DHS News

Federal Protective Service Needs a Human Capital Plan, Says GAO “In fiscal years 2008 and 2009 Congress mandated” that the Federal Protective Service “maintain no fewer than 1,200 employees,” notes the Government Accountability Office. The service now “has over 1,200 employees,” but it is behind schedule on hiring and training, and it has only “a short-term hiring plan that does not include key human capital principles.” Earlier, the GAO found serious vulnerabilities at 10 federal buildings under the protection of the service (see the July 10 newsletter). [View GAO summary]

DHS Works to Bring Alerts to Mobile Communications (Government Computer News) “The Homeland Security Department is working with government and industry to develop a Commercial Mobile Alert Service that would extend the Emergency Alert System to mobile cellular devices,” reports Government Computer News. The system “would provide text alerts from authorized federal, state and local agencies to cellular devices as well as to radio and television.” [View article]

Feds Interested in Using the Military During Emergencies (Washington Examiner) “The Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security recently notified law enforcement agencies and associations, such as the National Association of Chiefs of Police, about the Obama Administration’s interest in using the military during ‘emergencies,’” reports the Examiner. “… Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator W. Craig Fugate met with the Commander of the US Northern Command, General Gene Renuart, to discuss ‘pre-disaster planning, response and recovery in support of the federal response to the 2009 hurricane season as well as wild fires, floods and other potential disasters.’” [View article]

FEMA Creates Children’s Working Group The Federal Emergency Management Agency is creating a Children’s Working Group to explore and implement planning and response strategies specific to children throughout the agency and ensure that during a disaster the unique needs of children are not only considered, but fully integrated into how FEMA administers this support to states and the public. [View press release]

Other Federal News

U.S. Is at War With al-Qaeda, Not With Terrorism, Says White House (Washington Times; Washington Examiner) “The U.S. is no longer engaged in a ‘war on terrorism.’ Neither is it fighting ‘jihadists’ or in a ‘global war.’ President Obama’s top homeland security and counterterrorism official [John Brennan] took all three terms off the table of acceptable words inside the White House during a speech Thursday …” reports the Washington Times. “‘We are at war with al Qaeda,’ he said.” Brennan also “says the Obama administration has mapped out a dual approach to defeating terrorism, fusing military strikes against insurgents with a commitment to pump economic aid into countries that have been safe havens for militant groups,” reports the Examiner. He “says the U.S. must harness its economic power to help nations increase their security and dissuade their citizens from turning to violence.” [View Times article] [View Examiner article]

Administration Will Overhaul Immigration Detention System (Washington Post) “The Obama administration” plans “to overhaul the nation’s much-criticized immigration detention system by strengthening federal oversight and centralizing a 32,000-bed system now scattered throughout 350 local jails, state prisons and contract facilities,” reports the Post. [View article]

Guantánamo Cases Make Little Progress (Washington Post) “In the 13 months since the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision granting detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the right to challenge their confinements before federal judges, most prisoners still have not had their day in court,” reports the Post. “In addition, prisoners who have successfully contested their detentions are having difficulty getting released. Nineteen of 28 detainees ordered freed remain at Guantanamo Bay, ensnared in a diplomatic and legal limbo.” [View article]

Biolabs Are Slow to Improve Security, Says GAO (Yahoo! News) “Government officials have been slow to upgrade security at U.S. laboratories that handle deadly germs nearly a year after congressional investigators found weak security controls,” reports the Associated Press (see the Oct. 24, 2008, newsletter). “… Two of the labs found to have security problems have made some improvements despite ‘limited action’ by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to work out a comprehensive safety plan, the report from the Government Accountability Office said. Investigators urged the CDC to set uniform perimeter security for all five of the nation’s Biosafety Level 4 labs. Those labs handle organisms that cause diseases without a cure—such as the Ebola virus and smallpox—and require the highest level of security.… While the GAO did not identify the vulnerable labs, the AP has previously identified their locations as Atlanta and San Antonio.” [View article]

NRC Wants to License Nuclear Industrial Gauges The Nuclear Regulatory Commission wants to require an estimated 1,400 owners of about 1,800 devices—mainly fixed industrial gauges—to apply for licenses. The devices— such as gas chromatographs, static eliminators, and ice detectors—typically contain radioactive material in a shielded, sealed housing. [View press release]

International News

Australia Disrupts Plotted Suicide Attack on Army Base (Australian) “A plot by Islamic extremists in Melbourne to launch a suicide attack on an Australian Army base has been uncovered by national security agencies,” reports the Australian. “Four men—all Australian citizens—were arrested … in the second-largest counter-terrorism operation in the nation’s history.… About 400 police raided homes in” Melbourne, its suburbs, and southwestern Victoria. The group was “preparing to storm an Australian Army base, using automatic weapons, as punishment for Australia’s military involvement in Muslim countries” and “to kill as many soldiers as possible before they [were] themselves killed.” [View article]

Interpol Seeks 13 Mumbai Terror Suspects (London Telegraph) “Interpol has issued a global alert for 13 suspects wanted by police in Pakistan in connection with the investigation into the Mumbai terrorist attacks in India,” reports the Telegraph. “The alert asks Interpol member countries to assist in locating the individuals and immediately notify their bureau in Islamabad, Pakistan and headquarters in Lyon, France with any investigative leads.” [View article]

India Gives Three Death Sentences for 2003 Bombing (BBC) “A court in India has sentenced to death three people for carrying out bombings that killed more than 50 people in Mumbai (Bombay) in 2003,” reports the British Broadcasting Corporation. “Haneef Sayyed, his wife Fahmeeda and Ashrat Ansari were convicted last month of murder and conspiracy.” [View article]

Afghan Government Map Shows Dire Security Picture (Reuters) “A secret Afghan government map … shows [that] 133 of Afghanistan’s 356 districts are regarded as high-risk areas with at least 13 under ‘enemy control,’” reports Reuters. “The map, which bears the logos of Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry and the army as well as the United Nations Department of Safety and Security, was produced in April 2009, before a dramatic escalation of violence ahead of the August 20 ballot.” [View article]

India Draws Up Guidelines to Manage Chemical Attacks (Yahoo! News) India has released “national guidelines on the Management of Chemical Terrorism Disaster,” which were “compiled by the National Disaster Management Authority,” reports the Indo Asian News Service. The “guidelines deal with several issues like counter-terrorism strategies, surveillance and environmental monitoring, prevention of illegal trafficking of hazardous waste, and human resource development, which includes education and training, knowledge management and community awareness.” [View article]

Ammonia Leak Tests Emergency Response in Mongolia (Window of China) “A total of 202 people fell ill Wednesday after an ammonia gas leak at a pharmaceutical plant in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,” reports the Xinhua News Agency. “… 21 people were hospitalized and the 181 others remained under hospital observation. No one died … People within 2 km downwind of the leak were evacuated.” [View article]

EU Wants Reciprocal Access to Bank Records (Los Angeles Times) The European Union “eventually wants access to banking data in the United States in return for U.S. access to European bank transfers to track funds supporting terror groups,” reports the Associated Press. “… EU nations on Monday backed the expansion of the bloc’s anti-terror cooperation with the United States to give U.S. Treasury investigators access to European operation centers of SWIFT, the global electronic payments consortium used by banks worldwide.” [View article]

State and Local News

Little Help for Mentally Ill in Post-Katrina New Orleans (Washington Times) “A special New Orleans Police Crisis Unit, the only one of its kind in the nation, that responds to 911 calls and transports mental patients to hospitals … is fighting a worsening crisis of Katrina-related mental illness” among “New Orleans residents who were pushed over the edge by the terror and turmoil of the storm and have been unable to recover, emotionally or mentally,” reports the Washington Times in a three-part series this week. A shortage of help “is about to become even more acute with the scheduled closing Sept. 1 of the New Orleans Adolescent Hospital”—“the city’s only public hospital still providing inpatient services for the mentally ill.” (See the Quote of the Week and Statistics of the Week.) Last month the Government Accountability Office noted that “barriers to mental health services for children persist in greater New Orleans.” (See the July 24 newsletter.) [View part 1] [View part 2] [View part 3]

Pennsylvania Gym Gunman Revealed Plans Online (CNN) On Tuesday, a Pennsylvania man with a hatred for women “walked into a gym aerobics class and opened fire, killing three women and wounding nine before turning the gun on himself,” reports CNN. His plans were revealed in “an online diary, as well as notes at the scene and at his home.” [View article]

Michigan Gets Northern Border Security Center (Detroit News) “The federal government” will “set up a first-of-its-kind … northern border security intelligence among the U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S. Coast Guard, the [Customs and] Border Protection Air and Marine, the Michigan State Police and Canadian counterparts” at “Selfridge Air National Guard Base” in Michigan, reports the Detroit News. [View article]

DHS and States Test ‘Virtual USA’ for Real-Time View of Emergencies (Federal News Radio) “Virtual Alabama—a program created by the Alabama state Homeland Security Department using a Google Earth platform to give first responders a real time view of what is happening”—“has been widely recognized and has won scores of national awards,” reports Federal News Radio. Now, in a test program “called a Regional Operations Platform Pilot,” the “states of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas,” Florida, Georgia, and Virginia “are sharing things such as data, software code and best practices” in cooperation with the Homeland Security Department. “All 50 states” may “have some sort of pilot program within the next two to three years.” [View article]

8th Suspect Named in North Carolina Jihad Case (Seattle Times) “Authorities are looking for an eighth suspect, 20-year-old Jude Kenan Mohammad,” in addition to the seven men who “were arrested and charged last week with plotting to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons in a foreign country,” reports the Seattle Times. (See last week’s newsletter.) [View article]

‘Dirty Bomb’ Drill in New York Harbor (CNN) Eight “federal, state and municipal agencies staged an elaborate drill in the waters off New York City on Tuesday to prepare for the possibility of a nuclear or dirty-bomb attack from the water,” reports CNN. Eight boats crossed “a checkpoint set up by authorities,” who “were on the lookout for abnormally high concentrations of radioactivity—a telltale sign of an improvised nuclear device or a radiological dispersal device, more familiarly known as a dirty bomb. Some of the boats were decoys with no radioactive substances aboard, while others had actual radioactive isotopes planted in them.” [View article]

Iowa Pioneers Text-to-911 Gateway (Government Computer News) “A national text-to-911 gateway” went live Wednesday “in Iowa, making the county of Black Hawk the first in the nation to accept text messages into its emergency call center,” reports Government Computer News. [View article]

New York 9/11 Survivors Still Show Higher Rates of Post-Traumatic Stress (USA Today) “People who were heavily exposed to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center had elevated risks of developing post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms even five years later, about four times that of the general public,” reports the Associated Press, citing a “study by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene … The study contained better news about asthma. While those who developed respiratory symptoms soon after the attacks were still being diagnosed with asthma some years later, rates among people who first showed symptoms after 2003 were consistent with normal asthma rates.” [View article]

WMATA photo

National News

Schools Work to Reduce Security Risks (Security Management) “School threats can range from smaller scale and predictable to unfathomable,” reports Security Management, which “interviewed experts around the country to get a snapshot of the security technologies and strategies being used to mitigate this formidable range of risks.” The August cover story discusses access control, training, trust, emergency preparedness, community involvement, and budgets. [View article]

Education The HOMELAND SECURITY STUDIES AND ANALYSIS INSTITUTE lists these education programs as a service to readers who may be interested; it does not endorse them or their courses. New education listings are posted for four weeks. Tank Car Training: Safety and Incident Response (August 17–September 4; Knoxville and Chattanooga, TN) Two 4-hour classes each day combine classroom and hands-on training in safety when working around tracks and rail equipment and responding to incidents involving hazardous materials transported by rail tank car. Each Friday there is an exercise with the local hazmat response teams. All emergency responders are invited to these free classes presented by DuPont, Transcaer, and Norfolk Southern. [View class website] Special Needs Shelter Planning Basics (August 12; Arlington, VA) This class discusses how to leverage existing capabilities and resources to care for the medically fragile shelter population in a disaster, focusing on pre-identifying locations to be used as special needs shelters. [View class website] Incident Management: A Practical Approach (September 15; Arlington, VA) This overview of incident command and management systems is designed for those working in the private and public sectors. It covers the principles of incident preparedness, response, and recovery, for both natural disasters and man-made events. This workshop uses group interaction and hands-on, scenario-based mechanisms for practical, comprehensive learning and organizational sharing. [View class website] Field Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties (September 20-24; Aberdeen, MD) This course is conducted by the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense. It is designed for Medical Service Corps officers and noncommissioned officers in medical or chemical specialties. It comprises classroom, laboratory, and field training. [View course website] Photo courtesy of Norfolk Southern Norfolk Southern Whistle-Stop Tour (Hazmat Training) (September 22-26; Buffalo, NY; Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo, OH; Charleston, WV) The tour brings emergency preparedness training to response organizations and educates communities near major rail routes about rail equipment, chemical transportation, and the importance of planning for potential hazardous material transportation emergencies. State and local emergency planning committees, emergency responders, and government officials can participate in free hands-on drills and training sessions. [View class website] Hazmat Training for Firefighters and Police (October 2-3; Fort Worth, TX) Free parallel classes for firefighters and police will cover topics such as self-protection, accident investigation, and fire and foam. Continuing education credits are available. [View class website] All-Hazards Regional Evacuation Plans (October 20; Arlington, VA) Using proven planning methodologies, this interactive workshop will provide guidance on how consensus can be developed around a regional vision and provide creative and innovative solutions in support of the region’s goals and priorities for an evacuation plan. [View class website] Transcaer Chlorine Response Training (October 28; Memphis, TN) Sponsored by the Chlorine Institute, Union Pacific Railroad, and Transcaer, this will be a free full-day training session for first responders and others seeking information on response to chemical emergencies with specific emphasis on chlorine. The activities will combine classroom training with hands-on segments. [View class website]

New Upcoming Events (Events are listed for four weeks; after that, they are still on the Upcoming Events page) 10th Annual Hazardous Materials Conference (August 11-13; Provo, UT) This conference covers numerous specific hazmat topics and offers a hazmat technician refresher course and 8 hours of hazmat awareness with certification. [View event website] Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals National Conference (August 30–September 2; San Diego) This year’s theme is “Environmental Health, Safety, Security—Steering a Course for Sustainability.” Besides professional speakers and insider tours, the conference will offer an educational emergency response scenario involving bomb, chlorine spill, and sarin dispersion incidents at the USS Midway. [View event website] (September 2-3; Reston, VA) This learning and networking event offers an opportunity to gather with peers across disciplines and responsibilities to study and share lessons learned and to honor heroes who risk their own lives using the helicopter to save lives. [View event website] Homeland Security Symposium & Exhibition (September 9-10; Arlington, VA) This year’s theme is “Building a Resilient & Sustainable Homeland—Public & Private Sector Partners Serving America.” The symposium will assemble leaders from the new Administration (DHS, the Pentagon, and other executive branch members), state and local governments, and the private sector, along with leading opinion leaders and experts, to address pressing issues facing today’s homeland. [View event website] Protecting America Against Permanent Continental Shutdown From Electromagnetic Pulse (September 8-10; Niagara Falls, NY) The conference will bring in “the most knowledgeable minds in the world about EMP” (electromagnetic pulse). Scheduled speakers include congressional leaders, Defense Department experts, and other experts on EMP. The conference offers better understanding of EMP’s impact and features proactive, hands-on ideas to protect infrastructure. (See also the Website of the Week.) [View event website] (September 21-24; Anaheim, CA) This year’s theme is “Security Never Sleeps.” The conference will offer innovations, information, and connections. It will present next-generation security technologies and services, along with opportunities to talk directly to the experts, gain new insights and hone skills through the education program, connect with colleagues from around the globe, share new ideas, and build professional networks. [View event website] Virginia Hazardous Materials Conference (October 19-23; Hampton, VA) This year’s theme is “HazMat Synergy: Working Smarter During Tough Times”—hazardous materials incidents are not slowed by the faltering economy, and emergency services are stressed during tough economic times, dealing with budget shortfalls. Workshop content can be applied to the annual training hours required of hazardous materials response personnel. Individual scholarships are available. [View event website] (October 20-21; Long Beach, CA) The theme of the 8th Annual Maritime Security Expo is “Weathering the Perfect Storm: Faltering Economies, Piracy, Climate Change and Maritime Security Regulations.” The expo is co-sited with the All Hazards Forum and Expo. [View event website] All Hazards Forum and Expo (October 20-21; Long Beach, CA) The forum and expo will focus on earthquakes, floods, fires, tsunamis, mudslides, and other natural disasters common to the Pacific coast. They will address emergency planning and preparedness, response and recovery, public safety communications, information sharing and intelligence, critical infrastructure protection, law enforcement, and health and medical readiness. The event is co-sited with the Maritime Security Expo. [View event website] (October 22-23) This conference will focus on how to fight unlawful acts (such as piracy) without penalizing the economy. It will identify the operational priorities for progress and investment that will help in developing maritime and port economies. [View event website] (October 22-25; Houston) Hotzone will train and equip local, state, and federal responders for safe, coordinated, and efficient response to releases of hazardous materials that threaten public health and the environment. The target audience is local fire, police, emergency management personnel, emergency medical services, health care providers, and state and federal response personnel who participate directly in the incident command system or in its immediate support at the scene of a hazmat response or terrorist event in Federal Region 6, but it is open for anyone to attend. [View event website] Conference & Exhibition (October 28-30; The Hague, Netherlands) The annual CBRNe Convergence conference and exhibition brings together chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosives professionals from around the world to discuss and learn best practices. [View event website]