What an exciting opportunity to be back at the Pentagon and sharing programs that safeguard our Department of Defense (DoD) personnel, families, resources, and communities. I was fortunate to facilitate a Mental Health First Aid for Veterans, Service Members, and our Families training at the Pentagon in 2019. This time I was back to facilitate meaningful discussions
intended to educate and empower our DoD community to prevent acts of violence.
On January 22, 2024, Special Agent Christopher Bombardiere and I presented the Army CID Behavioral Threat Assessment Team (BTAT) tailored Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Threat Evaluation and Reporting Overview (TERO) to key United States Department of Defense (DoD) Leaders at the Pentagon. The Leaders in attendance discussed safeguarding DoD personnel and assets from acts of targeted violence and engaged in a robust discussion on ensuring we have the proper tools and the most effective means to increase awareness of these valuable resources.
This training educates and empowers DoD personnel to recognize the warning signs of an individual considering targeted violence as an acceptable or the only means to satisfy a personal grievance against a person/s, group, or location and options for supporting the individual and reporting these behaviors to a trusted partner. Topics covered include the Types of Violence, the Pathway to Violence Model, how Targeted Violence has evolved using an overview of historical mass attack events, Current Trends related to Mass Attacks, explaining what Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) is and how it works, Increasing Community Involvement, and Life Stressors, Warning Behaviors, and Triggers. This training is valuable for all levels of DoD personnel and community members.
The TERO is a vital "tool" for the "toolkit" in the DoD's efforts to reduce harmful behaviors within our ranks and communities. Please contact me for more details about this no charge training.