Homeland Security Professionals

Comment

Comment by Captain Stuart White on December 26, 2009 at 7:24am

The Defense Interaction Intelligence Agency (DIIA) is running a number of homeland security and emergency response reports on http://www.diia.info

Comment by Meir Amarin on August 4, 2009 at 3:00am

Joe,

Many thanks for sharing and contributing.

Thanks again,

Meir

Comment by Chairman Day on July 11, 2009 at 2:45pm

What is the latest maritime technology for ports?

Comment by Buck Hamilton on June 10, 2009 at 5:42am

Sure...it's always good to review. Also, the courses change from one year to the next.

Comment by Jeremy on June 9, 2009 at 9:13pm

Buck,
Your are right, there are not enough experts. For sometime I was taking online courses through FEMA in the Emergency Management section. I studied the ICS, IC, CP, NIMS, EMAC, etc. I have to tell you, that there is a lot of stuff that I don't remember. I have some of my lessons printed out and even has cetificates of the courses that I passed. So while I ask questions, I think it wise for me to go back and study what I have forgotten.
Back to taking online courses.

Comment by Jeremy on June 9, 2009 at 8:56pm

Hello everyone,
Thank You for your replies to my concerns here.
Jeremy

Comment by Buck Hamilton on June 9, 2009 at 3:19pm

Here are my West Texas Rules for Disasters which I use as talking points when I'm talking preparedness:

- "The Plan is Nothing, Planning is Everything"
- The disaster that happens is not the one you are prepared for
- There are never enough "Experts" so study & train
- Flexibility is probably your greatest asset and training your
greatest tool
- Everyone should learn the drill
- The first response is always personal

Comment by Steve VanDegrift on June 9, 2009 at 2:18pm

Jeremy,

Yes, it is dependent on the contaminant involved. For CBRNE weapons, decontamination of assets run the whole gamut from easy to impossible. However, radiological and biological contaminants are particulate, and therefore, removable. Chemical agents can be particulate and removable, or liquid/vapor in nature, and very challenging or impossible to remove.

Though technically challenging, radiological decon isn't too hard to do, and easily verifiable. Most Bio weapons can also be removed from assets without significant risk or damage to the equipment unless the contaminant has manage to get to internal parts. Chemical weapons will be the most challenging. Many chemical weapons are designed to penetrate surfaces, even the paint on vehicles. Once that penetration has occurred, vapors continue to be released and there is very little chance of getting it all.

Most companies that produce and sell detection equipment are aware of these challenges and make every effort to design their detectors to be inexpensive and single use, or to have covers/housings that can be removed and replaced with relative ease and little/moderate expense.

Planners, logistics people and incident commanders fully expect to lose some assets in the types of responses that CBRNE presents. Most agencies have a "snatch and grab" policy for the initial entry team in order to save as many victims as possible. These initial responders are not charged with detection and identification of the contaminant. They usually don't carry much into the scene other than a four gas meter, some ph paper and maybe a gamma radiation detector. It is the follow-on teams that will be doing the surveying with more sophisticated instruments. Those teams will not enter the scene until an entry plans and evacuation conditions have been established. These teams will not be in any hurry and can exercise procedures to minimize the chance of equipment contamination.

The ICS will help commanders, and all responders, minimize risks to themselves and their equipment. Exercises and lessons learned reports from actual events help to identify potential problems for future incidents. Thankfully, we have gotten much better at learning from the past.

Steve

Comment by Buck Hamilton on June 9, 2009 at 8:56am

You're right on. The disaster that happens is not the one you planned for and it's training and flexibility that gets you through the first hours. The Civil Support Teams and others will all have to move to your location and that takes time.

Comment by kristen on June 8, 2009 at 8:08am

Jeremy, no one is ever a 100% prepared for anything but we know that the more exposure we have to certain types of situations, the calmer we will be when facing them. Exercising and drilling give us a basic understanding for how we should respond during a disaster, even if the disaster is diffferent from what we have practiced before. A CBRNE situation is going to be handled according to the agent, yet the response plan will be familiar to one that has been exercised before, therefore making the responders less likely to panic when it happens. Everytime you drill or exercise, you see something new and learn better ways of responding. Thats the point. So when the stuff really does hit the fan, you know how and where to report and what will be expected of you. Whether real or practice, everytime is different but at least you will have a baseline of knowledge to operate from. As far as equipment goes, there are steps and procedures in place for the destruction and or replacement of equipment. Ask any Hazmat team, they can tell you what happens to fire trucks and responder vehicles once they are contaminated. It all is dependant on the contaminant involved. These things have been thought about in depth and planned for. As far as responders, anyone who is trained to be a responder will know to follow ICS and report to command. thats what keeps them safe, Working the way you have trained keeps you safe. Is it a 100% effective? Again, nothing ever is, but we know that it does work when utilized properly. Joesph is correct in that the state you live in and the Dept. of Homeland Security have websites that you can browse that may answer some of your concerns.

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