Web site on-line for anti-terrorism training

WASHINGTON (Army News Service) -- A force-protection Web site to assist anti-terrorism officers is now getting more than 12,000 visitors a day.

The Web site, which can be accessed at www.at-awareness.org, helps soldiers meet their annual level-one anti-terrorism, force-protection training. The training is mandatory for soldiers annually and must be taken before traveling overseas.

Not just anyone can log onto the site. It requires an access code that has to be issued by an installation’s force protection officer.

"We sent out a message early September telling installations to use the site, and to give us some feedback," said Kris Cline, senior security specialist for the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations. "However after Sept. 11 everybody went to the Web and the server couldn’t handle all the people who were trying to use it."

Currently the contractor is trying to increase availability and major improvements have already been made, said David Rudd, a force protection action officer for ODCSOPS. At one time the server would crash with 2,000 users, he said. Now there are up to 6,000 people using the site at one time, Rudd added.

One way to eliminate the problem of having so many people trying to get on the site is to create a product that would allow installations to load the training program on their site, said David Williams, a force protection officer at Fort Gordon, Ga.

Williams said he has not been able to log onto the site because he keeps getting a message that says the site is full, and to try again later. "The site isn’t readily accessible for our troops, but if each installation was responsible for their own Army directed training site, the servers could go from handling 3,000 troops to 300 troops."

Suggestions like the one Williams made are openly accepted at the Pentagon’s Army Anti-terrorism Branch, Rudd said.

The traditional way of giving the required training has been a slide presentation approved by the Training and Doctrine Command, Cline said.

The Web-based training is a multiple-choice test that puts soldiers in the middle of deadly scenarios, and gives immediate feedback when the soldier chooses the wrong answers.

The training begins with a statement explaining three ways on how not to be a target of terrorism by retired Gen. Henry Shelton, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He said by keeping a low profile, being unpredictable and being vigilant, soldiers can deter terrorists from striking. Shelton’s advice in the beginning of the training session will lead soldiers to make a number of right decisions while taking the 32-question test.

One scenario that requires soldiers to be vigilant places a soldier overseas TDY staying at a local hotel. When a stranger starts probing the soldier on why he’s there, the soldier gets suspicious. After dinner, the soldier then notices the stranger following him as he heads back to his room.

With the foundation laid, the question is what route should the soldier take to get back to his room? Instead of getting on the elevator and going directly to his hotel room, the soldier takes the elevator to the wrong floor and then uses the steps to get to his floor. That was the correct response, but there were two other wrong choices the soldier could have chosen.

At the end of each scenario the soldier is given the correct answers, and after completing the training a certificate is issued that should be printed as proof of the training.

"The Web site was created to eliminate some of the work for anti-terrorism officers so they can concentrate more on their primary mission," Kline said. "Training officers are spending two to three days a week on classroom instruction. With the Web site, they can concentrate on the anti-terrorism plan for their installation, battalion or brigade."

An anti-terrorism plan is a document that outlines what an installation is to do in the case of an emergency, Williams said. It encompasses terrorist attacks, natural disasters, physical security, chemical attacks and bomb threats to name a few scenarios, he said.

More changes to the Web site are being made, Kline said. Family members will also be able to access the site within a year, he said. They will not be required to use the site, only strongly encouraged, Rudd said.

The wording and pictures on the Web will be toned down," Kline said. "There will not be any terrorists holding guns to people’s heads, and military terminology will not be used. We don’t want to scare or confuse family members. We just want to remind them to look for signs and pick up on things that are not normal, and report it."

Soldiers and family members need to realize that force protection is not just the police or intelligence community’s problem, Kline said.