AT/FP training readies families for life overseas

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman William A. O'Brien
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
To combat the potential risks of an overseas assignment and teach family members what to do if a dangerous situation arises or if they see a suspicious activity or person, all family members age 14 or older are required to complete antiterrorism/force protection level-one training upon arrival at an overseas location.

AT/FP training "lets them know how to be safe when they're traveling in foreign countries," said Staff Sgt. Lisa Pope, 39th Air Base Wing antiterrorism/force protection specialist. "It outlines what they should do and what they shouldn't do during different situations."

This training is important for family members because while their spouses are at work, they are the ones seeing what is going on around the base and in the local community.

"Most active-duty members are at work for the majority of the day. It's their dependents who are going off base or are around base," said Pope. "If there's something suspicious going on that they see and they don't report it, it could lead to something bad happening that could've been prevented if we knew about it."

The training teaches family members what they should be looking for and procedures to keep themselves safe while they're stationed overseas.

"They learn how to identify suspicious individuals, what to do if they see something suspicious, who to report it to," explained Pope. "Some of the topics covered include how to react or how not to react if they're confronted, how to search a vehicle for suspicious items before using it, what to do while staying in hotels and how to identify properly-marked taxis.

The training, which is tracked by each squadron, must be completed within 30 days of arrival on station. AT/FP level-one training can be found at https://atlevel1.dtic.mil/at/.