CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
The Department of Defense has many tools it uses in furthering its antiterrorism programs. Some have catchy titles such as the "Tis-Wig" or Technical Systems Working Group ... others sound grander like the Force Protection Corporate Structure.
There are dozens of councils, boards and working groups in Air Mobility Command that seek to guide and implement protective programs. However, we have the best antiterrorism and security tool right here on our base: our community. The key to using this tool is fostering a culture of security awareness where every Airman, employee and family member aid in the protection of our community and organization.
Security programs done well are an investment in our quality of life rather than an expense. We can post more guards and buy the best technology, but the overall effect doesn't likely match the capability we gain when everyone is a stakeholder in protecting each other, our assets and our missions. Guards, guns and gizmos can't economically provide the level of protection we seek. The quickest and most cost-effective way to improve security in a community or organization is through education and awareness.
We spend millions of dollars and thousands of hours preparing for crisis management -- our actions in responding to a threat, incident or crime. We likewise train and prepare for consequence management -- recovering from an incident. Crisis and consequence management are largely reactive and after the fact. Security and antiterrorism awareness are proactive measures that can prevent a crime or incident, or, should one occur, they will hasten and improve our response. They affect all aspects and phases of our protective programs.
Crime, to include terrorism, often relies on three elements: motivation to commit the act, opportunity and the ability. Security awareness impacts all of these to keep us safer. An organization that promotes vigilance will close the window of opportunity for an adversary by detecting them faster and possibly deterring the act from occurring. An alert and educated organization likewise erodes an adversary's capability. Security awareness complicates the planning and execution cycles in criminal and terrorist acts; it simply makes all aspects of the crime or act harder. Our response is faster and our decision-making more accurate when everyone pulls together to protect each other.
We get greater freedom of movement by focusing on the right things and we increase an adversary's or criminal's margin of error -- positively impacting our quality of life by deterring or limiting many ill events. This deterrent factor is a reflection of us acting on the motivation for committing an adverse act. With better information and greater focus provided by an alert community, we can carefully select tactics and wisely commit resources for everyone's safety and security.
Leveraging the strength of our community through awareness and education includes weaving a security culture through all aspects of our community. Increasing our vigilance, where anyone can report or challenge suspicious personnel and question suspicious events, benefits the community and is vitally important. This entails knowledge of the threat, appreciating our risk and a familiarity with contacts for reporting an event or incident.
On our installation, the thousand eyes and ears in our community are much more powerful than a few hundred if we were to rely on the security forces alone. Education is based on increasing knowledge of key aspects of our protective programs. By embracing many functional areas, we will have more holistic protection. Including security, crime prevention, antiterrorism, information assurance, force medical protection and safety in our educational and awareness efforts will solidly make our community safer and more secure.
Security is about our quality of life. In the end, our security and safety rely less on expensive weapons systems and complex operating procedures and more upon the "buddy system" applied on large scale where everyone is looking out for everyone else.
Bottom line: if it looks suspicious to you, then it is ... report it to the 437th Security Forces control desk at 963-3600.