Marine Corps Base Quantico officials credit Cpl. Michael Luce’s cool, calm demeanor for playing a key role in the handling of a potentially serious threat to base security on Sept. 11.

Luce, stationed with the Provost Marshal’s Office, Security Battalion, was still fairly new to desk sergeant duties with the Military Police when an explosive threat was detected at the main gate, only to be followed by near simultaneous reports of a man allegedly driving around base brandishing a gun.

The fact that the events fell upon the 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Americans only served to heighten security fears and initial confusion. Luce, however, never became rattled under the pressure, consistently coordinating base security efforts while keeping both his superiors and all operational units involved with real-time information until things were peacefully resolved.

“He was fairly green,” said Chief Joseph P. Riley, deputy police chief, Provost Marshal’s Office, “but he kept his calm and never lost his composure. He never got flustered and was able to answer all the questions while multi-tasking. I was very impressed with that.”

Luce conceded, however, the day’s events were “a little unnerving,” but added that it wasn’t enough to completely a shake a Marine who has survived a deployment to Afghanistan from 2012-2013.

“I think it was the initial shock that gets your blood pumping,” the 28-year-old Pittsburgh native said. “You quickly figure out that there are a lot of people to notify, start coordinating units, figure out who needs evacuations and who else needs what. Being a desk sergeant requires a calm, collected and level-headed approach to everything you do.”

Others cited by the Provost Marshal’s Office as having performed admirably that chaotic afternoon include police officer Nicholas Jackson, Lt. Jared Martin, police officer Walid Nazari, police officer Cpl. Timothy Lutter and military working dog handler Cpl. Gabriel Edens.

What had been a routine Friday afternoon in the summer changed a little after 1 p.m. when a call came in from the base package store about a suspicious male sitting in his car at the gas pump for nearly 30 minutes. Jackson soon arrived at the store and viewed store tapes, showing the suspicious man loitering “for an extended period of time,” according to a Provost Marshal’s Office incident report.

The man was later stopped after trying to enter the base through the main gate, where explosive-sniffing bomb dogs alerted on something at roughly 2:45 p.m. The man was quickly detained and the gate was immediately shut down until members of the Explosive Ordnance Division could arrive on scene. In the meantime, it was up to Luce to keep his superiors apprised of the fluid situation while also coordinating efforts with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Marine Corps Criminal Investigative Division and the Prince William County Police Department. The Fairfax County Police Department was also contacted with a request to check on the detained man’s residence.

Bomb suit-wearing members of EOD arrived on the scene at 3:12 p.m., but it was a little more than an harrowing hour later at 4:39 p.m. before it was determined that the car did not actually contain explosives. Authorities later determined the man was a contractor working on base. He was not charged with a crime and later released.

Things were already tense and busy enough when another wrinkle was added with a 3:48 p.m. call stating that an individual was driving around base shouting” I have a gun!” from his car window.

Unsure at the time whether the two events were related, Luce coordinated an immediate police response. As it turned out, the man was not driving around yelling threats, but screaming, “We need better leadership and less guns in the country!” according to the incident report. Nothing illegal was found to be in his possession or in his car, but the Quantico resident was issued a citation for trespassing on the installation.

Luce smoothly coordinated the base’s entire response, all the while dealing with media inquiries, routine walk-in requests and the pressures that came with his superiors consistently standing right above him.

“We have a smooth emergency response plan,” Luce said. “I was just mostly worried about my guys out there.”

Riley said he was he was proud of the way his entire unit responded to what could have easily been a real threat.



“They did all the right things,” he said.