Looking out for the Homeland

So much for fighting them over there…

Apparently we have trouble brewing here…

[[Military Commander Believes Al-Qaida Cells In U.S.
July 24, 2007
The military commander in charge of defending the U.S. homeland says that he believes that there are Al-Qaida cells in the U.S. or people working to create them.
Air Force General Victor Renuart says that while the terrorist threat has increased in the past year, so has intelligence sharing, specifically in matters of port authority. Renuart is head of the U-S Northern Command.
He says the military should create two more brigade-size units to respond to nuclear, chemical and biological incidents. Currently,
there is only one.
Renuart's comments comes following last week's intelligence report that said Al-Qaida is using its growing strength in the middle east to plot attacks in the U.S]]
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And six years later we still haven’t gotten our stuff together….

Per Navy Times:
Officials: Disaster response training needed
By Marissa DeCuir - Gannett News Service

[[WASHINGTON — Military officials say they are prepared to effectively respond to predictable disasters. But for the erratic ones, training and equipment still need a boost, a Senate panel learned Thursday.
Army Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, National Guard bureau chief, said there is still “no state” equipped or prepared to respond to something such as a nuclear attack, an event Sen. Joe Lieberman said is not far-fetched.
Blum told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that surrounding states and the federal government would have to offer “immediate” support.
Lieberman cited the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes as an example.
“Almost two years ago, Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed the government response system that was shockingly unprepared,” said Lieberman, I-Conn.
The military officials agreed they are prepared for predictable disasters because they know when and where to move resources.
The goal now is to lessen the “time of chaos” after a disaster, said Air Force Gen. Victor Renuart Jr., commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command.
Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, said he was concerned that the military does not have aircraft capable of putting out wildfires, particularly in his state. Stevens said the military either needs to build new planes or modify old ones to get the ability.
“When are we going to wake up?” Stevens asked.
The military officials said they have made progress in preparing for the 2007 hurricane season. They said exercises in which military personnel are put through disaster scenarios increased awareness of potential problems they could face.
“Our role is to plan for those shortfalls and fill in those gaps,” Renuart said. “Not when (states) call for it, but to be prepared for it before.”
Blum said National Guardsmen are better prepared for homeland defense, but the groundwork isn’t over.
“There will always be room for improvement,” he said. “We will never get it perfect.”]]
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Per the Houston Chronicle
[[Renuart said he has been working to improve the interaction between his office and the other intelligence agencies to ensure that information on terror threats is shared. That way, he said, the military will better be able to anticipate how terrorists might try to take advantage of any gaps or weaknesses in the system.
At the same time, he said it will be at least two years before he is able to pull together the military units he needs to better respond to a chemical, biological or nuclear disaster in the U.S.
The units, he said, could include active duty, reserves or National Guard troops. And while portions of the brigades will be located in different states, they will be expected to train together and to be able to respond quickly to a disaster.]]
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Per Gazzette:
[[The Pentagon’s ability to help civil authorities respond to a disaster or terrorist attack is hobbled by a “fractured national communication system” that remains an impediment six years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the nation’s homeland defense leader said this week.

Testifying before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Thursday, Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart said communications problems make it more likely federal forces will be needed in a regional disaster.

“Whether responding to a disaster of natural or manmade origins, collaboration among interagency partners at all levels of government is built upon the cornerstone of communications,” Renuart said.

But six years after communications breakdowns kept rescuers in the dark on Sept. 11, “our nation continues to struggle with two distinct communications issues: interoperability and survivability,” he said.

Problems stem from lack of policies for purchase of compatible equipment, standard operating procedures and planning.

Although some agencies are compatible with their neighbors, “a multijurisdictional incident of significant magnitude will continue to expose communications deficiencies that lead to a breakdown in collaboration precisely when it is needed most,” Renuart said.

“The absence of a standardized, federally mandated national response communications network, governed by consistent equipment and operational standards, increases the likelihood and requirement for federal support,” he said.

Renuart said the government’s practice of doling out grant money without guidance for equipment and standards “further exacerbates the existing situation.”

Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced $968 million in public safety interoperable communications grants to help state and local first responders improve communications and coordination. No mention was made of national standards.]]
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This is my place

I had a blog but took it down for I did not wish certain ones to see the words I had written, words of my heart...words from my heart. So today this is my place to put my thoughts and ideas about this world we live in. I have missed it so!

If there were dreams to sell,
Do I not know full well
What I would buy?
Hope's dear elusive spell,
It's happy tale to tell.
Joys's fleeting sigh.

-Louise Chandler Moulton
[1835-1908]
If There Were Dreams To Sell