MONTROSS, Va. ā Bill O'Gara, president of The O'Gara Group, released the following statement:
"The OāGara Group provides training in explosives ordnance disposal that is purely defensive in nature and for the sole purpose of anti-terrorism and protection of personnel and facilities. It does not perform any offensive instruction in utilizing explosives, and any suggestion otherwise is patently false and misleading to the public. Prior to attending this training, all students are investigated and cleared by the U.S. government, and no OāGara student has ever been found to have engaged in terrorism. OāGara is fully licensed by both federal and state authorities to possess and store explosive materials for its training programs, and has always met or exceeded statutory and regulatory requirements. No explosives, weapons, ammunition or any other sensitive material have ever been unaccounted for from OāGara Group facilities, and no student or instructor has ever been injured during any explosives training activities."