With recent incidences of violence occurring in the world, people can never be too careful about the dangers that may lie even in their own community. There is a program to help keep members of the civilian community and Airmen safe; it’s called the Eagle Eyes.
“The EE program encourages all Air Force members and civilians to be mindful of the nation’s security and vulnerabilities,” said Tech. Sgt. Patrick Smith, 56th Security Forces Squadron investigations superintendant. “It also gives Airmen a responsibility to help make Luke Air Force Base a safe place to work and live.”
The EE program was a result of there being a shortage of people in the Office of Special Investigations and SFS. As time went on, SFS was given the responsibility to take initial reports of suspicious activities and validate them, Smith said.
“The program is run by OSI, but since they have a shortage of agents, we now work with them hand-in-hand and act as a first responder to the reports,” he said.
Besides getting the community involved, the program is vital since security forces and civilian police can’t see or hear everything all the time.
“It’s important because as law enforcement, we can’t possibly be everywhere and see or hear about everything before it happens,” said Staff Sgt. James Costello, 56th SFS security forces investigator. “We needed to amplify our efforts, and we did so by reaching out and asking the help of not only the Airmen at Luke but the local community as well.”
To help those who may not know what some forms of suspicious activities may be, Smith provided a few examples.
“There are many levels of what can be counted as suspicious,” he said. “You have to be able to step back and look at the act for what it is and the totality of circumstances. For example, one may be looking through binoculars and either they are just looking at the planes or they may be looking to see how emergency responders and SFS do their job in order to use that against us.”
Smith said it all boils down to knowing the difference between what is seen and what may be really happening.
“If there is any doubt, report it immediately,” he said.
To make a report, Costello said to call the local law enforcement agency.
“Prior to calling, try to remember the basics, the who, what, when, where, why and how,” Costello said. “After this, call 911 immediately.”
