North Stafford –– A new center for technology and education may be coming to Boswells Corner’s expanding Quantico Corporate Center.

Stafford County officials , University of Mary Washington, George Mason University and Germanna Community College officials today all signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the possibility of building a new technology education center on Corporate Drive.

As part of the three-year agreement, officials from the respective organizations will examine the potential growth and demand of a technology center near Quantico Marine Corps Base. (more…)

Heidi Baise, personal trainer and marathon runner, prepares for the upcoming Marine Corps Marathon being held this weekend in Washington. (Mary Davidson/PotomacLocal.com)

Quantico, Va. –– After running the Boston Marathon, Heidi Baise is looking forward to showing the Marine Corps she has more than what it takes to compete.

Baise will be one of the 30,000 participants to run in the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington this Sunday.

While not working as a personal trainer at Quantico Marine Corps Base, she trains her own body six days a week, four hours at a time to prepare for the fourth largest marathon in the country. (more…)

The Iwo Jima statue greets visitors to Quantico Marine Corps Base in Triangle. (Mary Davidson)

Quantico, Va. –– It’s going to get loud near the Quantico Marine Corps Base this week.

On Wednesday and Thursday, residents who live near the base may have their windows rattled as explosives will be set off on base as part of munitions training.

Training will take place between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Wednesday, and 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday, according to a press release.

But that doesn’t mean that those are the only times explosions may be heard or felt. (more…)

National Museum of the Marine Corps (Mary Davidson)

Triangle, Va. –– Bullets flew and glass shattered Sunday at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

No artifacts were damaged in the shooting and no one was inside when the shooting occurred, but $20,000  damage was caused to the four-year-old building that sits in Triangle, near Quantico Marine Corps Base, according to Insidenova.com.

Police said five holes could be seen in the roof of the structure, and that they do not know what type of gun was used to shoot at the museum.

The damage side faces Interstate 95, Insidenova.com reported.

The museum welcomed its 20 millionth visitor in August and plans another expansion, which will soon take up an additional 80,000 square feet of space at the existing museum site.

By MARY DAVIDSON
SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

The 2010 Modern Day Marine expo kicked off today at Quantico Marine Corps Base.

The exposition is designed to showcase the latest in military and security defense and intelligence products. (more…)

Stafford County, Va. –– The man in charge at Quantico is not pleased about a plan to develop Boswell’s Corner into an urban business district.

The developing plot of land sits where U.S. 1 meets Telegraph Road, just south of the Prince William County line, and “is poised for explosive growth,” according to a draft of the Stafford County Comprehensive Plan.

The BRAC consolidation is expected to bring more than 500 military jobs here by September, 2011.

The Quantico Corporate Center – an expanding office complex that includes the Globe and Laurel restaurant, a longtime staple of the Quantico area – now sits at Boswell’s Corner. (more…)

An aerial shot of the Stafford Regional Airport during a past Force Protection expo. (Submitted)

Stafford County, Va. –– Those at Quantico on Tuesday will get a glimpse at what today’s modern Marine looks like.

The Modern Day Marine exposition will showcase the latest products in military manufacturing, science, technology and warfighting.

“The concept of holding this military exhibition on-site at Quantico is to give users of systems and equipment an opportunity to carry on dialogue with manufacturers’ representatives and suppliers that will lead to improvements in manufacturing, understanding the user needs and awareness of new equipment coming on line,” said Quantico spokesman Lt. Brian Villiard. (more…)

Quantico, Va. –– An electrical fire caused damage to the FBI Training Academy at Quantico on Saturday.

Flames broke out in the basement of the building about 5 p.m., prompting fire crews from Quantico Marine Corps Base to respond to the facility.

No one was injured and officials say the fire was minor, but it produced heavy smoke which caused damage to the building. (more…)

The Iwo Jima statue greets visitors to Quantico Marine Corps Base in Triangle. (Mary Davidson)

Stafford County, Va. –– Everyone seems to know U.S. 1 at Quantico needs to be widened, but no one seems to know who is going to pay for it.

Earlier this year both Stafford and Prince William counties applied for $2 million in federal money for the study and design phase of widening the highway from four to six lanes, between Quanitco’s main in Triangle gate to the Quantico Corporate Center in Stafford’s Boswell’s Corner.

Stafford officials say they’ve received their portion of the money  – just over $1 million –  and say the study is a huge step forward.

But no organization has stepped up to cover the estimated $25 million that will be needed to actually widen the road. (more…)

By URIAH KISER

Josh Stieber and 25 others protested the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the incarceration of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning in the town of Quantico on Sunday. Manning faces 52 years in prison after video and classified military documents surfaced on the Internet. (Mary Davidson/PotomacLocal.com)

Quantico, Va. ­­–– The Potomac River and Town of Quantico served as a backdrop Sunday for protesters who demanded the release Pfc. Bradley Manning.

The U.S. Army intelligence analyst was charged in June for violating military code after investigators say he leaked a video showing soldiers shooting and killing unarmed Iraqi civilians and journalists, as well as handing over classified military documents which were later posted to the Internet.

He faces 52-years in prison if convicted, and has been jailed on the neighboring Quantico Marine Corps Base since his arrest.

Protester’s signs stated “blowing the whistle on war is not a crime,” and the 25 protesters who showed up – a smaller number of participants who last month came to Quantico to protest – shouted “Bradley Manning is our youth. Set him free to speak the truth.”

“Were concerned because we believe there are war crimes being committed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and when crimes are committed it helps when there is a whistle blower to report them. We’re a little annoyed with the term ‘criminal leaker’ is being used, when Bradley Manning is really a whistle blower,” said rally organizer Pete Perry.

His organization, the Bradley Manning Support Network, held several rallies across the country this weekend that urging U.S. officials to drop the charges against Manning. (more…)

A CSX crew member walks along the track where a 79-car coal train derailed Thursday at Quantico. (Quantico Public Affairs)

Quantico, Va. – Train service between Washington and Richmond should be restored this afternoon.

Officials with CSX, the owners of the rail line, say repairs should be completed this afternoon and train traffic on the rails will be able to return to normal. (more…)

A freight train transporting coal derailed on CSX tracks within Quantico Marine Corps Base, Va. late Thursday afternoon, August 5, 2010. (Cpl. Sean P. Cummings/Quantico Public Affairs Office)

11:30 a.m. Update

Quantico, Va. – The coal train that derailed Thursday at Quantico has spurred cancellations and delays for most of the east coast.

Thousands of Amtrak passengers were left stranded overnight as crews worked to clean up the seven coal cars that toppled over about 3 p.m. Thursday. (more…)

4:25 p.m. Update

Virginia Railway Express officials are using buses to get people home after a coal train derailed at Quantico.

Trains are being stopped at the Franconia-Springfield station, and passengers are being unloaded and moved onto buses, said VRE spokesman Mark Roeber. (more…)

The Iwo Jima statue greets visitors to Quantico Marine Corps Base in Triangle. (Mary Davidson)

QUANTICO, Va. – It’s going to get loud near Quantico Marine Corps Base this week.

Marines will be conducting munitions training this week, which could rattle windows and some nerves of those who live near the base.

On Tuesday, the training is scheduled from 6 a.m. to midnight.

Marines will use the same training schedule on Wednesday and Thursday, according to a statement from Stafford County officials.

Weather conditions can affect how much noise you will hear from the base. If skies are overcast, chances are noise vibrations will increase, officials warned.

Joe Martin, Board Chair of Quantico/Belvoir Regional Business Alliance, discusses the benefits of having BRAC workers relocate to the area. (Photo: Mary Davidson)

MOUNT VERNON, Va. – Traffic congestion may force some of the 20,000 federal employees that are expected in the region next year because of BRAC to stay away. One local business group aims to convince them otherwise.

BRAC, the military’s acronym for base realignment and closure, authorized in 2005 by congress, will force the relocation of the tens of thousands of federal and military employees to Ft. Belvoir Army Base and Quantico Marine Corps Base.

(more…)

A head-on crash has forced the closure of U.S. 1 in Triangle.

Just before 4:30 p.m., a Ford F-150 collided with a sports car just south of the Marine Corps Museum. Fire and rescue units were called, but it appears no one was seriously hurt.

Police closed the northbound portion of the road due to the crash and the southbound side of the road, already full of cars, experienced even longer delays. (more…)

WOODBRIDGE, Va. – Once you catch a Snakehead fish you have to kill it immediately.

And that’s what Joey Campbell did after reeling one in July 1, while fishing on Quantico Creek and the Potomac River.

His Snakehead weighed in at 13.6 pounds, about average for a fish that can grow to be 33-inches long.

The Northern Snakehead is an invader from Asia and Korea, and since 2002 has been found in the Potomac and in Aquia Creek in Stafford County, to points north in Prince William, Fairfax and near Maryland shores.

It’s still a mystery as to how this creepy fish found its way to here. One thought is someone who owned one as a pet and then released it into the river. (more…)

QUANTICO, Va. — If the woman would have taken the free ticket maybe police wouldn’t have forced her from the train.

A conductor on Virginia Railway Express train #308 from Fredericksburg to Washington on Tuesday asked a woman for her ticket, so he could validate that she paid to ride.

But the woman became angry and told the man that the ticket machines at the station where she boarded were not working and then refused to show a ticket, said VRE spokesman Mark Roeber.

She became more confrontational when the conductor pressed her on the issue, telling her she couldn’t ride without one. (more…)

An “unruly passenger” has made commuting difficult this morning for those in Virginia Railway Express train #308 from Fredericksburg to Washington, accoring to the commuter railroad.

The train was stopped at the Quantico station just before 8 a.m. VRE said the passenger was the reason for the delay. The train eventually moved about a half-hour later, making its way to the Rippon station in Woodbridge.

We’ll have more on this story when it becomes available.

Questions are mounting about the widening of U.S. 1 between Stafford and Prince William counties. And they’re coming before an influx of federal workers is expected to relocate to Quantico Marine Corps Base in 2011.

The road is currently being widened from four to six lanes in Triangle, between Joplin and Brady’s Hill roads, as part of the planned Triangle Village near the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Improvements to the small stretch of road are being paid for by Prince William County taxpayers.

But it seems there won’t be any federal help when it comes to additional road improvements for the BRAC relocation to Quantico. (more…)