Several United States military bases across Europe were put on a heightened state of alert over the weekend due to concerns that a potential terrorist attack could target personnel or facilities, according to CNN who spoke to U.S. officials on Sunday.
U.S. Army garrison in Stuttgart, Germany, where U.S. European Command (EUCOM) is headquartered, issued a community-wide elevated alert level to Force Protection Condition (FPCON) "Charlie" on Sunday until further notice. The alert status aims to ensure readiness and rapid response capabilities for any potential threats in the region.
According to CNN, who spoke to one of the U.S. officials who is stationed at a base in Europe, said they haven't seen this threat level "in at least 10 years," and said it usually means the military has received an "active-reliable threat."
The U.S. Army employs a system called FPCON to assess and communicate the level of threat to military personnel and resources. These conditions range from normal peacetime operations to the highest state of alert in response to specific threats. According to the U.S. Army, the five FPCON levels are Normal, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie or Delta, the highest state of alert.
However, Bravo, which indicates an increased or more predictable threat of terrorist activity, became common and implemented widely as a preventive measure to enhance security and preparedness across all Department of Defense (DOD) facilities for many years following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, Charlie sets in motion "curtailment plans for nonessential personnel."
Although it's unclear what triggered the heightened security level, European authorities have warned of a potential terror threat on the continent due to highly public events such the Paris Olympics in July and the current European football championships in Germany.
According to the U.S. Army, the Charlie level of alert "applies when an incident occurs or intelligence is received indicating some form of terrorist action or targeting against personnel or facilities is likely."
In an emailed statement to Newsweek on Monday, the U.S. Army Europe spokesperson addressed the level of alert and said, "Local commanders evaluate potential threats continuously and take action to mitigate them as part of keeping our communities safe."
Newsweek has reached out the DOD via email for comment.
Addressing the alert on Sunday, EUCOM said in a statement that it is "constantly assessing a variety of factors that play into the safety of the U.S. military community abroad. As part of that effort, we often times take additional steps to ensure the safety of our service members."
Meanwhile, garrison officials in Stuttgart said that a variety of services would be affected because of the increased threat level, adding that until further notice some of those reduced services include access to some eateries and on-post barber shops.
"Many other services will have significant numbers of employees teleworking or offices will be opened with reduced staff. Customers should maintain flexibility and allow for longer-than-normal service times," the garrison said in a statement.
In addition to the garrison in Stuttgart, the Charlie level alert is also in place at the Aviano Air Base in Italy, according to Stars and Stripes.
The alert comes after President Joe Biden's announcement at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) summit in Madrid in June 2022 highlighted a significant increase in U.S. military presence in Europe, with over 100,000 U.S. service members now stationed across the continent. This includes the establishment of a permanent headquarters for the U.S. 5th Army Corps in Poland, aimed at improving command and control, interoperability with NATO allies, and overall defensive readiness.
In addition, Biden said he would also deploy additional air defense, logistics and engineer assets in Germany and add air defense capabilities to forces in Italy.
"NATO is strong, united, and the steps we're taking during this summit are going to further augment our collective strength," the president said at the time. "To that end, today, I'm announcing the United States will enhance our force posture in Europe to respond to the change [in the] security environment, as well as strengthening our collective security."
Biden's announcement comes as a response to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. In addition, tensions between NATO countries and the Kremlin have continued as NATO leaders have increasingly warned that direct conflict with Moscow is a realistic danger. This comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin and senior Russian officials have repeatedly threatened nuclear escalation against Kyiv and its Western partners since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Update 07/1/24, 5:50 p.m. ET: This article was updated with a comment from the U.S. Army Europe spokesperson.
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