Eagle Eyes in action

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Ashley Conner
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. (AFPN) --  Two men were spotted at the end of the runway at a nearby Air Force base, one holding a large metal tube on his shoulder and the other with a camera.

The incident caused airborne planes from that base to land here at McConnell. The suspicious activity was found not to be credible; however, it was significant that the suspicious activity was reported by a phone call to an Air Force Office of Special Investigations agent. The “Eagle Eyes” of one individual could have prevented a potentially bad situation from becoming worse.

Eagle Eyes is an OSI anti-terrorism initiative that enlists the eyes and ears of Airmen, civilians and family members in the war on terrorism. It is designed to train civilians and servicemembers to recognize elements of potential terrorist activity. Additionally, it allows for rapid follow-up investigations and information sharing to other commands and law enforcement agencies.

“It is critical that every military member, family member, and as many civilians as we can touch, report any activity that seems out of place,” said Special Agent James Williams, the AFOSI detachment commander here. “This concept will help not only (an Air Force base itself) , but surrounding communities as well.”

“Eagle Eyes works because every terrorist act is preceded by observable planning activities, and when you know what to look for and how to report it, terrorist acts can be prevented,” said Senior Airman Michael Harrison, a security forces Airmen with the joint anti-terrorism team here. “It is important because law enforcement officers can’t be everywhere. We need the eyes and ears of the entire community.”

Items that Eagle Eyes participants can report include:

-- Surveillance: Someone recording or monitoring activities.

-- Elicitation: People or organizations attempting to gain information about military operations or capabilities.

-- Tests of security: Any attempts to measure reaction times to security breaches or to penetrate physical security barriers or procedures in order to assess strengths and weaknesses.

-- Acquiring supplies: Purchasing or stealing explosives, weapons or ammunition.

-- Suspicious persons out of place.

-- Dry run: Putting people into position and moving them around according to their plan without committing the terrorist act.

-- Deploying assets: People and supplies getting into position to commit the act.

Eagles Eyes is a new program, but it follows principles already in place for servicemembers.

“We all took an oath to defend our nation from all enemies, foreign and domestic,” said Col. Cathy Clothier, 22nd Air Refueling Wing commander. “We are taking the fight to the terrorists so our sons and daughters don’t have to fight them on our soil.

“However, it is naive to think that those who would do us harm aren’t on our soil right now,” Colonel Clothier said. “It’s critical we all keep our Eagle Eyes open, actively looking for and reporting any suspicious activity, be it outside our gate or in the local community. Report anything you see, no matter how insignificant it may seem.”

More information about the Eagle Eyes program is available at the AFOSI Web site at http://public.afosi.amc.af.mil/eagle/index.asp/.