An empty ballroom between events at AFCEA’s Technet Augusta conference on Aug. 22, 2024. (Carley Welch / Breaking Defense)
TECHNET AUGUSTA 2024 — It might be expected for a technical conference attended by a host of US military officials, industry heavyweights and other experts to be the target of some sort of cyber attack or espionage gambit, but organizers here said a “criminal investigation” has been opened amid speculation that someone tried to disrupt the annual TechNet conference in Augusta, Ga. using another potent ploy: a foul smell.
As attendees piled into the conference’s main ballroom Tuesday morning, they were met with a pungent odor, prompting polite whispers of an odiferous interference. Some said it must be a sewage leak while others blamed the stench on the carpets being cleaned the night before and left to dry overnight.
The general consensus was that the situation stunk, but the hundreds of people and companies that had come to discuss the military’s technology innovation at the event put on by the (AFCEA) kept a professional demeanor. Susan Lawrence, a retired Army lieutenant general and the president of AFCEA, addressed the issue Wednesday morning.
“As you know yesterday was very uncomfortable as you came in here. Both AFCEA international and the Augusta Marriot at the Convention Center are aware of the odor in the vicinity of Oglethorpe ballroom [the main ballroom] and are working diligently to remedy the situation,” she said. “In cooperation with the local authorities, the affected areas have undergone tests for the presence of hazardous material, and those authorities have stated that it is safe to proceed with this conference.”
“We will continue to cooperate with the local authorities on this ongoing investigation. I’m going to add a word – […] this ongoing criminal investigation. All authorities investigating this incident are at this time, and based on the evidence gathered to date, alleged that it was a willful act,” she added.
It was unclear who the local authorities investigating the case are and what, if anything, they’ve found so far. Howard Wahlberg, senior director of marketing for AFCEA told Breaking Defense today that there were multiple authorities involved, but he could not disclose which since it is an open investigation. An official with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation told Breaking Defense this morning that its office was not involved at that point, and another official at the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, which has jurisdiction in Augusta, said they did not have information to provide. Breaking Defense also reached out to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for comment, but the agency did not respond at the time of publication.
The smell is not yet gone, but it has subsided over the past two days. Still, this report was drafted outside the facility’s walls — where a breeze kept the odor at bay.
