WIESBADEN, Germany -- August begins Army Europe's antiterrorism (AT) awareness month campaign and AT officials continue to emphasize efforts Soldiers, civilians and family members should take to avoid threats, situations and lone wolves that are possibly looking for their next target.
In August, Army garrisons throughout Europe will participate in Antiterrorism Awareness Month activities, which include allotted training days focusing on AT topics, social media updates and refresher courses to help community members meet annual requirements.
Experts say terrorism continues to be a threat and this must be faced head on. Integrating training, education, leadership, and threat awareness across the force allows leaders to present a formidable defense. A combination of world class leaders and an actively engaged community is the hallmark of the Army Europe antiterrorism program.
In addition to implementing basic training methods, one of the biggest ways Army Europe prepares to combat insider threats is by implementing annual training exercises that reflect real-world scenarios and prepare key emergency personnel to take on various situations that might unfold on a military installation.
"The antiterrorism full-scale exercise program affords the garrison the opportunity to test, assess and validate their antiterrorism plan," said AT expert Jessica Bittle. "It provides the garrison and local host nation community command and control and first response elements a chance develop a functional interoperability by familiarizing themselves with each organization's tactics, techniques, and procedures by working together in a training environment."
Antiterrorism officials say the local community can gain confidence in their military and host nation communities' ability to protect them during a time of crisis by being aware of exercises and understand what their roles are during the training.
Experts say, "if you see something, say something" by contacting emergency personnel or the antiterrorism office immediately.
Key points leaders are emphasizing are:
•Remaining vigilant in all activities, maintaining situational awareness of your surroundings at all times and taking security measures to reduce vulnerability are a necessary part of our daily lives at home as well in theaters of operation.
•Commanders will ensure all military personnel within their command are aware of the significance of the terrorist threat, reemphasize unit and personal protection measures and the reporting of suspicious activities and review assessed vulnerabilities and random antiterrorism measures.
•We must maintain our awareness, report suspicious activity and not drop our guard. The strength of our defense is our people.
•Every member of the Army Europe community plays an important role in preventing terrorist acts. By embedding antiterrorism principles and concepts throughout our plans and programs we protect our community from terrorists.
•By understanding the indicators of potential terrorist activities, and reporting suspicious behavior to military police or local law enforcement, our community members serve as "sensors" to enhance and extend the Army protection posture.
Common Access Card holders can complete the training at: https://jko.jten.mil; search and enroll in Course #JS-US007 to receive the training.
Non-CAC holders can complete the training at: http://jko.jten.mil/courses/atl1/launch.html
Additionally, those requiring the annual training are able to fulfill their requirement at the Tony Bass Gym on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Aug. 4 and Aug. 28, from 10 a.m. to noon.
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About us: U.S. Army Europe is uniquely positioned to advance American strategic interests across Eurasia and has unparalleled capability to prevent conflict, shape the environment and, if necessary, win decisively. The relationships we build during more than 1,000 theater security cooperation events in more than 40 countries each year lead directly to support for multinational c-ontingency operations around the world, strengthen regional partnerships, and enhance global security."
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