Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
Security conditions at US military bases were raised Thursday night, because of growing concern of a jihadist threat in the U.S.
It comes hours after FBI Director James Comey raised the prospect there are thousands of ISIS followers online in the U.S.
“We have the same concern about the potential threat posed by violent homegrown extremists,” said Captain Jeff Davis, spokesman for the U.S. Northern Command which oversees all U.S. military installations in the continental U.S.
The order was signed by Admiral William Gortney, head of the command.
Davis declined to specify the new security measures. But a U.S. official confirmed to CNN that U.S. military bases are now at “Force Protection Bravo,” which is defined by the Pentagon as an “increased and predictable threat of terrorism.” US bases generally have not been at this level since the tenth anniversary of the 9-11 attacks the official said.
“We are doing this as a prudent measure due to a lot of things in the news lately,” Davis said. “While this change is not tied to a specific credible threat, recent events have led us to recognize the need to take prudent steps to ensure that our security measures can be increased quickly.”
The change could mean more checks of vehicles entering bases, and 100% identity checks of all personnel. Davis emphasized “this is the new normal that we are going to have increased vigilance and force protection. We seek to be unpredictable.