Valuable leadership principles learned in military operations can be effectively applied to leaders in the civilian world. However, complacency and comfort zones are often the barriers to such success. Being moved to join the military after watching the towers fall on 9/11 was a turning point that broke these barriers for this Navy SEAL.
The recent release of the 2017 Infrastructure Report Card is notable – not simply because it gave U.S. public schools a D+ grade on their overall condition, but due to its failure to address upgrades needed to the security infrastructure, security technology, and life safety systems of schools. As the new administration and Congress consider a major national infrastructure bill, it is time to invest in upgrading the security infrastructure of K-12 public schools.
One year ago, DomPrep convened subject matter experts to discuss their experiences with and knowledge about border control challenges. A lot has happened in a year, so it is time to examine what has changed, what still needs to be addressed, and what will likely still be discussed a year from now.
Over the years, the fragile relationship between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve has been strained to the point of fracture. The goal now for law enforcement agencies is to repair existing relationships with the communities they serve and build new positive relationships with youths to ensure future community resilience.
Civil unrest in cities across the country challenges public servants to think analytically about how to restore public confidence and protect citizens from bad actors and events that threaten their safety and security. This article summarizes a four-hour roundtable that DomPrep and the Baltimore Police Department convened to share insights on tactics and approaches for success.
DomPrep would like to announce the retirement of a good friend and advisor, Charles J. Guddemi. After more than 25 years of law enforcement service, he retired from the U.S. Park Police on 31 December 2016.
Those in law enforcement can attest to the continuous changes in the profession. In the 1960s, it was inconceivable to have predicted where time and technology would transport the country by 2017. The media provides instantaneous news via social media, so a small demonstration can be multiplied in an instant with a simple tweet. Law enforcement must adapt.
New problems call for new solutions. The definitions and parameters, in which emergency management, law enforcement, nongovernmental organizations, and others now work under, are inadequate to meet the new challenges of today. Furthermore, the old rules as to how and why to prepare simply do not apply anymore.
There are few conversations today capable of surfacing guttural emotional responses quite like a discussion related to bias and inequalities. The challenge is clear. From the most elementary perspective, if the existence of bias and/or inequalities is acknowledged, it is illogical to then ignore the possibility that adverse impacts are possible as well.
The threats facing the United States in 2017 largely stem from the challenge and response cycle set in motion by the global rise of authoritarianism and violent fascism. Authoritarian leaders frequently promise to restore national pride and return people to their lost golden age: a mythical world in which life was thought to be better for the particular group. Scapegoating quickly follows, and violence is rarely far behind.
