Fifty civilians and servicemembers gathered at Fort Belvoir's U.S. Army Inspector General School April 18-22 for the Unit Antiterrorism Officer Basic Training course.
The course expounded on various topics, sometimes making for 10 hour days.
''Students are trained on the roles and responsibilities of a unit antiterrorism advisor," according to documents sent out about the course.
''Training includes identifying antiterrorism program requirements, defining terrorism, determining the threat, AT planning and resource requirements, deployment considerations, case studies and conducting AT awareness training," the documents read.
Upon entering the classroom on the first day of training, students took their seats at tables filled with binders, manuals and miscellaneous paperwork.
Students accepted in the class were not the only ones waiting in the classroom however. There were others who'd been placed on a waiting list in hopes of taking the seat of students who failed to appear for the course. Only a few waitlisted students were able to stay and attend.
The training was hosted by Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region and the Military District of Washington Provost Marshal and Protection Directorate-Protection Division.
Col. Steven Lynch, JFHQ-NCR and MDW provost marshal, gave both the opening and closing remarks for the course.
''I just have two quick points and one central theme. The first point is, as many of us know, the threat continues to be very real, both internal and external threats," he said. ''The second point I'd like to make under the theme of sharing information, one of the eight critical tasks in an antiterrorism program is collect, analyze and disseminate threat information."
Course teachers, Steve Kneeland, Troy Jansen and Edward Quinlan made up the mobile training team brought in from the U.S. Army Military Police School at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
Students attending the course weigh in on the importance of the course and how it actually dealt with threats which happen in everyday life.
''This was a very informative course taught by knowledgeable instructors with plenty of real world experience to draw from in order to communicate the gravity and relevance of the subject matter to the class," said Capt. Justin Bishop, Regimental Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Officer, 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard).
Students in the class travelled from as far away as Germany and Korea to attend. A couple of the MDW students drove daily from Fort Meade, Md.
The course was meant to teach that no matter where you are the threat still exists, no matter how safe you feel.
''There will always be terrorist threats that U.S. forces have to deal with stateside and abroad," Bishop said. ''The unit antiterrorism officer has the important job of communicating those threats and the measures taken to limit their effectiveness," he said.
From the civilian side of things, programs such as iWatch and Eagle Eyes have been advertised to promote calling in to report suspicious behavior.
''All military installations are potentially vulnerable to terrorist threats, not just one specific federal service," said Bishop. ''The standards and regulations outlined in the course are very relevant to all personnel who work with servicemembers."
The course concluded with an open book examination followed by an award's ceremony where Lynch gave out his commander's coin and a certificate of appreciation to those who helped make the course possible.
Upon conclusion of the ceremony, teachers went over the final exam with the students before dismissing them. Even though the classroom instructions were over, the mindset to stay vigilant against terrorism remains.
The antiterrorism officers will keep their units up-to-date on antiterrorism standard operating procedures as well as making sure their units are up-to-date on their training.
After the first in-person training course with the unit, follow-up antiterrorism updates can be completed online.
Social Sharing