WIESABEN, Germany -- U.S. Army Europe, in coordination with allies and partner nations throughout the region, are actively working to help protect Soldiers, Department of the Army civilians, contractors and family members living and traveling throughout Europe.
"We do this by reinforcing vigilance and awareness, providing advice on measures to enhance security, and implementing notification and reporting procedures for all Department of Defense personnel," Keith Horne, a force protection specialist for the U.S. Army Europe Anti-terrorism Division, said.
"Winter in Europe brings many fun-filled and exciting activities, such as festivals, concerts and markets," Horne said. "Unfortunately, in the past few years we have seen that events and venues like these can also attract terrorists. Our hosts are actively protecting these events, but our adversaries, many of whom are inspired by terrorist organizations, are limiting their exposure and employing attack methods that do not raise suspicion, such as vehicle ramming and edged weapons."
With current threats increasingly difficult to detect and deter, individual awareness and vigilance play an even greater role.
"We must think and prepare individually, and apply relevant and effective measures to help reduce risk to ourselves, friends and families," Horne said. "We [U.S. Army Europe AT Division] would like to highlight some protective measures for you, your family or groups to implement."
The AT Division would like to urge you to think about your specific situation in order to develop additional measures tailored to your activity and the local security environment. To facilitate these efforts, the U.S. Army Europe Anti-terrorism Team maintains a robust social media presence consisting of several web sites covering a wide variety of AT-related information. Highlights include State Department travel alerts and warnings, updated information on current threats and mitigation measures, and links to downloadable pamphlets and brochures for many special events or travel in Europe.
See the attached images for more tips, and remember - your protection begins with you!
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