Report: Despite mandate, some European base housing not protected by fences

Above: A military family complex in Wiesbaden, Germany, where three housing areas have no fences or ID checkpoints. The U.S. Embassy in Germany issued an alert last week warning Americans of a heightened terrorism threat.

Six years after the Army issued a mandate that all housing complexes around Europe be shielded with fences, hundreds of families continue to live in unsecured military neighborhoods where traffic rumbles unfettered.

“It boggles my mind it is not considered high priority. Our commanders feel somebody is expendable. I’ve just had it,” said Melanie Buckley, who lives in an unsecured Wiesbaden neighborhood. “I want to be able to sleep at night.”

In 2001, U.S. Army Europe required all of its installations, including housing areas, to be fenced. The mandate was needed to meet force-protection requirements and better protect soldiers and families living there, according to USAREUR.

Read the rest at Stars and Stripes

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