July 9, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

FEMA course IS 860

Course Overview

Protecting the critical infrastructure and key resources (CI/KR) of the United States is essential to the Nation’s security, public health and safety, economic vitality, and way of life.  The purpose of this course is to introduce the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP).

Course Objectives

• Explain the importance of protecting critical infrastructure and key resources (CI/KR).
• Identify the relevant authorities and roles for CI/KR protection efforts.
• Describe the NIPP unifying structure for the integration of CI/KR protection efforts, including:
  • Sector security partnership model.
  • Risk management framework.
  • Information sharing process

http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is860.asp

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June 30, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

Strong Angel III: Integrated disaster response demonstration

Working together to save lives by improving information flow across boundaries

In 2006, more than 800 volunteers from a diverse group of organizations gathered in San Diego, California, to undertake Strong Angel III, a disaster response demonstration. The demonstration explored how military, humanitarian, local government, and private organizations work together during man-made or natural disasters. Strong Angel III focused on simulating those aspects of post-disaster conditions that specifically impact communication, information-sharing, and coordination. Through this intense exercise, team members from different organizations were able to work together more effectively, improve individual impact from the field, and more easily fuse data from various sources, strengthening situational awareness and creating more useful information for decision-making. Watch the video • Strong Angel III: Disaster response demonstration 5:08 Min; Windows Media file On This Page The challenge The challenge Simulating a lethal pandemic and cyber-terrorist attack, Strong Angel III addressed common communication and collaboration challenges that cross-organizational teams experience when working together during the plan, respond, and recover cycles, including: • Easily working together when systems are incompatible. • Coordinating roles and responsibilities across discrete organizations. • Providing one central place to access and share information for situational awareness. • Supporting and maintaining continuity of operations. • Remaining effective offline or in bandwidth-constrained environments. • Easily and rapidly communicating field intelligence back to the command center. Top of page The participants Participants in and sponsors of Strong Angel III came from military, humanitarian, and private organizations that included the U.S. Navy, the American Red Cross, Microsoft, and ESRI. • See a detailed list of participants and sponsors Top of page The results Using available technologies from Microsoft, the Strong Angel III team was able to: • Easily communicate and collaborate across geographic, technical, and environmental boundaries before, during, and after an event. • Improve bidirectional data flow by building bridges between applications, devices, and operating systems. • Help mobile first responders to act immediately with instant alerts and notifications. • Address issues more quickly and directly by sharing and working with dynamic information, geographically represented on detailed digital maps. • Coordinate faster and more effectively, with the right tools, people, and information available in one place. • Remain productive and effective throughout the simulation with the ability to continue working from the field when offline or in a bandwidth-constrained environment. Top of page The technologies Microsoft technologies highlighted in the Strong Angel III demonstration include: • Microsoft Office Groove 2007 • Microsoft Virtual Earth • Microsoft Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT)

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June 6, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

Critical Thinking Skills Workshop (June 17-19; Reston, VA) Students learn how to use critical thinking skills in their work by framing their line of argument, developing hypotheses, visualizing data, and writing their final product with clarity and persuasiveness. [View course website]

Hospital Security Preparedness Course (June 30–July 3; September 8-11; November 3-6; December 1-4; Washington, DC) The ER One Institute at Washington Hospital Center is holding a course for hospital protective services and law enforcement. The goal is to achieve competency in handling all hazards to hospital security, from routine situations to mass-casualty incidents and terrorist attacks against the facility. Students will experience comprehensive hands-on training, live drills, and classroom instruction from faculty with extensive security and counterterrorism experience. [View course website]

Strategic Counterterrorism Issues and Practices (July 8-10; Reston, VA) Students explore the current thinking on strategic counterterrorism issues and research and practice, applying analytical tools to topics such as radicalization. [View course website]

Basic Analytic Tools and Techniques Workshop (July 14-16; Reston, VA) This course explains what analysis is, why frameworks are important, and how to overcome mindsets and avoid surprise by using indicators, key assumptions checks, devil’s advocacy, and ACH. [View course website]

Advanced Briefing Workshop (July 22-25; Reston, VA) Students will review what makes for an effective presentation, prepare several briefings, practice delivering them, and review their presentations on videotape. [View course website]

National Transit Institute—Terrorist Activity Recognition and Reaction (July 25; Williamsburg, VA) This class for transit employees who have direct contact with the public teaches participants to identify and report suspected pre-attack terrorist activity; distinguish normal, suspicious, and dangerous activity; define roles in recognizing and reacting to suspicious activity; and describe immediate actions to take when confronted with dangerous activity. [View course website]

Combating Bioterrorism/Pandemics: Implementing Policies for Biosecurity (17.60s) (July 28-30; Cambridge, MA) Massachusetts Institute of Technology experts and affiliates will explore the obstacles to implementing policies and strategies to overcome the obstacles. [View course website]

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May 30, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

S&T Conference, June 2-5, in Washington, DC, begins in less than one week.  The S&T Directorate is interested in receiving input from Homeland Security professionals and organizations that can supply new or improved products and capabilities to its customers at the Federal, state, and local levels.  Please review the detailed information below. 

2008 Homeland Security S&T Stakeholders Conference East
“Partnering for a Safer Nation”
June 2-5, 2008 * Ronald Reagan International Trade Center * Washington, D.C.

The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology highlight the speakers list for the 2008 Homeland Security S&T Stakeholders Conference East, taking place June 2-5 at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in Washington, D.C,, presented by the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) with subject matter support provided by the Science & Technology (S&T) Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security.  The theme for the conference is “Partnering for a Safer Nation.”

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May 14, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is holding a workshop in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to teach local law enforcement agencies how to handle roadside bombs. The department’s Office of Bombing Prevention will host Tuesday’s workshop. Police, sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement agents will learn how to identify the bombs and how to protect against them. Although no roadside bomb attacks have been reported in the U.S., experts say they could be a future threat.

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May 2, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

National Homeland Defense Foundation Symposium VI (October 27; Colorado Springs, CO) The theme of Symposium VI is “Securing Our Homelands Through International Collaboration; Neighbors Helping Neighbors.” Submissions must be emailed in PDF format by August 1 to librarian@nhdf.org. [View conference website]

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May 2, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

(October 29-31; Chicago) The Justice, Homeland Security, and Defense departments will highlight the technology and training tools available and being developed for emergency responders and elicit responders’ technology requirements. The conference will bring together responders, business and industry, academia, and federal, state, tribal, and local stakeholders to network, exchange ideas, and collaboratively address critical incident technology and preparedness needs, protocols, and solutions. [View conference website]

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May 2, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

(July 8-10; Colorado Springs, CO) This interactive conference is designed to assist homeland security professionals—including emergency management planners, public health officials, medical personnel, first responders, and behavioral health specialists—to improve care provided to those affected by catastrophes. Major speakers are leading civilian and military behavioral health experts. The conference addresses disaster planning, response, and recovery and includes a daylong tabletop exercise. It is cosponsored by the University of Colorado, U.S. Northern Command, and the Colorado Division of Mental Health. [View conference website]

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May 2, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

(June 23-25; Alexandria, VA) The program will focus on emerging trends, such as expansion of regional information sharing and collaboration and the latest technological innovations. With presentations and representation from a broad cross-section of federal and state agencies, delegates will develop a thorough understanding of the solutions and best practices employed to meet operational requirements. The program will also review the status of current systems such as the DHS Secure Border Initiative and the Justice Department’s Interconnect Wireless Network. [View conference website]

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May 2, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

“Federal agencies, including the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counter Terrorism Center, are telling their people not to describe Islamic extremists as jihadists or mujahedeen,” reports the Associated Press. “… The reason: Such words may actually boost support for radicals among Arab and Muslim audiences by giving them a veneer of religious credibility or by causing offense to moderates.” [View article]

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