Each week, as new students arrive to upgrade their skills and ratings at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md., they are required to attend “Level I: Anti-Terrorism/Personal Protection Brief,” a one-hour course designed to familiarize them with the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to protect themselves when traveling abroad, particularly those who are employed, or may be employed, on government vessels.Currently being taught by Pat Vandegrift, assistant manpower coordinator, the classroom lecture meets the requirements issued by the U.S. Coast Guard. Vandegrift incorporates a training video and student handouts as part of the course, each item of which has been selected to support, identify or reinforce specific learning objectives.
All members of a ship’s crew are critical to vessel security, he stresses, and need to be in compliance with the current maritime security program. Only through individual awareness, knowledge and an ability to effectively communicate can there be an effective security plan aboard ship.
Following a brief introduction of the course in which Vandegrift defines terrorism as “the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear intended to coerce or to intimidate governments of societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious or ideological,” he then talks about possible causes (e.g., intimidation, notoriety, revenge), characteristics of terrorists (e.g., political, religious, criminal, mentally disturbed), various tactics used by terrorists (including bombs, kidnapping, hostage-taking), identification of threat conditions (normal, heightened, imminent risk) and explains the factors involved in assessing threats.
The next part of the briefing deals with individual actions that may be taken to avoid a terrorist attack and what to do in the event of being taken hostage. Of particular importance is knowing the locations of local police, fire departments, the U.S. Embassy or other safe, public places. He discusses the importance of a personal contingency plan (up-to-date will, power of attorney), and gives the students important telephone numbers they can use to keep informed of terrorism alerts.
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