Reports indicate that drones were detected flying above Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in Southern California recently, but there was no threat to the base’s operations.
According to Base spokesman Capt. James C. Sartain, there were six separate occasions between Dec. 9 and 15 where unmanned aerial systems (UAS) were observed breaching the airspace over Camp Pendleton.
Sartain also said the UAS did not pose any threat to installation operations.
The publication was also informed by base personnel that no countermeasures were needed to neutralize the drones as they did not interfere with air or ground activities.
She continued, saying more work needs to be done, including legislation giving officials the authority to respond to threats of drones with the right technology.
Houlahan pointed out that more drones will begin gracing the airspace, and with it being Christmas, there will likely be more drones under people’s Christmas trees next week.
She stressed that it was important for the American people to know “there is no evident threat coming from any place.”
But she also wanted to stress that the media and public officials have an important role when it comes to drones and the message sent to the public.
“I’m not really sure why some of my colleagues have decided that this is important to scare the public, but I don’t think that that’s a terribly responsible thing to do,” Houlahan said. “Similarly with the media, I don’t think it’s terribly responsible to scare the public.”
Fox News Digital’s Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.