DLA Troop Support calls for heightened vigilance during Antiterrorism Awareness Month

Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support is using Antiterrorism Awareness Month to amplify a simple message: everyday vigilance by the workforce is its most reliable shield against evolving threats, from probing questions at the gate to sophisticated online scams.

“I like to use the fire service as an analogy because that’s where I came from,” said Derrick Sawyer, an antiterrorism officer with DLA Installation Management. “Over the past 100 years, we have been telling people to install smoke alarms, which reduce your chance of dying by 85 percent, yet people still die. It is similar here. If we don’t continue to share the message, people become complacent because threats don’t happen every day. We can’t succeed if we depend on our security team alone.”

Officials are urging employees to be alert to subtle pre-attack behaviors, such as unusual surveillance, probing conversations about operations, and loitering outside installation gates. “We start off with unusual surveillance or information gathering where people ask probing questions on vacation or at the supermarket about where you work and how often the gate is secured,” Sawyer said. “They just need a little bit of info to piece together the whole picture. We also want people watching out for physical loitering outside the gates, and unauthorized inquiries about sensitive information like VIP travel schedules or high-value supplies.”

The most dynamic front, security officers warn, is online. Attackers are increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence to tailor believable phishing lures at Defense Department personnel and contractors. “Cybersecurity is the biggest threat right now because your systems can be hacked or you can be targeted online with fake job offers designed to gain sensitive info,” Sawyer said. “With AI, phishing expeditions are so realistic you can easily be tricked into downloading a Trojan horse on your laptop. Even posting work pictures from a TDY trip online can give adversaries the small piece of the puzzle they are looking for.”

On base, staff are asked not to ignore unattended items or unusual odors and to let trained responders make the call. “If someone left a backpack outside a building, we don’t want people to keep walking by and not say anything,” Sawyer said. “At least let security check it out. It’s the same if you smell unusual odors, like when we had smoke from the mulch near some trees. Follow your instincts, call the security team or report it to DLA iWATCH, and let the professionals investigate instead of trying to be a detective.”

For active emergencies, the agency has streamlined procedures to speed law-enforcement response in Philadelphia. “In the past, they had people call Naval Support Activity Philadelphia, and then they called Philadelphia police, which would delay the response,” Sawyer said. “They’ve changed it now and updated the process so that you just dial 9-1-1 if it’s an emergency. Philadelphia police will respond to support DLA security and contact the NSA Philadelphia automatically.”

Security officials also emphasize off-duty awareness, encouraging personnel to vary routines and be prepared to seek help if they suspect surveillance after leaving work. “Don’t drive home the same route every day so you have a better chance of spotting if someone is following you,” Sawyer said. “If you suspect you are being followed, pull into a parking lot. If they follow when you leave, drive straight to the nearest police station to file a report instead of heading home. Then report the vehicle details to iWATCH the next morning.”

The agency’s broader aim this month is to turn awareness into habit—online and in person—by reinforcing quick-reporting channels like DLA iWATCH, trusting instincts, and remembering that an alert workforce is the installation’s first line of defense.