The template is there, in the Secret Service after-action reports on previous NSSEs. So are the Guidelines, issued by the Department of Justice. All that state and local emergency managers have to do, therefore, is read, heed, practice - and maybe pray a little.
The reverberations from last month's Washington, D.C., Metro crash were heard throughout the country - and set off a silent "security alarm" of sorts in the Town of Sandwich, Massachusetts, where emergency planners had their own good reasons for paying special attention.
There are few if any challenges so daunting to emergency managers than the planning and implementation of the security measures needed to protect the principals and attendees at NSSEs and other highly publicized events. The greatest success occurs when nothing happens.
by C. Todd Lopez Army Morale, Welfare & Recreation -
Ensuring families are prepared for emergencies is one of the roles of the Army Protection Division, & it does so through the Ready Army program. This year, the Ready Army program is sponsoring a new program, "Prepared Kids," the aim of which is to get younger family members involved in the discussion about how to be ready for disasters.
by Maj. Cotton Puryear, Virginia Guard Public Affairs -
The Virginia National Guard conducted a four-day hurricane preparedness exercise at the State Military Reservation in Virginia Beach with the goal of improving the Virginia Guard's ability to plan and carry out domestic operations in conjunction with state agencies and local first responders.
Firefighters, policemen, EMS technicians, & other first responders agree that one of their biggest on-the-job difficulties has been their inability to communicate with their counterparts from other jurisdictions. That huge capabilities "gap" may soon be closed, thanks to improved technology and better planning.
The former TOPOFF domestic-preparedness exercises designed to test the capabilities and fortitude of the U.S. defense/DHS hierarchy have evolved into a new format - which the nation's new commander in chief will meet face to face next month.
The "revolutionary era" of U.S. homeland security started with the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. A new era, focused on the maintenance and upgrading of hard-earned responder skills, is about to begin.
