Everyone reminded “If You See Something, Say Something” about suspicious behavior

Have you ever been on base and noticed something that just didn’t look right, but didn’t know quite what to do?

In an effort to highlight the importance of reporting suspicious behavior, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and security forces officials across the Air Force are urging all base personnel to remember “If You See Something, Say Something.”

“Force protection is not just a security forces issues, everybody is a sensor,” said Tracy Carpenter, 42nd Security Forces Squadron ant-terrorism office program manager. “That’s important if they see suspicious activity to report it immediately so we can give it to right agencies and offices so we can begin connecting those dots to form that bigger picture. Don’t be afraid to call it in.”

If you “see something” that you know shouldn't be there, or someone's behavior doesn't seem quite right or is troubling, then “say something.” This type of reporting is part of an integrated base defense program called the AFOSI Eagle Eyes program.

The Eagle Eyes program is an Air Force anti-terrorism initiative that enlists the eyes and ears of all Air Force members in the war on terror. Eagle Eyes teaches all Airmen about typical activities terrorists engage in to plan their attacks. Armed with this information, anyone can recognize elements of potential terror-planning when they see it. The Eagle Eyes program provides a network of local, 24-hour phone numbers to call whenever a suspicious activity is observed.

To report suspicious activity, contact your local installation security forces. To help you describe specifically what you have seen, you can use the acronym SALUTE:

• Size: how many people

• Activity: What were the individual(s) doing?

• Location: •Where it occurred

• Uniform: what where the individual(s) wearing

• Time: when did you see it?

• Equipment: were they driving a car, or carrying equipment

  The report suspicious behavior, base residents are asked to call 334-953-72222. As always, if there is an emergency, call 9–1–1, and from a base phone you can also use 9-9-1-1.

  According to the AFOSI Eagle Eyes program, categories of suspicious behavior include:

  Surveillance: People standing around observing activities, people looking through binoculars and taking notes, drawing maps or taking pictures.

  Solicitation: Attempts to gain information about military operations, capabilities, or people. Examples are, being approached at a gas station (or mall, airport or library) and asked about the base; getting a fax, e-mail or telephone of airplanes on base, deployment procedures, how a trash-collection truck gets on base, the location of the headquarters building or other information.

  Tests of security: A person grabs the base fence and shakes it to see how long it takes for police to respond. A driver approaches the front gate (without ID or a car sticker) and pretends to be lost or to have taken a wrong turn, just to learn the procedures of how he or she is dealt with and how far into the gate he or she can get before being turned around. A person places a "smoke bomb" near the fence or throws it over the fence to learn how quickly police respond, and what effect it has on front-gate operations.

  Acquiring supplies: That includes noticing the movement or acquisition of any of the tools terrorists use, such as fake IDs, guns, ammunition, military uniforms, explosives, detonators or timers.

  Suspicious people who don't belong: This is hard to define, but people know what looks right and what doesn't. If a person just doesn't seem like he or she belongs, there's probably a reason.

  Dry run: People moving around from place to place without any apparent purpose and doing it, perhaps, many times. That may involve taking notes and timing things. An example is the 9/11 hijackers, who are now known to have actually flown on those exact flights several times before actually crashing them. Their purpose was to practice getting their people in position ... working out arrival times, parking, ticketing, and going through security, boarding and other processes. By taking note of everything around them they were conducting surveillance, but they were also doing a dry run.

  Deploying assets: That includes moving people and supplies into position before acting. Look for people loading vehicles with weaponry or explosives, or parking that vehicle. It also includes people in military uniforms (who don't look right) approaching an installation or getting into a vehicle.

  For more information on the AFOSI Eagle Eyes program, go to http://www.osi.af.mil/Home/Eagle-Eyes/