SETTING THE STANDARD


FORCE PROTECTION DETACHMENT - INDONESIA: SETTING THE STANDARD FOR SECURITY IN


THE RING OF FIRE Force Protection Detachment (FPD) Indonesia, led by the U.S. Naval Criminal Investiga- tive Service (NCIS), is the front line of defence for all U.S. Department of Defence (DoD) forces visiting and training in Indonesia. Situated within the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, so designated due to the area’s significant number of active volcanoes and earthquakes, the nation's dynamic profile, which includes an active terrorist threat, a spate of natural disasters, public integrity issues, public unrest and more, represents a significant chal- lenge to the safety and security of in-transit DoD personnel. Scott M. Bernat explains the work of FPD Indonesia.


The Beginning T


he terrorist attack on the USS Cole in the Port of Aden in October 2000, identified the


need for increased security support for in-transit DoD personnel and assets in overseas locations with no permanent DoD security presence This led to the overall FPD programme being initiated. The primary mission of the FPD is to detect and warn of threats to in-transit DoD personnel and resources, as well as to act as a “force protection, force multiplier” for the American Embassy Country Team in each designated overseas location. This includes working closely with Host Nation security forces for threat warning and security. Other missions include providing


routine


DoD counterintelligence (CI) and force protection services to the Country Team and criminal and counterterrorism (CT) investigative responses1


. There are currently 39 FPD offices worldwide.


FPD Indonesia FPD Indonesia began full operations in 2009. A component of the NCIS Singapore Field Office, it is staffed by an NCIS Resident Agent in Charge, a U.S. Army (USA) Special Agent and an Office Management Assistant.


close coordination with the American Embassy Regional Security Office (RSO), Defence Attaché Office (DAO)


SPRING 2012 EDITION


and Office of Defence Cooperation (ODC), the FPD is the Embassy's authority for developing, coordinating and overseeing force protection information and security for more than 200 events per year. These efforts not only support U.S. interests, but also significantly increase the overall security of both the Indonesian and international communities. Through close cooperation with and assistance from the Indonesian military (Tentara Nasional


Indonesian


Indonesia (TNI)) and the National


Police (INP),


FPD Indonesia activities focus on threat awareness and mitigation, physical security,


risk assessments


and vulnerability studies, emergency preparedness, crisis action planning and response, executive protection and investigations. The FPD is augmented by NCIS, U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), USA and U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) force protection-focused


personnel and


teams as individual service component requirements arise.


The Key to Success – Information


In


Key and essential to keeping people and assets safe and secure is to ensure that threat information is current and disseminated on a timely basis. Coordination, cooperation, mutual support and information sharing is paramount to


threat identification and mitigation. The FPD accomplishes this through the fusion and utilisation of all available resources, including those associated


with American and


foreign embassies; the TNI and INP; expatriate community contacts; as well as commercial and private sector security companies located within Indonesia and regionally. Building contacts and relationships through liaison and networking is all important to the development of a sound and comprehensive security programme. Working in close cooperation and


in conjunction with the American Embassy RSO, FPD personnel are active


participants in the U.S.


Department of State (DoS) Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC)2


.


In addition, FPD personnel are members of both the Asia Crisis and Security Group (ACSG)3 International4


and ASIS . This interaction and


involvement in the overall security community not only establishes the FPD as a security partner, but also exponentially expands the office’s ability to gain critical information through an extensive and wide- reaching contact base.


The U.S. Pacific Command


(PACOM), the NCIS Multiple Threat Alert Centre (MTAC), as well as other individual service component information centres, play critical


5 CounterTerrorGazette


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