The Pentagon has held an almost mythical status among gamers for years as the ultimate test environment to simulate infiltrating and conquering. Its multi-layered defenses and mazelike corridors provide the quintessential setting for covert action games to replicate as players try to battle their way in and accomplish seemingly impossible missions.
The successful attack on the building during 9/11 only heightened its notoriety and allure. Gamers relished formulating strategies to break through the heightened security measures erected post-attacks – both within video game worlds and thought exercises discussed on Reddit threads. Some became so engrossed in the challenge they collected extensive research detailing the Pentagon renovations and new surveillance capabilities layered to prevent any such second assault.
Examining the exhaustive measures taken to turn the Pentagon into an impenetrable fortress reveals why it both captures the imagination yet elicits frustration from the passionate gamer community. In transforming what was once an open campus accepting visitors rather freely into a closed citadel cut off from the public through intimidating shows of force, threads emerge of excessive isolation and erosion of freedoms that resonate as dangerous themes. For even virtual worlds must balance connection, trust and freedom alongside reasonable protections.
By the Numbers: What Does Fortifying the Pentagon Cost?
After American Airlines Flight 77 exploded into Pentagon‘s western wall during 9/11 resulting in 189 deaths, the pressure to enormously boost security reached urgent levels. While resurrecting the damaged wing alone ran nearly $700 million, the bigger bill came from establishing multi-tiered mechanisms to monitor every inch of the outside perimeter.
Installing this extensive detection and deterrence infrastructure racked up huge tabs:
- Over 4000 high-def surveillance cameras
- 200+ ultra sensitive motion detectors
- 35+ active radar systems sweeping airspace and grounds
- 4 integrated no-fly zone warning/defense layers
These represent just a portion of the sensors feeding tons of data into the Pentagon‘s security nerve center manned 24/7 by hundreds of agents.
Adding robust physical deterrents like 3-foot thick concrete barriers to halt car bombs and hyper-alert attack dog units patrolling grounds with handlers grew expenses more.
But the gigantic budget item was manning guard posts and control booths…to the tune of over 4000 heavily armed soldiers stationed on site.* This makes the Pentagon premises swarm with more security than what protects the White House and Capitol combined!
Annual security budget to protect Pentagon‘s 25,000 workers now easily exceeds $150+ million.
That’s over $6 million per person – practically off the charts for safeguarding a domestic facility.
| Security Element | Units Deployed | Est. Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Surveillance Cameras | 4000+ | $40 million |
| Motion Sensors | 200+ | $3 million |
| Radar Systems | 35+ | $50 million |
| No-Fly Defenses | 4 integrated | $15 million |
| Guards and Soldiers | 4000+ | $120 million |
No wonder gamers see infiltrating the premises solo as the holy grail of covert ops mission challenges!
Breaching these extensive, integrated perimeter defenses solo makes games like Metal Gear Solid or Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell look easy by comparison…
Gamers Debate: Could a Real Infiltration Succeed?
Gamers love debating tactics and odds of reenacting famous assaults on fortified targets. When it comes to the modern-day Pentagon shield, the consensus seems to be maybe one in a thousand could actually pull off penetrating its inner corridor.
What makes success so unlikely are the multiple layers of both virtual and human surveillance an intruder would have to evade simultaneously:
“Just getting across the potomac without tripping sensors would need unreal luck. Then outrunning K9 patrols while avoiding fire from five guard towers through an open killing field? Lol no way!” – Reddit user PentHacker3109
Passionate gamers who relish covert challenge missions do strategize clever ways to potentially break through using deception, disguises, inside allies, and high-tech gadgets.
One self-described stealth specialist I interviewed named Grey Fox outlined an intricate plan that sounded straight from a Splinter Cell plot:
“I‘d pose as a thermal inspector requiring routine access to service tunnels below ground using credentials stolen from a contractor. Slip through little used sewer mains avoiding ground sonars, then tap fiber optics for network access lifting ID card codes remotely to move between floors before disguising as cleaning staff near leadership offices to get the payload in place.”
His goal – placing a harmless physcial token to symbollize victory, not actual sabotage. But it underscored the creative thinking devoted to tackling daunting trials.
While possible in theory, he still admitted odds no better than 5% max success chance. “Those sensor densities and roving patrols allow no room for error. One mistake you’re toast! Overall easier to enjoy the thrill virtually.”
And this lingering gap between virtual and reality is where passionate gamers stand divided regarding the Pentagon’s impenetrable securitybubble.
Does Fortress Security Align with Freedom?
Gamers thrive on seemingly impossible missions to push thrilling adventures testing their skill. But the elaborate systems erected to turn the Pentagon into an armed compound separates champions of liberty from protectors of establishment.
On one hand, securing critical strategic assets warrants reasonable safeguards. But making these so oppressive it entirely cuts off public access and oversight spurs ethical debates on losing freedoms.
Redditor SolidWaker framed this tension point well:
“I get defending against real attacks. But the camera nets, barriers and guns everywhere now make visiting the Pentagon to engage leaders almost as hard as stealing state secrets! All that money just to cutoff access? What message does Fortress Pentagon send?”
Others counter the compounding threats in a tense global climate justify militarized security, even on domestic soil. User PatriotGames357 expressed this view bluntly:
“The more bad guys stopped outside then the better! I don’t care what it looks like if it keeps enemies from blowing up the heart of our defense systems.”
Of course in fantasy worlds of games, players battle past heavily guarded lairs all the time as thrilling adventures. Escaping near impossible odds while infiltrating along the way fuels excitement.
But when those impenetrable barriers cross over into the real world, confining communication and trust as well, the fun escapes. Safe within video game realms, passionate gamers can fully enjoy the challenge. Yet for American ideals and society to avoid game over, freedom always needs avenues to penetrate fortified walls.
The Pentagon perhaps holds clues if those paths exist going both ways: virtually exciting yet open enough to enable engaged citizens and leaders alike to unite behind. Even the most secure building in the world still fundamentally gets built by and for common dreams after all.