AND “Charlie Alert” at American military bases in Europe. This is the second highest level of protection, officially activated over the weekend, with European Football Championship in Germany e Olympics in France in the background. Although the reason for this decision has not been officially disclosed, international analysts agree that the US is concerned about possible terrorist attacks in conjunction with these two major public events in Europe.
What is the Charlie Alert?
But what is Charlie Alert? This status “is applied when an incident occurs or information is received that indicates that some form of terrorist action or attack against personnel or facilities is likely,” according to the US Army. An American official stationed at a base in Europe told CNN that this level of threat was not seen “for at least 10 years“, and explained that it usually means that the military has received a “reliable active threat».
Measures
Among the structures that have gone on alert is the US Army garrison at Stuttgartin Germany, where the United States European Command is headquartered (Useucom). A spokesperson for him, Dan Daydeclined to comment on specific levels of protection but told CNN that the command “constantly evaluates a variety of factors that impact the security of the U.S. military community abroad. As part of that effort, we often take additional measures to ensure the safety of personnel. For operational security reasons, we will not go into specific measures, but we will remain vigilant.”
The basics
It is unclear what intelligence information triggered the security increase, but European authorities have warned of a potential terrorist threat on the continent, especially ahead of the Paris Olympics in July and during the current European soccer championship in Germany. The German government has mobilized 580 international police officers to ensure security alongside German law enforcement. “We are preparing for all imaginable dangers: from Islamic terrorism to violent criminals and hooligans,” Germany’s interior minister said before the tournament. Nancy Faeser.
Also there France has prepared for the possibility of a potential terrorist threat to Olympic Gameswhich will begin in just under a month. Since March, Paris has raised its national security alert system to the highest level, according to the U.S. Embassy in France. “French authorities actively monitor terrorist threats from organized groups and radicalized individuals,” the U.S. Embassy said. “Attacks,” it warned, “can occur with little or no warning, targeting tourist destinations, major sporting and cultural events, and other public areas that attract large numbers of civilians.”
The Italian base of Aviano
Among the bases where the alert level will be raised are also Avianothe Italian military infrastructure used by the USAF, the United States Air Force. It is located in the municipality of Aviano, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, at the foot of the Carnic Prealps, about 15 kilometers north of Pordenone. The base is home to the 31st Fighter Wing of the United States Air Force, which in turn is part of the USAFE (United States Air Forces in Europe). The base, from 1992 to November 1, 2005, was also the headquarters of the Sixteenth Air Force, now located at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
The Italian Air Force has command of the “Pagliano e Gori” airport in Aviano, to “guarantee national sovereignty and supervise the application of bilateral agreements relating to the presence of USAF units deployed on the base” and based on the Ministerial Decree of 25 January 2008 published in the Official Journal of 7 March 2008 the airport is classified as a MOB (Main Operating Base) of the first group and as such carries out exclusively military activities, not being open to commercial traffic. Since September 2019 the commander has been the AMI pilot colonel Luca Crovatti.
