If you see something, say something

WIESBADEN, Germany – Every day, anti-terrorism officers look for ways to impart what they know to military members, civilian employees and their families.

“The most important thing is if they see something strange, out of place or something that makes them uncomfortable that they say something,“ said Jeff Lopez, antiterrorism officer U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden.

The garrison AT officers work closely with the Directorate of Emergency Services, the U.S. Army Europe AT team, the local Polizei and the 66th Military Intelligence Brigade.

The first thing they tell everyone is to use common sense.

“Uniform wear off installation is not authorized,” Lopez said. “It’s actually to make you less of a target for attack or less known as an American military member. We want to make sure that we’re safe. You don’t know who’s watching, who’s looking, who’s targeting. So you have to always remain vigilant.”

Many Americans stationed in the area like traveling all across Europe. The AT officers highly suggest checking the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, website (www.step.state.gov) before heading to a different country. The site alerts travelers to potential problems in their destination countries such as protests, conflicts or other situations.

The area AT offices periodically employ random-access measures as exercises to keep a potential adversary guessing. One test may be planting a fake explosive device in a high-traffic area to see if anyone sees and reports it, placing Soldiers at installation access points to back up the contract security guards or something as simple as checking offices to see if anyone has left their common access card in a work computer while away from their workstation.

The AT officers spend a lot of time looking outside the fence line of U.S. installations. However, there have been at least 17 mass shootings within the United States in the last 10 years. Almost all of those were insider threats, meaning people who worked on the installation.

“If there is anything you see or feel that is dangerous or threatening in any way or you feel unsafe, you should certainly take a moment, analyze it and report it,” Lopez said.

There are several ways to report suspicious activity. The Army AT reporting program is iReport (http://www.ireport.eur.army.mil/). Community members can also call the military police (for emergencies: DSN 114; MP desk: DSN 548-7777/7778/7779), or, when off post, the German Polizei (110).

Based on a story by Keith Pannell, Aug. 7, 2020