Marines

Base implements Force Protection Condition Bravo

13 May 2011 | Lance Cpl. Victor Barrera Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune

With the recent death of Osama Bin Laden, regarded as the leader of Al-Qaida and the mastermind behind many terrorist attacks, the United States has taken precautionary measures to protect government buildings and military installations.

Now, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune has switched the Force Protection Condition from Alpha to Bravo.

“Before 9/11 we were on FPCON Normal, in the aftermath of 9/11 we have always been on FPCON Alpha,” said Steven Simmons, the base anti-terrorism officer with Mission Assurance Branch, Operations and Training, MCB Camp Lejeune. “Now, FPCON Alpha has become the norm.”

The FPCON measures range from normal to Delta, with each level increasing the security and pre-cautionary measures taken aboard the base and entry points.

With FPCON Bravo, all service members are required to do the Anti-Terrorism Level I training. Now, it is not just the local law enforcement and military police that protect the base, but every service member and civilian who works aboard the base.

“We are strongly pushing the Eagle Eyes program,” said Simmons. “It’s everyone’s responsibility to safeguard the base.”

The program strongly encourages reporting of any suspicious person, vehicle, activity and packages.

More, gate guards are being employed at base entry points, and conduct vehicle inspections, but security does not stop there. The local law enforcement has also stepped up patrols around the surrounding installations and various buildings aboard the base while doing random military identification card checks.

With FPCON Alpha and Bravo the base is in a proactive state, working hard to ensure that nothing occurs, once the FPCONs are in the Charlie and Delta phase, the base is in a reactive state, responding to an incident or acting on intelligence received. Delta goes one step further and is applied when a terrorist attack has occurred or intelligence has been received that terrorist activity against a specific location or person is imminent.

With every increase in FPCON measures, more securities are in place and can affect personnel who work on the base.

“Traffic coming into the base is being monitored and more inspections are in place,” said Simmons. “Even when shopping on base at the commissary or exchange, employees can ask to see a valid military or dependents identification card. We lose some conveniences but it’s for the sake of protecting everyone.”

For military and civilian personnel who wish to request training classes on anti-terrorism-related courses, Surveillance Detection, or Active Shooter situational awareness, contact Jeffrey Strohman, the Antiterrorism Training Program Manager, Mission Assurance Branch, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, at 910-451-9353 or e-mail at jeffrey.strohman@usmc.mil.