After Fort Dix: How safe are our bases? - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

After Fort Dix: How safe are our bases?

WASHINGTON — Basic security at the nation’s military installations has been at the next-to-lowest level for more than four years, though commanders at some bases say they have introduced extra measures to deter potential intruders or provide early warnings.

Concern about potential attacks was underscored by the arrest Tuesday of six men accused by the FBI of plotting to attack Fort Dix, N.J., and kill scores of U.S. soldiers. Prosecutors said the men also spoke of attacking a Navy installation in Philadelphia and conducted surveillance at other military installations in the region.

Protective measures added at some bases across the nation in recent years range from entry barriers, road closures, surveillance cameras and armed guards to programs designed to encourage service members and their families to report signs of possible terrorist planning.

Military bases have been on a heightened state of alert since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks but nonetheless are acknowledged to be vulnerable, given their proximity in some cases to urban areas and civilian roadways. Ship bases have the added problem of securing waterfronts and surrounding waterways.

After 9/11, the Pentagon began developing a secret database of people and groups in the United States that it deemed to be potential threats to U.S. defense facilities or workers. It drew widespread criticism when news reports revealed that some of the data included people who had been monitored at anti-war rallies. Last month the Pentagon’s intelligence chief recommended the program be shut down.

Maj. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said Tuesday the recommendation has not yet been acted upon. Ryder would not say whether the names of the six suspects in the Fort Dix case had been in the Pentagon database.

U.S. Northern Command, which was created in October 2002 in response to the 9/11 attacks as a way to coordinate homeland defense, sets a minimum standard for security measures at bases nationwide. It designates five security levels, from “normal” at the lowest end to “delta” at the upper end.

Air Force Maj. Laurel Tingley, a Northern Command spokeswoman, said the security level has stood at “alpha,” one notch above “normal,” since the command was created. The system is different from the color-coded terrorism threat system of the Department of Homeland Security, which currently is at “orange,” the second-highest level, for aviation but a notch lower, at “yellow,” for the rest of the country.

Northern Command issued a statement Tuesday saying it views the Fort Dix matter as “an isolated incident.”

Since 9/11, individual military bases have moved at varying speeds to develop defenses against potential terrorist attacks. The Pentagon itself, which houses the headquarters of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, has spent billions of dollars to widen and strength its security perimeter and is still making changes.

Scott Air Force Base, Ill., has a program called “Fight the Base, Recover the Base,” which assigns all airmen a battle station they are to report to in the event of an attack or a natural disaster, and trains them in fighting tactics.

Scott also has an “Eagle Eyes” program that familiarizes airmen and their families with ways terrorists might plan an attack, such as by scanning an area with binoculars, filming with videotape or timing traffic lights. A 24-hour hotline is provided to report suspicious activity.

Bases also conduct what they call Random Anti-terrorist Measures — often a specified number per day — such as setting up temporary checkpoints, using dogs to check vehicles at entry points and adding foot patrols in some areas. The idea is to be less predictable by varying the look and location of security measures.

At Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Neb., Lt. Col. James Marry, commander of the 55th Security Forces Squadron, said his forces have acquired more technological tools such as cameras, ground-surveillance radar and chemical detectors. The base also has redirected traffic and channeled off-base visitors to a single gate.

An October 2004 Air Force directive called for MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., which is home to Central Command and the Special Operations Command, to implement a tailored antiterrorism program “that will combat local terrorist threats.” It included a public relations program to help “dispel rumors and misinformation” and to acknowledge obvious security measures in order to reassure the public about base defenses.

Related reading:

* 6 charged in plot to kill soldiers at Fort Dix

* Document: Dix suspects considered Dover attack

* Video was 1st sign of alleged plot

* Timeline of events in Fort Dix attack plot

* List of plots allegedly foiled in the U.S. since 9/11

* History: Target of terror plot, Dix has trained military since WWI

* Fort Dix beefs up security

* McGuire air show still on despite Dix plot

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