LAS VEGAS -- This week’s shootings in Orlando and Texas have brought up the question of safety in the American workplace and to what extremes Americans should go to protect ourselves.

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FOX5 spoke with a worldwide security specialist with a long military background to gain some perspective.

The two shootings occurred in very different settings -- one in a public office building and the other in a secured military base -- but they were both allegedly committed by an individual known to the victims.

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Security consultant Nick Teta said he has seen security in various countries with varying security extremes.

“Anywhere, anytime -- you never know,” Teta said.

Teta provides a variety of security services, from executive protection to events to threat and vulnerability assessments. The former Navy Seal has seen countries where there is virtually no security to others where there are guards armed with machine guns.

“Here, we have an open society. Do we want to be like Israel? There are metal detectors in every store. There's an armed guard in every store. I don't think we want to do that,” Teta said.

Teta said he advocates a layered approach to safety, such as multiple doors to go through with locks and greeters before the person entering a workplace can get to the main area. But he said it comes down to people and the ability to pick up on indicators.

“You'd have to be dealing with that individual and see a possible shift in their psychological makeup. Are they angry? Are they more agitated?” Teta said.

Thursday's Fort Hood shooting was an example of how it's tough to prevent every situation.

“Where's the person's breaking point? We don't know that. That's why the military does psychological testing, and he was a psychiatrist, so he knew what he could and couldn't get away with. And that day was his day to make his statement,” Teta said.

Teta said the key to avoiding massacres is the stay aware and ready to react.

“There are states of readiness. Most Americans live in a state of white. People can sneak up on them. You've got white, yellow, orange and red. You can't stay in red all the time because you burn out. So, you have to vacillate between the situational awareness of your surroundings. You can't be on guard all the time,” Teta said.

That's the quandary the government and workplaces face.

“You've got to keep people safe, and it's a fine line between freedom and an armed state,” Teta said.

Teta said traditionally, there has been a knee-jerk reaction in the security field after tragedies like these. More security is put in place, but if a person wants to do something desperately, there's always a way around obstacles.