US military raises security alert level for European bases in response to threats

The US military has tightened security at its bases across Europe and urged its soldiers to be more vigilant and less conspicuous in the face of various threats it observes across the region.

The US European Command said in a statement on Sunday that “a number of factors play into the security of the US military community abroad.”

The increase in the threat level to Charlie – the second highest of five levels for military personnel – is the result of a combination of events across Europe, including elections in France and the UK, the upcoming Olympic Games and other major sporting events, and the ongoing Wars in Ukraine And Gazasaid two U.S. officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to provide further details, but said they were unaware of any specific threat.

“These are just dangerous times,” said Samantha Vinograd, a national security director at CBS News and former assistant secretary for counterterrorism and threat prevention at the Department of Homeland Security. “Large mass gatherings are often a time of heightened concern.”

She also referred to reports in the New York Times that Russian threats against the United States because of its support for Ukraine play a role.

Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh declined to say Monday whether similarly heightened security levels were in place at bases in the Middle East, Africa or Indo-Pacific. But one of the officials said many of those bases, particularly those in the Middle East and Africa, already had higher levels of security.

Raising the Charlie threat level means additional security measures will be put in place at U.S. military bases, but what those measures look like is up to each commander’s discretion. It also means that service members and their families living in the respective communities should be more aware of their surroundings and behave less conspicuously, one of the officials said.

Vinograd told CBS News on Tuesday that the action had led to “enhanced security measures at the bases” and “a restriction of access to the bases by so-called non-essential personnel, as well as other measures to protect the population.”

FBI and Homeland Security officials in May issued a global security alertto warn U.S. citizens about possible terrorist attacks abroad. The threat warning was the result of intelligence that indicated ISIS threats against Pride events in parts of Europe, three sources told CBS News.

“Overall, it is a special time from a terrorist perspective and the military is clearly taking measures to ensure operational security,” Vinograd said.