Security experts in Europe to help
local commanders protect their bases
By Rick Scavetta,
Stars and Stripes
Experts testing base security in Europe this week hope to help local commanders protect
against terrorists.
Part of the Joint Staff Integrated Vulnerability Assessment program, the teams are one
of Department of Defense’s most important tools to combat terrorism, Brig. Gen.
Johnathan Cofer told the House Armed Services Committee in June.
"Our challenge is to anticipate the threat and take appropriate
countermeasures," said Cofer, deputy director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff office for
combating terrorism.
Although the Joint Staff Integrated Vulnerability Assessment teams’ checks in
Europe were no doubt scheduled long before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the military
avoided commenting on force protection. Officials at U.S. European Command, responsible
for security of U.S. personnel in 91 countries in Europe and Africa, would confirm only
that a team currently is in Germany.
Sources close to the assessment said teams arrived Monday in Hanau, Germany, after
spending last week in Vicenza, Italy. Hanau military officials would not elaborate on the
survey.
Since the attacks, armed soldiers poked mirrors under car hoods and scrutinized
military identification. Troops rummaged trough car trunks, asking soldiers and family
members to step from their cars to open bags and packages. After that, Pond’s
Security guards duplicated their efforts, creating traffic jams outside bases.
Now that strict force protection measures subsided this week, questions about safety
are raised.
Are the bases in Europe safe from terrorism? Are there weaknesses?
That’s what Joint Staff Integrated Vulnerability Assessment teams will find out
this week. But the public is not likely to learn the results because then terrorists also
could find out, military officials said.
The teams were formed in 1997 after the June 25, 1996, terrorist attack on the U.S.
military complex of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 airmen and injuring
hundreds. Working in groups of seven, each member has a different specialty, to include
security operations, structural engineering, operational readiness and terrorist options.
While each survey is unique, teams normally examine a base’s ability to collect
intelligence, its physical security measures, and any infrastructure vulnerabilities.
They also look at how a base can respond to a terrorist incident. Terrorists are more
likely to attack a base with a large explosive, Cofer said. So teams look at perimeter
security, controlled access and plans to react should a terrorist succeed in creating
damage.
Normally teams spend five days on the ground, observing everyday base practices and
conducting interviews. When the teams complete their survey, they brief the base command
staff and key community members on any security problems and offer solutions. The team
gives the base a written report within 45 days.
Six teams, working under the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, scope military bases for
security problems. By June 2001, they surveyed 372 bases, Cofer said.
"We will complete approximately 45 additional JSIVAs by the end of this calendar
year," Cofer said.
Military officials at all levels refused to comment on the team’s work. Requests
for information about the teams began at the base support battalion level and floated to
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who were also reluctant to talk.
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