve gas there, at least until 2008 when it was all destroyed.

The depot itself was closed in June 2010, and is now in plans with the local community to be used for civilian use.

Jefferson Proving Grounds, Indiana

The claim: Southern Indiana - This facility was an active base with test firing occuring daily. Portions of the base have been opened to create an industrial park, but other areas are still highly restricted. A camp is believed to be located "downrange". Facility is equipped with an airfield and has a nearby rail line.

What it really is: The base was closed in 1995. The Army does maintain have a small, on-sight staff to oversee the cleaning up of the area.

Currently 50,000 acres of the firing line have been turned into the Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge, and a 1,000 acres north of the firing line is being used by the Indiana Air National Guard.

There is what was once an old air field to the south, but the buildings there that would support it are mostly gone, and the runways either degrading, or are gone.

Grissom AFB, Indiana

The claim: This closed airbase still handles a lot of traffic, and has a "state-owned" prison compound on the southern part of the facility.

What it really is: It's actual name is the Grissom Air Reserve Base, and it is not closed.

The claim about the state prison there is true, and has a population of over 3,100 medium to high security prisoners there (which would mean that it's pretty full). This does not mean however that the prison is a FEMA camp.

The base also has a joint-use agreement allowing for the runway to be used by civilians as well.

Jasper-Pulaski Wildlife Area, Indiana

The claim: Youth Corrections farm located here. Facility is "closed", but is still staffed and being "renovated". Total capacity unknown.

What it really is: A bogus claim. There is no youth corrections farm located there, nor or there any buildings located in the wildlife area.

The land is also open to the public as well for hunting and recreation.

Kingsbury, Indiana

The claim: This "closed" military base is adjacent to a state fish & wildlife preserve. Part of the base is converted to an industrial park, but the southern portion of this property is still used. It is bordered on the south by railroad, and is staffed with some foreign-speaking UN troops. A local police officer who was hunting and camping close to the base in the game preserve was accosted, roughed up, and warned by the English-speaking unit commander to stay away from the area. It was suggested to the officer that the welfare of his family would depend on his "silence". Located just southeast of LaPorte.

What it really is: First, there wasn't a military base there, just an ordinance plant there, and it closed down after the Korean War.

There really isn't that much there, as the town has a population of less than 250 people. The only thing around there that might be mistaken for a FEMA camp is some large warehouses south east of the town.

As for the claim of the police officer encounter UN troops, this story appears to be made up. I can not find any information to confirm this actually happen, and apparently no one else has claimed to have been accosted.