Protect Your Family

We know you want to do everything you can to protect your family, especially while you're deployed. We offer some tips to help.

We invite you to share security tips with other military families. These can be tips you've used yourself, or just something you've heard about that others might use. One of the great things about being part of the military family is that its members help protect each other. Continue that tradition by sending us your security tips. We'll include the best ones here. And please be sure to tell us if you want to be acknowledged as the source of the tip, or if you'd prefer to remain anonymous.

Car Key Alarm Adds Peace of Mind

For those who feel they can't afford to install a security system in their home, here's a tip that will help protect your family and give you some added security and peace of mind.

You know the key fob that holds your car keys and unlocks the car doors? You can use it as an alarm to protect your family when you're at home! Here's how:

Put your car keys beside your bed at night. If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.

Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this: It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and it requires no installation.

Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage.

If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the burglar or rapist won't stick around.... After a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and the would-be criminal won't want to be seen.

And, remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work to protect your family the same way there.

This little tip should give an extra sense of security to those of you whose spouses are deployed, and to those deployed service members who worry about their loved ones at home.

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