FBI celebrating centennial today

Jim Angell has literally seen the world of investigation blossom into what it is today.

Angell grew up in the sleepy town of Quantico in the 1940s, after the Federal Bureau of Investigation built its first major training facility at the Marine Corps base. He was an infant when the FBI finished that brick building in 1940, dubbed the "Little Red Schoolhouse."

When legendary agency director J. Edgar Hoover and his G-men marched into Quantico to start the construction of the current facility, the 69-year-old former Air Force officer said it was bigger than the president coming to town.

"They [FBI agents] stood out like movie stars coming down the street," said Angell, a Pitney Bowes contractor who was delivering mail for the town and the Corps when the facility was completed in 1972.

Hoover died at the age of 77, just days before the FBI unveiled its new campus that served as the site of the 100th year anniversary celebration of the crime-fighting organization on Friday. A day before the organization turned 100 years old, the Quantico training facility hosted a party for employees and their families, as well as members of the Citizens Academy.

All around the reception room in the Jefferson Dormitory were examples of the FBI's storied history. There were old blown-up photographs showing training exercises, including an amusing staged photograph of a bank robbery. Also on display was a movie poster of "The Silence of the Lambs"—filmed partly on the FBI campus—as well as an interactive computer program which detailed the organization's history by decade, as well as testimonials from current staff.

Those in attendance were treated to a moving piano piece created by 15-year-old North Stafford High School stu-dent Dak Van Vranken to commemorate the anniversary. The day ended with an informative overview of the FBI's history by current Deputy Assistant Director of Training Michael Folmar and a picnic-style lunch.

Montclair residents Chuck and Pat Hall came to the function after Chuck—a former Army Military Police officer and 2006 Citizens Academy graduate—learned of the event through another Academy grad. Chuck said the eight-week academy was an eye-opening experience, one that helped him understand what the FBI investigators have to go through during their training.

Diana Embrey brought her husband, John, as well as her sister-in-law and her sister-in-law's husband. Em-brey lives in Stafford County and has worked for the bureau since 1997.

"It's nice to see what goes on inside here, what has happened in the past and what [the FBI] is using today," John said.

Brother-in-law Paul Carrico, who lives in Arizona, also got a kick out of the visit.

"It was larger than I imagined it would be," said Carrico of the 547-acre complex. "…I didn't know we had that many FBI guys."

The FBI has nearly 33,000 "guys" working for them now. More than 50,000 applicants turn in their resumes to the organization each year in hopes of becoming a special agent. However, only 1,000 typically make it to graduation, said FBI publicinformation officer and 1980 Woodbridge High School graduate Kurt Crawford. The training lasts 20 weeks and only people ages 23 to 37 are accepted.

The Quantico facility is also known for its now 73-year-old National Academy, which trains law enforcement offi-cers around the nation on various topics.

Those attending the academy wear green golf shirts and khaki pants while agents wear blue shirts with khaki pants—a far cry from when Hoover's boys literally marched into town in 1972, wearing suits and ties and matching fedora hats.

Before 1934, FBI agents couldn't use firearms against crime bosses such as Al Capone. Now, the FBI is helping to fight not only domestic crime but international terrorism. On a bulletin board in one of its many hallways is an FBI Most Wanted list with Osama bin Laden on it. Outside in a courtyard is a marble monument dedicated to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks masterminded by bin Laden.

"The bureau has changed to fight crime," Folmar said. "…We want to predict crimes and prevent attacks."

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-369-5738.