Despite the fact that the bomb targeting the well-known US military Times Square recruiting station in New York City went off at 3:45 a.m., Air Force officials say it was only minutes before the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Air Education and Training Command, and Air Force Recruiting Service were in contact to account for personnel and begin work with law enforcement officials. “This is not the first time one of our offices has been used to demonstrate, but violence is not tolerated and law enforcement officials will find the perpetrator and prosecute,” said Brig. Gen. Suzanne Vautrinot, AFRS commander, in a March 6 USAF release. She added that most such attacks are committed by “people frustrated with the government, who then act on that against the easiest target they can find—our recruiters,” who often work in leased office buildings outside military installations.
A three-month continuing resolution that ended in December inflicted less pain on the Department of the Air Force than it had expected, as procurement and construction continue in the new year. The federal government operated under a stopgap spending measure that stretched from the beginning of the fiscal year on…