How not to get into the Pentagon

by | Aug 25, 2010 | Topics

Learn from my Pentagon odyssey. Call ahead. Wear flats. Take taxis. Stay hydrated.

Or face the consequence of a daunting walk around the outside of one of the world’s largest buildings trying to find the reporters’ entrance.

Some facts:

  • Each of the five sides of the Pentagon is about 925 feet; that’s just shy of a “click” in military speak, or just a hair over half a mile.
  • Any reporter who isn’t a regular Pentagon reporter – and the rules are pretty stringent on who qualifies as regular — must have an escort from the Department of Defense media staff to get in the building.
  • According to its press conference announcements, DoD media staff will escort reporters from one location only: the parking lot adjacent to the river entrance.
  • The river entrance is on the north-facing side of the Pentagon. The Pentagon Station Metro stop is on the side that faces southeast, a distance that would be about a mile if there existed a path hugging the edge of the building.

But in what universe would the home of the entire U.S. defense apparatus just allow anyone to walk along the side of the building? These are people who eat, sleep and breathe national security. You keep your distance.

There is, in fact, no sidewalk between the Pentagon Station Metro stop and the river entrance, which is used only for invitation-only events (reporters are invited to press conferences).

There is a highway with a beaten-down, pebbly little path beside it. There is no shade. The breeze that gets kicked up is from the cars zipping past and comes with a payload of road dust and gravel. The path takes you to a walkway leading over the Jefferson Davis Highway, through a parking lot and back across a pedestrian overpass. There’s a guard shack in the middle of this overpass where you can wait for someone to come escort you in.

Lt. Col. Robert Dutchey, a Pentagon spokesman, recommends that newcomers get in touch with the press office beforehand. A press office staffer can meet you somewhere easy, like the visitor’s center, and give you an orientation of the building.