Tabatha Deans

Dam disaster

I spent the day being held hostage by terrorists at the Dam visitor center. It was part of a law enforcement training drill, and was by far, one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.
I was one of about six hostages, and spent time being used as a human shield, then holding a “bomb” while standing in front of the door to keep the SWAT team at bay. Eventually the SWAT team stormed the front door, shooting the terrorists, two hostages and capturing the rest of us. Unfortunately, they didn’t realize that what they thought was one of the tourists, was actually a terrorist, and after lining us all up safely he threw his cell phone on the floor, igniting a bomb and blowing us all up.
I managed to avoid getting shot, but it was pretty intense when a dozen men in green fatigues stormed in and started shooting. I could smell burning gunpowder and there were bullet casings flying. It was pretty eerie, but fascinating at the same time.
After the exercise, my partner in crime talked the helicopter pilot into taking us for a flight over the lake. I’ve never been on a helicopter before, and to enhance the experience, we opted to buckle ourselves in tightly and leave the doors of the chopper open so we could get a good view. I impressed myself by not thinking of how painful it would be to die in a helicopter crash, and focused on the beautiful scenery below us.
We spent the rest of the day visiting with law enforcement officials, touring the blackhawk helicopter and making new friends.

May 8, 2009 - Posted by Tabatha Stewart | Uncategorized