Protecting yourself: 31 FW, Carabinieri partner to host town hall meeting

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. R.J. Biermann
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  To help educate Team Aviano members on personal protection, several 31st Fighter Wing agencies partnered with the Sacile Carabinieri Station to host a town hall meeting Feb. 19, 2015 at Aviano Air Base, Italy.

"Our local Carabinieri very graciously offered to talk to us about home safety and what we can do to safeguard our possessions and ensure our own personal safety," said Brig. Gen. Barre Seguin, 31st FW commander, during the meeting's opening remarks.

"When I heard they graciously offered that, I decided we can offer more to family members by letting you all know what's going on throughout Europe."

Base representatives and local Carabinieri shared information about local threats, travel safety, reporting suspicious activity, protecting your identity on social media, and local area crime conditions.

"[Enemies] have a lot of patience when they go to attack somebody and they could be anybody, anywhere," said Tech. Sgt. Justin Herbert, 31st Operations Group Force Protection NCO in charge. "Threats are present everywhere, so prevention is key."

Below are several points to keep in mind to protect yourself, others and your belongings:

Travel safety
- When planning a trip, check with your unit security manager for information on known threats at the desired location.
- Always have an emergency plan and means to contact someone in case of an emergency.
- Visit www.travel.state.gov for travel information from the U.S. Department of State.
* If needed, contact OSI at 0434-30-7642 for a location-specific threat briefing.

"As you travel, it is important to always have your eyes and ears open, and be prepared to address and raise concerns to the local police," said a representative from Office of Special Investigations, Detachment 531. "Before you travel, look up the number for the local police in that area. If you recognize something that seems out of the ordinary, report it."

Protecting your identity on social media
- Sanitize information before posting, to include locations, dates, times, etc.
- Don't post information that wouldn't be shared with friends face-to-face.
- Google yourself to see what information is readily available about you.

"Two-thirds of the information the enemy obtains about us we give them freely; they don't even have to work for it," said Tech. Sgt. Ashley Shows, 31st FW Plans and Programs NCO.

Safeguarding your home, belongings
- Don't answer your gate or door if it's someone you don't know or aren't expecting.
- Try to leave a light and/or television on whenever away to give the impression you are still home.
- Lock your doors, windows and shutters whenever away. Burglars often target homes where the shutters have been left open.
- Don't engage a burglar unless absolutely certain they can be overtaken. Italian law protects you for taking reasonable action to protect yourself, family and belongings.
- When inputting your PIN code into an ATM machine, cover the hand you're using to input the code with your other hand.

"Call any time you see something suspicious," said Capt. Pierluigi Grosseto, Sacile Carabinieri Station commander. "If you see something that's out of the ordinary, you have to call it in."

To report suspicious activity, gather as much information about the individual or activity as possible and call Eagle Eyes at 0434-30-7200 or local law enforcement at 112.

"We need our Airmen and family members to step up and step in to know what number to call," Seguin said. "I would rather have over-reporting, than under-reporting that could threaten or affect our Airmen and their family members."