After all the clashes in the Middle East the State Department issued a statement advising all Americans to: “Maintain ‘Situational Awareness’ in the region.

Well…I disagree with this statement.  Americans and all travelers for that matter should ALWAYS maintain situational awareness (SA).

While the formal definition may sound complicated:  “Situational awareness or situation awareness (SA) is the perception of environmental elements and events with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their future status.”

Situational Awareness is EASY.  Essentially, what SA means is paying attention to your environment with regard to your safety.

Check out my video on Situational Awareness! 

Of course we all know that Iran and Iraq are NOT destinations for tourists, but the reactionary headlines were all SCREAMING the same thing:  “Exercise caution when traveling to other countries in the Middle East!”

My point is that we should ALWAYS exercise caution.  Situational Awareness is NOT something we should activate after a major incident; rather it should be a habit we practice regularly.

Safe TRAVELS!