Robert is a young military guy. He has been in the Air Fore Reserves over 3 years. He is a very independent person who enjoys serving his country, and improving himself along the way. He loves to travel, so the military is the right choice for him, and he is having a great time. He lives in an apartment in the local area. When he is not on reserve duty, he works in a local automotive manufacturing plant.

All is going good. He has great job, he gets to travel, he is serving his country and has a great place to live. He knows his neighbors pretty well and has no problem asking them to watch his apartment while he was away. One month he was call to go to the middleast on temporary assignment with the Reserves. Although it would only be for a couple of weeks, he was excited because it was his first overseas assignment.

He would get to see some part of the world that most will never see. He packed for the trip and asked his neighbors to keep an eye on his apartment while he was gone. They agreed to keep watch. He left on schedule and everything went as planned. After the trip, he was anxious to get back to his home and just relax. He got home and entered his apartment. He was shocked. Everything was gone.

His furniture, television and stereos were all gone. He went to check with his neighbors to see if they saw anything. It turns out they were called back to their home on an emergency, which lasted about a week. He thought, that is when the thieves must have taken everything. He reported it to the police, who questioned a few of the other tenants.

One older couple saw a moving van parked near his apartment while he was gone. They did not think much of it because people are always coming and going, since it is a military community. Police theorized that the thieves had somehow duplicated his key and simply walked off with his things. Fortunately, he was insured and everything was replaced.

When you have to leave your home, it is a good idea to let all neighbors that you trust know you are gone. Thieves take advantage of people who frequently travel. They commit crimes by looking like they are performing legitimate services. They use covers like cable repairman, delivery people or even moving companies to scope out their victims.

If you notice a moving van at a house and you know the occupants are out of town, it maybe trouble. Be a good neighbor and report suspicious activity. Only you and your neighbors know what is suspicious in your neighborhood. Be aware of your environment and have a defense strategy in mind.