The U.S. healthcare system is in most respects the best in the world. But keeping the paperwork up with the patient is still a formidable problem, particularly in the handling of mass-casualty patients with several hospitals involved.
George Washington University plans to convene two "policy summits" focused on the preparedness needs of large cities. One highlight of the meetings will be a bloodily realistic videogame showing how first responders can help turn victims into patients.
The campaign platforms of the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates differ in many particulars, but they should agree on most homeland-security issues. (Article reprinted courtesy of the Heritage Foundation.)
The 29-30 July All-Hazards Consortium workshop focused on the exciting technological capabilities provided by the introduction of new GIS (geographic information systems) devices, and spelled out a number of formidable challenges as well.
Historians see yesterday's battlefields as primary sources for their next scholarly tomes. The modern military sees today's battlefield as an unsifted mountain of intelligence information and, possibly, as evidence in future courtroom proceedings.
CBP falls short in its efforts to start implementing the "100-percent screening" mandate issued by Congress. The issues involved are numerous, costly, and extremely complicated. Nonetheless, failure is not an option.
The could-have/should-have (but did not) scenarios of the past serve as abundant reminders that the cost of national preparedness is only a fraction of the much higher cost that must always be paid for not being prepared.
After the storm comes the rainbow. Supposedly. After a disaster comes the debris - and the problem of what to do with it. Surprisingly, perhaps, there are some profitable solutions that should be considered.
At a time when defense of the U.S. homeland is a major concern, the National Guard is playing a much-increased role in U.S. operations overseas. The best way to fill the capabilities gap is to establish a non-deployable Home Guard under the Department.
Thanks to mutual-aid compacts between neighboring political jurisdictions, first-responder cooperation at mass-casualty incidents is often a multi-agency effort. But before the agencies can work together they must first be able to speak the same language.
