JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As tensions escalate in the Middle East between Iran and Israel, concerns have grown over the United States’ involvement and its potential local impact.
News4JAX reached out to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to ask how it’s handling security for the city in light of the escalating conflict. The agency said while there were not aware of any threats, it will remain vigilant to ensure residents are safe.
“In light of recent events, JSO remains vigilant to our agency’s mission to protect all Jacksonville citizens from harm. We are not aware of any threats to our community, but we will remain in close communication with our local, state, and federal partners so that we have the best possible intelligence to protect our community,” a JSO spokesperson wrote in a statement.
Iran launched a limited missile attack Monday on a U.S. military base in Qatar, retaliating for the American bombing of its nuclear sites but indicating it was prepared to step back from escalating tensions in the volatile region. U.S. officials reported no casualties.
News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney discussed three main military installations in our region.
While NAS Jax and Naval Station Mayport are critical bases, he pointed to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay for a very specific reason.
“Kings Bay and its relative association to the nuclear submarine that is stationed there and works out of there is of major importance to the residents in this area but also Homeland Security in general. That is a well known and well understood player in local politics,” Hackney said.
Hackney added that while there are high value targets in the area such as the Jaguars stadium or military bases, there is other critical infrastructure that some may overlook.
“Massive infrastructure goes through Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia for instance rail traffic. There is a massive amount that goes through here critical to the functioning of the Eastern half of the United States.”
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Hackney also pointed to digital files that are stored in mass in the Jacksonville area that affect large swaths of the country’s population.
“There’s finance critical infrastructure. There’s medical critical infrastructure that comes here from data points. Data housing of major servers here in the North Florida area,” Hackney said.