Counterterrorism Guide: Situational Awareness to Hinder An Attack

The Joint Counterterrorism Assessment Team (JCAT) is a US interagency collaboration based at the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), which is aligned under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

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Working with intelligence analysts from NCTC, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), JCAT’s primary mission is to improve counterterrorism information sharing between federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government agencies and the private sector. The latter is where that information is adaptable for personal self-defense and church security teams in being situationally aware to pre-indicators of criminal and terroristic attacks.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of SITUATIONAL AWARENESS ]

One resource is JCAT’s Counterterrorism Guide For Public Safety Personnel, offering content to assist self-defenders and church safety volunteers in:

• RECOGNIZING and REPORTING suspicious activity that may be linked to terrorism, consistent with the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI)
• SPOTTING indicators of mobilization to violence, and
• RESPONDING to and MITIGATING terrorist attacks.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Terrorists Call for Attacks on Christians ]

The guide describes:

• Indicators of Suspicious Activity
• Precursors of Violent Extremism
• Terrorist Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) and
• 18 Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Chart: The Spectrum of Potential Threat Personas in Self-Defense and Church Security ]

Understanding the terrorist attack planning cycle helps recognize preoperational activities. Terrorists and criminals generally plan attacks in 8 observable stages, although specific details, sequencing, and timing can vary greatly and change over time:

• Preliminary Target Selection
• Initial Surveillance
• Final Target Selection
• Preattack Surveillance
• Planning
• Rehearsal
• Execution
• Escape & Exploitation

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Tactical Training for Individuals and Church Security Teams to Thwart Active Violence Incidents ]

NSI’s free SAR online training courses teach the behaviors and indicators that may indicate terrorism-related criminal activity.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Church Security Review: House of Worship Firearms and Use of Force Policy ]

The two curricula especially applicable for self-defenders and church security team members are Private Sector Security and Foundations of Targeted Violence Prevention. Increase your situational awareness by taking these two courses.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Situational Awareness: 14 Ways to Walk Like You Drive ]

An example of why this training is important is Al-Qa‘ida’s resurgence of calls for attacks in the US, according to JCAT, including assaults on houses of worship and Christians in general (see also Christian Warrior Training ISIS Newsletter Calls for Attacks on Christians and Jews).

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Church Security Armament Recommendations By Tom Givens, John Correia, and 6 Other Professionals ]

Another information resource is NCTC’s Counterterrorism Guide website, which describes terrorists’ methods and tactics, and provides a Factsheet of 48 Terrorist Groups, exposing just how pervasive extends the evil.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Enroll in the Sheepdog Church Security Academy Safety Member Certification Program ]

— Get the SemperVerus booklet, The Case for Biblical Self-Defense —

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