I know that some of you have had this thought before " I live onpost ... I'm protected by the government ... No one has access to these grounds... I'm safe here.
Ok ok maybe I'm the only one who thinks all the extra stuff but I do know that 99% of us have had the thought that "We are safe onpost". The truth is we are probably much safer onpost then we are living offpost, but incidents still happen on military installations and spouses should be aware.
I think it is even more to important to be aware when your spouse is deployed. The tips below are my own ideas of what you can do to prevent robberies, missing kids and any other type of bad accidents or incidents.
1.Spouses please watch your kids... I know some of you have seen 4 years olds running around outside onpost and people think it's ok because where on a military post. I'm here to tell you NOOOOO it's not cool. I don't care how protected you feel you little toddler should not be able to ride a bike around the block without your supervision. People still speed in the residential areas onpost.
2. Lock your darn doors! I see and have had many spouses tell me that they go to the commissary and leave there doors unlocked. Like it takes one second to stick the key in the hole and turn. BAM! Your door is locked. You don't want to come back home one day and find out one of the neighborhood kids is hiding in your house , crap like that happens.
3. Secure your valuables and once again lockup. I was reading my installation newspaper and it said that most of the break ins on post are usually done by the neighborhood teens. The fact is (I hate to say this) but we have some bad @#$ kids onpost whose parents refuse or do not attempt to keep them in check, due to this we have alot of petty thiefs roaming around. Alot of times they aren't looking to hurt you but they are looking to steal that cool ipod you had sitting in the front seat of your car. SO LOCK UP YOUR CARS! People do steal onpost.
4. Do not let to many people know when your husband is deploying. This is not only important for OPSEC reasons but for your safety. Let me just be blunt here , we do have some crazy people onpost. Unfortunately more serious incidents have happened on post where women have been raped or brutalized because a soldier or a male who lived in housing knew husbands were deployed.
*Some key things you can do is leave a car in the driveway instead of keeping them in the garage.
*Keep lights on in parts of the house visible through windows; this will give people the idea that someone is up in the house.
* When pulling out of your garage back out and then make sure your garage closes fully before you drive off.
I hope I haven't scared you off and that you will come back. I really care about all my fellow spouses and would not wish or want anything to happen to any of you. Please take heed to this post.
Share your tips of what you do while your hubby is away to feel safer?
You are my girl!!!
ReplyDeleteEverything you have said is exactly what I do and plan on continuing to do while my husband is overseas and when he is home.
I have lived in big cities and dangerous areas of the world so I have on a regular basis I lock the doors. Once I moved to a smaller town where door locking is unheard of! Unfortunately because I've lived on base I have become more comfy and I haven't been locking them as much as I used to but your post reminds me that no one is safe!
The one that bothers me the most is parents not looking after their kids. If they are old enough to go play on their own without needing your help that's fine, but if they are toddlers BIG NO-NO!
Most people know my hubby is being posted and when but not many people know where I live or what base I'm on. No one should post or let others know when they are going and where they are going to be it's not safe for you and for him and his troop!
Great post!
Well done as a husband about to be deployed it makes it alot easier on us hubbies when we know that our wives are doing the right thing to protect themselves, one point I want to add is give your MP station call and let them know that your Husband will be deploying they will increase the amount of patrols in your area, some military installations will offer the same for those who stay off post as well depending on the distance from base. Good Job Honey keep up the good work, Love your Hubby.....
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived in VA and my hubby was deployed... we had our car stolen... from our driveway... on post. They kids would did it also broke into many other cars that night. I had left my keys on the floor when I got home, I had planned on running back out after dinner... had some friends over, hubby called, forgot to run out... forgot to get keys out of my car. Woke up the next morning to NO CAR!!! NO CARSEAT and NO JACKETS!!! I called the MPs, they came and did a report... after fighting with them... when I called I was the 10th person to call... but when I finally got them to understand, my car was not broken into it was GONE, they started listening... then I had to go talk to CID... made one of hubby's old bosses go with me... They questioned me and took my statement... said they would look for my car with local police and to have a good day!!!!
ReplyDeleteAgain deployment, no car, no carseat and no jackets,,, oh and it was FEB in VA!!!!
Borrowed a friends car, bought new jackets and carseat... they never reported it to local police... once they found out some Col. kid did it... they stopped caring. My car was found 6 months later (already bought a new one) (hubby was almost home) two miles off of post.
Lock your doors, lock your car, keep your keys with you LOL... maybe even move cars around at your house often so that people think there are more people there. AND WATCH YOUR KIDS!!! My oldest son was 6 and learned how to ride his bike... we told him to stay on our block, I went to look for him, no word, thought he was playing next door.... got a call 5 mins later, he rode his bike to the CDC to visit his friends.... MPs and CID got called and came to my house to tell me I could go to jail and be charged with negelect (sp?) but since my son talked to them and could tell them he was wrong, he let us go with a warning. Easily something could have happened to him!!!!
Thanks for posting everything that you post!!!!...
Great tips guys Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIt is crazy the amount of stuff that can happen even onpost which is even more reason we need to be aware.
I want to add instead of pulling into your driveway or garage...back in. I always do so I can see my surroundings and these kids who pop up out of nowhere.
ReplyDelete