By Lisa Daniel
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2010 - The Army, Navy, Air Force and
Marine Corps will update their policies and procedures to better assess
internal security threats, according to reports the services filed this
week in response to last year's shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas.
In reports filed Nov. 9, service leaders wrote of the need
for better coordination and information sharing among the services, the
Defense Department and outside law enforcement agencies, as well as
mental health professionals, to prevent another possible attack.
Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, is charged in the
Nov. 5, 2009, shooting at Fort Hood that left 13 dead and 43 wounded. A
Defense Department report, "Protecting the Force: Lessons from Fort
Hood," issued to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Jan. 15, found
that force-protection measures focused solely on external threats are no
longer sufficient and alerted the department to the need for monitoring
threats from "self-radicalized" military personnel.
The department's report recommended that each service
conduct its own in-depth review of whether processes and policies are in
place to detect such internal threats and respond to possible attacks.
In the Army's review, officials said the service has
implemented or is taking action on 66 of 79 recommendations made in the
department's review. Some of those changes include:
-- Creating the Threat Awareness and Reporting Program to
identify and report insider threats, emphasize awareness and reporting
and improve information sharing;
-- Developing the Internet-based iWatch and iSalute
programs, patterned after civilian Neighborhood Watch programs, to
elicit reports of suspicious activity, including possible terrorism;
-- Providing security officers access to the National Crime Information Center;
-- Establishing the Army Personnel Security Investigation
Center of Excellence at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., to provide for
better security screening; and
-- Implementing training programs for better information sharing, improved incident responses and anti-terrorism awareness.
Lessons learned from the Fort Hood rampage already have
made the Army better prepared, Army Secretary John M. McHugh said during
a Nov. 5 remembrance ceremony at Fort Hood. "In my judgment, there is
no question today that we are a stronger Army," McHugh said. "We have
learned from the things that unfolded that day, and we are a safer
Army."
Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. agreed that
the Army "has made good progress." The service has improved efficiencies
in threat awareness and reporting, coordination and shared
intelligence, and improved training of base security and readiness
forces, he said.
However, Casey noted, "When you're in the security business, you're never done."
In the Air Force report, officials wrote of the need for
airmen to be "wingmen" in detecting internal threats, which they note
"is not an exact science."
"Unit leaders must collect isolated bits of information –
like disparate points of light – to concentrate into a single beam
focused on preventing violence affecting Air Force personnel and
installations," it says.
The Air Force team concluded that a "new force-protection
culture" is needed to prepare its unit leaders adequately to find and
act on internal threats.
Changes noted in the Air Force report include:
-- Training all airmen to understand indicators of threats;
-- Better information sharing with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies;
-- Updating policies, procedures and practices to better assess internal risks; and
-- Reinstituting post-deployment psychological reviews and ensuring that such interviews become routine practice.
In the Navy review, officials cited the importance of
leadership – "the obligation to act and the discretion available to a
commander" – and the need to consider the impact of proposed policies on
civilian personnel.
The Navy's follow-up actions include
-- Extensive reviews during exercises to identify and manage internal threats and better share information; and
-- Updates to Shipboard Force Protection Condition measures.
The Marine Corps reported developing a violence prevention
and response program, revising its law enforcement manual to include
best civilian practices in targeted areas, and providing better
information sharing.
The Marine Corps report also recommends fielding an
emergency calling system at all of its installations that integrates
military and civilian computer-aided dispatch, as well as other
technical upgrades to better manage and share information.
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