The "E" in S.E.T.S. stands for Elicitation

Continuing with our S.E.T.S discussion, Auxiliarist Douthett provides a good explanation of Elicitation:

Have you ever had a conversation with someone and after you had some time to think about it you say to yourself "Hmmmm that was weird".

Elicitation, the second indicator in S.E.T.S., is someone asking seemingly unrelated questions about things or subjects to gain otherwise hidden information for illicit use.

Elicitation as it pertains to terrorism should leave you with that feeling of ‘why are they asking about that. However, in some cases, the person initiating the query for elicitation may be so well versed in their trade that you may not be aware that you have divulged important or useful information. The realization may come well after the conversation has ended or after an incident has occurred.

When having a conversation, if the person asks a question several different ways throughout the conversation, or continues to ask questions concerning a specific subject such as security, response time, or monitoring, you should suspect possible elicitation.

More to come

Lynwood D. Douthett
Marine Inspector
AUX Sector MDA Coordinator
Prevention Division
Sector Los Angeles - Long Beach

The "S" in S.E.T.S. stands for SURVEILLANCE

From our favorite Auxilarists, Mr. Lenny Douthett, comes the next installment of our S.E.T.S. explination:

The S.E.T.S. program defines surveillance as photographing, videotaping, drawing, mapping, and/or other means of monitoring a potential target.

In the simplest terms, each of us has engaged in surveillance at some point in time. Have you ever done internet research on where you're staying or things to do before going on a trip? Have you ever visited a marina or checked out a fishing spot before a weekend on the boat? Ever drawn a map, or marked a chart for someone to help them get to where they are going?

The moment we take a picture or record observed information about a particular area, person, place or thing, we are engaging in surveillance. The purpose for the recorded information dictates the type and the depth of the surveillance performed. This is the challenge in identifying when surveillance should be observed as a possible indicator of terrorist activity.

Surveillance as related to terrorist activity is usually the first identifiable step in a terrorist's plan to carry out an incident. But, how do we identify when we are actually observing possible terrorist surveillance activity?

As a rule, any time you observe a person photographing and taking notes, videotaping and taking notes or using other means of monitoring followed by note taking directed at critical infrastructure (such as bridges, tunnels, wharfs and terminals, etc...) you should record the activity and report it.

The S.E.T.S. program goes more in-depth on the subject of surveillance, the different kinds of surveillance and how to discern the difference between "innocent" surveillance that we all engage in on a daily basis.

More to come

-Lynwood D. Douthett, Aux

Is It Possible to Stop a Terrorist Attack Before it Happens?

The short answer is yes, we can (my apologies to President Obama).

I've asked Coast Guard Auxiliarist and Maritime Domain Awareness expert Lynwood D. Douthett to be a guest poster on our blog to walk us through a program he's developed called S.E.T.S:

"Understanding what’s going on in our ports and waterways is the key challenge in preventing a successful terrorist attack involving our ports and waterways. The primary way the Coast Guard can accomplish this is using the folks that live, work and play on the water.

For this reason, the S.E.T.S. outreach training program was developed

S.E.T.S. or Surveillance, Elicitation, Tests of Security, Suspicious Behavior are four steps that are indicators of possible terrorist incidents. These steps are used by terrorists insure a successful attack. Understanding and identifying these steps and subsequent reporting to the proper authorities gives you the direct ability to prevent the terrorists from being successful.

The S.E.T.S. program can teach you how to:

• Recognize each of the four indicators as they may happen;
• Record the incident as observed in proper sequence through improved cognitive ability;
• Report the related information and/or incidents in a timely manner to the proper authorities, And;
• Always maintain your safety.
  

The next several posts will discuss each of the 4 elements of S.E.T.S, It’s our hope that this will increase your knowledge to identify possible indicators and make you capable of producing a more credible report to the proper authorities in a timelier manner. "

For more information on the S.E.T.S. program, please feel free to contact Mr. Douthett:

Lynwood D. Douthett Aux
Marine Inspector
AUX Sector MDA Coordinator
Prevention Division
Sector Los Angeles - Long Beach
lynwood.d.douthett@uscg.mil

Could AWW Prevent Another Mumbai-Style Attack?

By now everyone is aware of many of the details that occurred in Mumbai. The ruthlessness and skill at which the terrorists were able to execute their plan is frightening. It is particularly troubling to me as there was a maritime component to this attack that shows an expanded understanding by the terrorists on how to exploit the maritime environment. A careful examination of the post attack analysis showed us the following:

• The terrorists chartered a cargo ship out of Karachi, Pakistan
• They hijacked a fishing trawler to avoid detection
• They slit the throat of the captain and killed remaining crew members
• One of the terrorists was a trained sailor and took the helm after the captain was killed
• They Used inflatable dinghies to transport teams last few nautical miles to Sassoon Dock
• Two teams checked into the Oberoi and Taj Mahal hotels four days prior to the assaults to stash supplies and study the layout
• Intelligence sources reported two boatfuls of weapons and some 18-20 of the terrorists most likely came from Karachi in Pakistan

Although AWW would have been ineffective at stopping the attack on November 26, AWW could have provided advance notice of the impending attacks, which could have brought about a much different outcome.

The fact that the terrorists were so efficient and prepared means they put a huge amount of energy and resources into planning and staging the attack. In fact, analysis indicates that they had stashed additional weapons and munitions in various areas within Mumbai. Here AWW could have had a tremendous impact, as it is in the lead up to a terrorist attack that AWW provides its greatest 'bang for the buck'. Imagine if a concerned citizen had noticed the (likely) suspicious behavior of the terrorists while they were stashing the weapons or conducting surveillance and reported the incident to the local authorities. For lack of a better phrase, knowledge is power.

In the next few posts I'm going to focus on a program that was developed by Coast Guard Auxiliaritsts in the port of Los Angeles/Long Beach area. Known as the SETS program, it is specifically geared toward training folks that live, work and play on the water the various phases of the pre-attack planning used by most terrorists; Surveillance, Ellicitation, Tests of security, and Suspicious persons.

Why America's Waterway Watch?

You may have heard people talking about it or seen a flyer or placard talking about it, but maybe you’re not quite sure what it is. I want to take this opportunity to give you an idea of why America’s Waterway exists and how you can participate.

The United States has more than 95,000 miles of shore line and over 300,000 square miles of water that it is responsible for. Think about that for a moment. If you still can’t grasp the enormity of that, let me put it into perspective; you could travel from New York to Paris and back again 13 times before you equaled the length of America’s coast line…

Now, let me throw another staggering fact at you. The primary Federal Agency in charge of securing the entire coastline (the US Coast Guard) is an agency that has less people in it than the entire NYC Police Department…sobering isn’t it? In the post 9/11 world, the Coast Guard quickly realized that in order to gain a better idea of what’s happening on our waterways (what we call Maritime Domain Awareness), they needed help. Here’s where America’s Waterway Watch comes in; America’s Waterway Watch is essentially a neighborhood watch program for anyone who lives, works or spends time on or near the water.

What AWW provides is information so that when citizens (like you!)on or near the water see suspicious activity (or anything that just seems wrong – more on what to look for in a later post, but for now lets just say anything that ‘just doesn’t seem right’), they know what to do. They can call our national hotline (1-877-24-WATCH) or their local law enforcement to report that activity. Once AWW gets the call the Coast Guard will investigate the incident together with local and national law enforcement agencies.

That, in a nutshell, is the case for why we need America’s Waterway Watch and why we need you to participate. As always, please feel free to post your comments or ideas. The more collaboration we can foster, the safer we can make this country!

America's Waterway Watch 2.0

Welcome to the new America's Waterway Watch blog!

Following the inspiration of our illustrious Commandant (iCommandant), and our friends at the The Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System (AMVER), America's Waterway Watch (AWW) is hitting the blogosphere!

Our blog is not just going to be about AWW; we are going to take the opportunity to use this medium to discuss a wide range of issues facing the maritime community, especially in regards to security. We urge our readers to leave comments and participate in the discussion. Our goal is facilitate a spirited dialouge on some of the most pressing issues in the maritime domain and how AWW can be used to address those issues.

This blog is only the one step in our foray into the Social Media realm; please feel free to join our fansite on Facebook, and we've just recently joined Twitter, You can also find a wealth of information on our static website.

We look forward to working with you!