ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – As the 12th annual Anti-Terrorism Awareness Month comes to a close, the Joint Munitions Command enterprise continues to rely on its team members to help combat terrorism all year long.
“Our most effective anti-terrorism tool is our people,” said Tracy Matthews, a JMC security specialist and anti-terrorism program manager. “We need all JMC team members to pay attention to anything out of the ordinary and report it to the appropriate agencies.”
In an official letter to the Army workforce, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth noted that previous incidents of terrorism revealed key indicators beforehand.
“Lessons learned from past terrorist and extremist attacks reveal that one or more bystanders observed pre-attack indicators but failed to report them to law enforcement authorities,” Wormuth said in her message. “The success of Army-wide threat awareness and reporting depends on our community members knowing what, when and how to report suspicious activities or behaviors. Tips from the public remain one of law enforcement’s most power tools to combat these threats.”
Terrorism is an enduring danger to the United States. The U.S. Army must sustain a strong defensive posture to protect its people.
“Complacency is our biggest concern,” Matthews said. “We need to maintain situational awareness all the time. If you see something, please say something- you could save lives.”
Suspicious activities that should be reported include, but are not limited to:
- Individuals drawing or measuring important buildings.
- Unattended briefcases, backpacks or packages.
- Vehicles left in no-parking zones in front of important buildings.
- Intruders found in secure areas.
- Questions about security forces or security procedures.
- Someone wearing clothes that are inappropriate for the situation, i.e. warm, bulky coats in warm weather.
- Unusual chemical smells or fumes.
- Questions about sensitive information without a need to know.
Report any suspicious activities to local authorities, installation military police or Army CID Crime Tips: https://www.cid.army.mil/report a crime.html. Be sure to provide details, including the number of people, types of equipment, location, any identifying markings and the time of day of the suspicious activity.
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