DOCUMENT: Crime

Open Call For FBI Players

'Terrorists,' 'murderers' among roles cast for Quantico training

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Open Call For FBI Players

JULY 13--While eating breakfast at a Cracker Barrel in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Anthony Bradley overhears two men--both of whom have 'dark complexions and appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent'--discussing a terrorist attack, perhaps a bombing of a Chicago train station. Occasionally conversing in what sounds like Arabic, the swarthy duo speaks excitedly about the Iraq war and the efforts of insurgents who attack U.S. military personnel. One of the men notes, 'It is our responsibility to shed blood for Allah.' This is one of dozens of training scenarios presented at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, where future G-men participate in 'role player' exercises geared toward preparing them for similar real-life situations. This glimpse into the Academy's secret training playbook is found in a 'request for quote' (RFQ) issued last month by FBI administrators. The bureau is seeking bids from firms that can provide at least 60 civilian role players to staff these training scenarios for 12 months (and perhaps for four option years). The role players portray bank robbers, terrorists, murderers, crime victims, and witnesses. They sometimes carry weapons, engage in paintball shootouts with FBI trainees, and should be prepared to be 'handcuffed in a variety of positions (i.e., standing, kneeling, prone, walking backwards on their knees).' On the following pages are excerpts from the bureau's RFQ, submissions for which are due July 18. Along with describing a role player's physical requirements and what kind of weapons are used in training exercises (which often occur at Quantico's Hogan's Alley facility), the 140-page document details scenarios a prospective contractor will have to staff, including episodes involving the delivery of a bomb to the home of a federal judge, more radical Islamists, an assistant pastor who sleeps with underage girls and kills his pregnant wife, and a nuclear power plant employee who has stolen blueprints in anticipation of peddling them to a North Korean intelligence officer. (12 pages)