Author Archive

Offshore Facilities: Growing Vulnerabilities in the Maritime Environment

Any opinions expressed in the preceding article represent their own views and are not necessarily the official views of the U.S. Coast Guard.Offshore energy platforms, which are vital to help the United States meet its energy requirements, not only are growing in number but also create unique security challenges. Using

Rescue 21 Update: Advanced Comm Capabilities for the New Century

Mayday! Mayday! The internationally recognized distress call for mariners and aviators; however, if no one hears the call, help will not be dispatched.  The U.S. Coast Guard has been taking steps to make sure that their ships and shore stations do hear the call, whenever and wherever it is sounded,

COTPs Updating Port Plans to Combat Maritime Terrorism

Successfully combating maritime terrorism within a U.S. port requires a coordinated effort among federal, state, local, and private-sector security forces. To coordinate the multi-force effort required involves extensive joint planning, well ahead of time, between and among the numerous stakeholders involved. In accordance with guidelines mandated in the Maritime Transportation

Rocks, Shoals, Obstructions, and the SAFE Port Act

The SAFE Port Act – officially called the Security and Accountability For Every Port Act, which was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 2006 – addresses a broad spectrum of port-security matters that had not been adequately covered by previous laws, including the Maritime Transportation Act of 2002.  One aspect

The Next Wave of Synergy in Port/Maritime Security

Synergy, fusion, jointness, unity of effort – all are important characteristics to the success of the multi-agency operations needed to ensure the security of ports in the United States – but those laudable characteristics also are difficult to achieve, particularly when a broad spectrum of agencies control their forces from

USMA’s CTC Addresses Global Terrorism Threat

When the words “West Point” are mentioned, the names and exploits of famous generals such as Grant, Eisenhower, and Patton come to mind along with visions of crisp fall days, duty, honor, country, as well as an institution, the U.S. Military Academy (USMA), that is as much of America’s fabric

Port Security Exercises and Training: A Formidable Curriculum

As explained on the U.S. Transportation Security Agency’s website, PortSTEP (the Port Security Training and Exercise Program) was established as a partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard to improve “the intermodal transportation industry’s ability to prepare for and contend with a Transportation Security Incident.” The program is in that context

Guarding the Great Lakes: Athena and the Northern Maritime Border Initiative

The U.S. northern maritime border poses a significant challenge for U.S. and Canadian law-enforcement agencies. The Great Lakes border between the two nations, which extends over 1,500 miles, and the Saint Lawrence Seaway teem with commercial and recreational traffic routinely moving back and forth between the territorial waters separating the

The MOTR Process – Ensuring Unity of Effort in Maritime Security

Several U.S. government agencies have overlapping jurisdictional responsibilities in the enforcement of laws and treaties, particularly in maritime matters. For many years these agencies have from time to time responded independently to the same threat information, a practice that would seem to be an inefficient use of taxpayer money.  The

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Article Out Loud – Planning for a Cross-Country Special Event

A solar eclipse is a unique form of special event that does not always fall under emergency planning protocols, but it should. This article urges preparedness professionals to collaborate with eclipse planning committees to ensure the safety and security of all those involved.

Article Out Loud – Citizen Soldiers and American State Defense Forces

By JAMES P. HOWARD Ⅱ, An Article Out Loud from the Domestic Preparedness, September 06, 2023.Targeted-violent events threaten staff and students’ physical, psychological, and emotional well-being in public schools. However, the increasing frequency of these incidents raises concerns about the preparedness of incoming teachers and current staff to handle such

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