FORT LEE, Va. (July 30, 2015) -- "The world we live in has become increasingly dangerous for U.S. government workers, military personnel and their families, and law enforcement officers," noted Fort Lee DPTMS Director Scott Brown while emphasizing the importance of the Army's Antiterrorism Awareness Month campaign that starts Saturday.
"Incidents like the Tennessee shootings a couple of weeks ago should drive home the point," he added. "We have to talk about it (the threat posed by violent extremists and other criminals) and raise awareness of what actions all of us can take to reduce the possibility of attacks happening in our communities and neighborhoods. That's what this awareness and educational effort is all about."
Throughout the coming month, force protection experts from the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security will be pushing out crime prevention and antiterrorism awareness information through post-wide emails, social media, the Lee homepage and the Traveller in an effort to reach the widest audience possible.
For the 2015 AAM Campaign, the Army's purpose is to instill heightened awareness and vigilance to thwart terrorist attacks and protect military personnel and critical resources from acts of terrorism, Brown explained. This year's campaign themes are recognizing and reporting suspicious activity; the importance of antiterrorism training; the insider threat; and the risks associated with the official and personal use of social media. The objective is for everyone to understand key antiterrorism principles, preventive measures, current threat trends and how to recognize and report suspicious activity.
To "set the stage" for the campaign, Brown shared some revealing statistics reported in the July 2015 Majority Report from the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee. They include the following:
"(The self-proclaimed 'Islamic State') is dead set on attacking America and its allies. It has been linked to 48 terrorist plots or attacks against the West, including 12 inside the United States. The rate of ISIS terrorist plots directed against America and its allies has more than doubled in 2015 (19 plots in all of 2014; 25 thus far this year).
"The number of homegrown post-9/11 jihadi terror plots in the U.S. has tripled. There have been more U.S.-based terrorist plots or attacks in the first half of 2015 (29) than in any full year since 9/11. Overall, homegrown jihadi plots have tripled in the past five years (from 36 plots/attacks in 2010 to 119 in the first half of 2015).
"Islamist terrorists are getting better at recruiting Americans. Ten U.S.-based ISIS supporters were arrested in June 2015 alone, bringing to 55 the number of those individuals arrested in the first half of the year. ISIS followers have now been arrested in at least 19 states, (including Virginia)."
Statistics such as these are one of the main reasons why the Army instituted new access control procedures earlier this year, according to Tony DeWitt who heads the Directorate of Emergency Services here.
"Ensuring the proper vetting of all individuals who wish to access our installation is just the right thing to do in light of the current situation," DeWitt said. "It's one of the many actions we're taking to raise our security posture. Other proactive steps include monthly active shooter training and quarterly emergency response/mass-casualty exercises for our first responder teams at Fort Lee. We have greatly enhanced our dispatchers' capabilities with the latest equipment and training; and we communicate almost daily with local community law enforcement agencies on all security matters. It's a comprehensive response to this elevated level of threat."
Contributions of the DPTMS team include a monthly antiterrorism awareness newsletter, coordinating an annual post-wide emergency response exercise, emphasis of the annual antiterrorism awareness training requirement for Soldiers, DA Civilians and contractors and the need for a pre-travel threat briefing for all DOD personnel heading anywhere out of the country, and its regular tests of the installation's "family of mass warning and notification systems."
"Also, the garrison antiterrorism officer meets frequently with the Richmond FBI, the local Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Virginia Fusion Center to ensure the command has the most current threat information pertaining to Fort Lee," Brown said. "All of this boils down to the command doing its part to ensure the safety and security of the post population, but there is a final piece of the puzzle … you … everyone who works, resides-on or regularly visits Fort Lee.
"Antiterrorism Awareness Month, for us, is all about helping Team Lee understand its role in the force protection process," he concluded. "In the coming weeks, we're going to share a lot of valuable information about threat recognition; the importance of the 'See Something, Say Something' initiative; how the Installation Operations Center communicates emergency information here; and how everyone can take steps to reduce their profile as a potential victim, particularly online where extremists gather data and promote deadly violence. For the sake of installation security and protection of yourself and your family, we hope you will join us on this journey of awareness and action."
Anyone with specific questions about the Antiterrorism Awareness Month Campaign, or the training opportunities available for units and military organizations on post should contact their unit antiterrorism officer or call the DPTMS Protection Team at (804) 734-6410 or 734-1575. To report suspicious activity on the installation, call the law enforcement desk at (804) 734-7400 or notify the chain of command. Those off-post should contact their local police department or call 911.
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