I just thought I would touch on security for Military here in Europe. While I’m not breaking “Force Protection” by talking, I will limit what I say for specific reasons.
US Military in Europe is under constant guard. We live in gated communities with armed guards. These guards are considered sharp shooters in German law. We also have armed guards on our main bases. We are required to show ID on all bases and all shops that we visit on the bases. This is a change from the past. In the past, you flash your ID card and you’re on base. Now, there are more specific things involved but I can’t touch on those. We also have randomized vehicle searches on all bases and there are some new technologies that are being utilized on all bases.
When the military, in general, is out in public, we’re not supposed to stand out. Some people are, for lack of a better term, dumb as a rock and will go to the local Ikea in their BDU’s or walk around in something that only an American would. Others, like my wife and I will go out and try to blend in as much as possible. We don’t wear as many logo type clothes, we don’t advertise that we’re with the Army in any way - we act like tourists if possible. We even carry separate ID wallets for our Military life and regular wallets for our American type stuff (money, drivers license, etc..) My wife and I typically do a good job at blending in and have even been approached by the occasional German for directions or the time…
The types of things that can give you away are very simple, but are a dead give away. Europeans don’t wear the shoes we do - instant give away. Walking around in your brand new Nike’s is something only the rich do here in Europe (Nikes = $150+). Hair styles are different - this can be a give away for males in general. Due to my hair, I was approached at EuroDisney by a gentleman that greeted me in English and wanted me to come to the bar with him - even though he was a salesman, we are told to watch out for these types of things… One of the other big things that can give you away is stumbling around drunk while yelling in English - this happens a lot, but is typically not a good idea.
The military also tries to inform people of things that are good/bad to do. Since our cable is free, we get nothing but educational commercials, and I do mean nothing but them… Some commercials talk about “Force Protection” and sticking with it while others touch on subjects about where terrorists strike most on Planes, Buses and Trains. On top of these commercial, we get military news that is specific to the service “you” are in. Each service puts out stuff that may help “you”… Generally this is dry matter that you don’t pay attention to, but after seeing and hearing it over and over and over everyday, it sticks with you.
