Last week, Special Agent in Charge, Eugene Kowel, and Hannah Dickel with the Omaha Field FBI office spoke to us about how community members can partner with the FBI to help keep communities safe. Eugene Kowel serves as the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Omaha Field Office and eight resident agencies across Nebraska and Iowa. Appointed to the role in October 2020, Mr. Kowel overseas all FBI personnel, operations, and criminal, national security, and cyber investigations across the two states. Mr. Kowel joined the FBI in 2005.
He shared that many times, it's not what is shown in the movies--they work closely with local and state departments to investigate situations through task forces. He shared some main threats they deal with:
"Home Grown" threats--an individual radicalizes themselves and decide to commit an attack domestically. Community members can help this by letting their office know if they see something posted online. The agency is limited in what they can search and find until tipped off for a potential threat. Civilians are free to search, so it's extra important to say something if it doesn't sound or feel right.
Counter Intelligence Threat--Our main international threats are China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. China is concerned about stealing agricultural technology for themselves, and the Offut Air Force Base/STRATCOM is the home of America's Nuclear Strategy which is an obvious target.
Cybersecurity--Americans are losing more financially to cyber attacks and AI than before and it's just getting worse. If you get notified about something you weren't expecting "take a beat" and verify it through a second source. Fraudsters act with a sense of urgency, so taking a moment if it feels off could protect you.
Criminal Threats--Fighting day-to-day crime. This is still rampant, but law enforcement actually catching the individuals sends a message to others that if they do the same crime, they will get caught. Again, getting in touch with their office or local departments start the process in catching criminals.
Gene also busted a few myths you may have heard:
The FBI is only located in the US--False! At times, they have to go where the threat is and must work with international departments to fight crime
Everyone in the FBI are agents--False! There are other crucial roles like analysts that help analyze data for the agents, or administrative roles that help run the offices.
One must move around a lot if they want to be an Agent--False! If you have roots or like an area, you can choose to stay. You don't have to move.
Some upcoming events:
Sept. 9th will be our District Governor's meeting! Please make a point to attend as we'd appreciate a good turn out. If you haven't already, please email Chris N your photos of Crete Rotary "Creating Lasting Impact" in the community so we can put a video together of us all in the community.
Next meeting, we'll be going over our goals for the year and will be brainstorming new member opportunities. Please come so we have different perspectives for the future of what we want Crete Rotary to look like.
