Most recently published
Field Testing or LRN Laboratories – Why Not Both?
Rob Schnepp
May 20, 2009
First responders & emergency managers must make many difficult decisions. One of the most consequential involves choosing between the field testing of potential biological agents at the scene of an incident & the safer but slower option of waiting for verified lab results.
Worst-Case Scenario: Pakistan Falls to the Taliban
Neil C. Livingstone
May 20, 2009
Israel & India could be first in the line of fire if the resurgent terrorist group gains control of Islamabad’s nuclear arsenal, but the United States would not be immune from attacks that could potentially evolve into a global nuclear holocaust.
License Plate Readers: Automated Situational Awareness
Rodrigo (Roddy) Moscoso
May 13, 2009
LPR systems are resented by drivers who are caught speeding and/or running stoplights. The same technology can be used, though, to quickly identify stolen cars and for other equally important law-enforcement tasks.
Isolation, Quarantine, and the Compression of Time
Joseph Cahill
May 13, 2009
At one time it took 80 days to go around the world. It now takes only one day. The speed of person-to-person communications has dropped from several weeks to instantaneous. Unfortunately, medical capabilities have not moved forward at quite the same pace.
A Change in Fashions for the Well-Suited Responder
Glen Rudner
May 6, 2009
Today’s first-responder community is continually searching for the most effective technology to provide protection during a hazardous materials or WMD (weapons of mass destruction) incident. However, because most incidents to which first responders are dispatched do in fact involve hazardous materials, it is imperative that the responders are wearing
The Beslan School Massacre: A Threat with No Easy Solutions
Patrick D. Bird and Michael Allswede
May 6, 2009
The 2004 Chechen massacre of almost 400 students, parents, and teachers at Beslan School Number 1 shocked the entire world. The United States learned numerous lessons from that horrifying incident – but has yet to translate them into its own preparedness plans.
Green Building Plus Greater Safety Equals Survival
Joseph Cahill
April 22, 2009
Emergency management is an evolving discipline that requires a progressive emergency manager to fulfill new and expanding requirements for success. Successful leaders in this field follow a systematic problem-solving process and excel at coordinating multiple agencies and information sources rather than simply being experts in one subject. The seven and
Needed: More Effective Resources for Homeland Security
Dennis R. Schrader
April 22, 2009
Few if any states will reject federal funds earmarked for any purpose or program. But recent analyses suggest that a high percentage of federal-level allocations for local homeland-security plans and programs are not as well targeted as they should be.
TWIC Program Close to Full Implementation
Corey Ranslem
April 22, 2009
Most U.S. ports are now safer from sabotage and terrorist attacks than ever before in recent years. The safety imperative will soon be upgraded even more when the new Transportation Workers Identification Card regulations become SOP at all of the nation’s ports.
Funding & Capabilities: A New Look at DHS Grants
Timothy Beres
April 15, 2009
A new look at how DHS grant funds are being spent should be a major priority of the Obama administration. It will be difficult to find fault with the earlier focus on equipment, but it seems obvious that the previously neglected “planning factor” also deserves greater emphasis.
First-Person Report: Operation ‘CAMCO’ and How It Grew
John J. Burke
April 15, 2009
A first-person report from a veteran firefighter and incident-management professional tells how the Town of Sandwich, Mass., and local military units joined forces to synergistically enhance their individual and collective disaster-response capabilities.
A Consuming Need: Improved Security in the Food Chain
Steven Harrison
April 8, 2009
Safeguarding the nation’s food supply – from the farm to the fork, so to speak – is not only mandatory for health reasons but also, and increasingly, a national-defense/homeland-security requirement as well.
Questions of Preparedness: A Spring of Tragedy for Law Enforcement
Joseph W. Trindal
May 27, 2009
The murder of a police officer is both a community and personal tragedy. Better equipment and improved training are helping to improve survivability, but society’s criminal element has access to the same equipment and the result has been an increase in law-enforcement fatalities.
Field Testing or LRN Laboratories – Why Not Both?
Rob Schnepp
May 20, 2009
First responders & emergency managers must make many difficult decisions. One of the most consequential involves choosing between the field testing of potential biological agents at the scene of an incident & the safer but slower option of waiting for verified lab results.
Worst-Case Scenario: Pakistan Falls to the Taliban
Neil C. Livingstone
May 20, 2009
Israel & India could be first in the line of fire if the resurgent terrorist group gains control of Islamabad’s nuclear arsenal, but the United States would not be immune from attacks that could potentially evolve into a global nuclear holocaust.
License Plate Readers: Automated Situational Awareness
Rodrigo (Roddy) Moscoso
May 13, 2009
LPR systems are resented by drivers who are caught speeding and/or running stoplights. The same technology can be used, though, to quickly identify stolen cars and for other equally important law-enforcement tasks.
Isolation, Quarantine, and the Compression of Time
Joseph Cahill
May 13, 2009
At one time it took 80 days to go around the world. It now takes only one day. The speed of person-to-person communications has dropped from several weeks to instantaneous. Unfortunately, medical capabilities have not moved forward at quite the same pace.
A Change in Fashions for the Well-Suited Responder
Glen Rudner
May 6, 2009
Today’s first-responder community is continually searching for the most effective technology to provide protection during a hazardous materials or WMD (weapons of mass destruction) incident. However, because most incidents to which first responders are dispatched do in fact involve hazardous materials, it is imperative that the responders are wearing
The Beslan School Massacre: A Threat with No Easy Solutions
Patrick D. Bird and Michael Allswede
May 6, 2009
The 2004 Chechen massacre of almost 400 students, parents, and teachers at Beslan School Number 1 shocked the entire world. The United States learned numerous lessons from that horrifying incident – but has yet to translate them into its own preparedness plans.
Green Building Plus Greater Safety Equals Survival
Joseph Cahill
April 22, 2009
Emergency management is an evolving discipline that requires a progressive emergency manager to fulfill new and expanding requirements for success. Successful leaders in this field follow a systematic problem-solving process and excel at coordinating multiple agencies and information sources rather than simply being experts in one subject. The seven and
Needed: More Effective Resources for Homeland Security
Dennis R. Schrader
April 22, 2009
Few if any states will reject federal funds earmarked for any purpose or program. But recent analyses suggest that a high percentage of federal-level allocations for local homeland-security plans and programs are not as well targeted as they should be.
TWIC Program Close to Full Implementation
Corey Ranslem
April 22, 2009
Most U.S. ports are now safer from sabotage and terrorist attacks than ever before in recent years. The safety imperative will soon be upgraded even more when the new Transportation Workers Identification Card regulations become SOP at all of the nation’s ports.
Funding & Capabilities: A New Look at DHS Grants
Timothy Beres
April 15, 2009
A new look at how DHS grant funds are being spent should be a major priority of the Obama administration. It will be difficult to find fault with the earlier focus on equipment, but it seems obvious that the previously neglected “planning factor” also deserves greater emphasis.
First-Person Report: Operation ‘CAMCO’ and How It Grew
John J. Burke
April 15, 2009
A first-person report from a veteran firefighter and incident-management professional tells how the Town of Sandwich, Mass., and local military units joined forces to synergistically enhance their individual and collective disaster-response capabilities.
Hospital Security Planning: Operational & Technological Considerations
Craig DeAtley
April 1, 2009
It may be the best designed hospital in the world, but a handsome façade is of little importance if the medical equipment is second-best and/or the doctors, nurses, & other healthcare personnel are not well organized & trained to be the best they can be.
Double the Trouble: H5N1 Plus Cat 3 Complications
Ann Marie Brown and Jeffrey B. Peterson
April 1, 2009
A major epidemic to deal with is difficult enough in itself. Toss in a hurricane about to make landfall and the situation becomes impossible. Or it would have been if ServNC, the SMAT IIs, the NCOEMS, CDC, ESAR-VHP, and two FMSS trailers had not been available.
Everyone Must Go: The Anatomy of an Evacuation
Joseph Cahill
March 25, 2009
No response, no matter how successful, is ever complete without an honest after-action review, which if properly carried out leads to the extension of successful tactics and discontinuation of the unsuccessful ones. It also allows sharing this information with response partners and other agencies that could use the information to
Mexico’s Narco-Civil War: Porous and Perilous – The U.S./Mexican Border Situation
Joseph W. Trindal
March 25, 2009
The escalation of drug-cartel violence in Mexico is rapidly becoming a clear & present danger to the United States itself and, if not checked, will soon evolve into a major national-security challenge for the Obama administration’s homeland-security team.
Pamper and Protect: A Professional’s Guide to Personal-Security Details
Derrick Mayes and Cynthia Ekberg Tsai
March 25, 2009
The armed forces protect the nation, the Secret Service protects the president, and gated communities protect the affluent. But who protects the movie stars, the world-class athletes, the company CEOs, and other VIPs?
The EMS Role in Chemical-Release Incidents
Joseph Cahill
March 18, 2009
Few if any EMS agencies anywhere in the world are properly equipped to cope with the accidental or intentional release of lethal nerve agents. But there are several ways to keep the death toll low while also protecting the first responders themselves.
DHS – Moving Forward; And Moving Out
Kay C. Goss
March 18, 2009
An expeditious start, clear directions, and a detailed road map to the future augur well for an ambitious new slate of initiatives, both domestic and international, for the overworked and not always adequately funded Department of Homeland Security.
NIMS & ICS – A Road Map for U.S. Health Departments
Raphael M. Barishansky
March 11, 2009
Implementation of the guidelines undergirding new national anti-terrorism policies will be a major challenge for state & local health departments. But the end result will be a better coordinated and much more effective national healthcare community.
The Friendly Neighborhood Chemical Weapons Store
Adam Montella
March 11, 2009
It doesn’t take much money, time, or a genius IQ to build a clumsy but extremely effective chemical weapon that could kill thousands of people. But a pickup truck would be needed to haul “the makings” from the local warehouse or agricultural combine.
Pandemic Preparedness: Strategies to Protect the State Workforce
David G. Henry
March 10, 2009
H5N1 avian influenza has recently resurged in Southeast Asia, scientists continue to warn that the next pandemic, based on all scientific data, is inevitable.
Bioterrorism Exercise: A Taste of the Real Thing
Stephanie Ostrowski and Crystal Castillo
March 4, 2009
Food poisoning – whether intentional or accidental – can have lethal consequences. In either case, it is CDC’s job to find out what caused it, what treatments are recommended, and how it can be contained.
Is Al Qaeda Seeking Weapons of Mass Destruction
Neil C. Livingstone
March 4, 2009
Some pundits and some politicians seem to think the war on terror is over, or almost over. But new evidence suggests that it is not, and will not be, over until the terrorists say it’s over – and that day may still be a long way off.
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