DSI’s Joint Civil and DoD CBRN Symposium to explore government-wide approaches to defense, response and recovery

Homeland security stakeholders will gather on March 5-6 in Virginia at the 6th Annual Joint Civil and Department of Defense (DoD) Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Symposium, where participants will have the opportunity to discuss challenges and improvements to the nation’s CBRN defense, readiness, response and recovery posture.

The event, presented by the Defense Strategies Institute (DSI), will be held at the Mary M. Gates Learning Center in Alexandria, Va.

The symposium will give DoD members; federal, state, and local government officials; private industry leaders; academic experts; and other CBRN stakeholders an open forum to learn about initiatives to strengthen CBRN defense. In addition, updates will be given on the research, development, test and evaluation of defense equipment used to provide assistance to first responders and state and local governments in response to CRBN events.

This year’s agenda will examine the growth of technologies associated with CBRN defense and readiness, the enabling of real time, decisive response at multiple levels of leadership, and the development of medical countermeasures to limit adverse health effects of CBRN incidents. The forum will also include topics related to improved CBRN response capabilities, such as better defined strategies for enhanced first responder action in the event of a CBRN incident.

Over the course of the two-day symposium, speakers will include Guy Roberts, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense; Department of Homeland Security’s James McDonnell, Acting Assistant Secretary for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction; and Master General Richard J. Gallant of the United States Army, Commander of the Joint Task Force Civil Support, United States Northern Command.

Highlights of the event include a discussion on March 5 entitled: “Strengthening Homeland Security Resliency and Preparedness Against CB Threats.” Addressing topics such as CB threat awareness, surveillance, detection and ressponsive countermeasures will be John W. Fischer, director of the Chemical Biological Defense Division of the DHS Science and Technology Directorate.

Among the sessions scheduled for March 6 will be a panel discussion on “Improving Domestic CBRN Response and Recovery Capabilities,” moderated by Jim Stahlman, director of Domestic CBRN Response, OSD Policy, Homeland Defense and Global Security. The panel will focus on improving CBRN response and recovery capabilities to ensure that forces have the training needed to act and help limit adverse health effects after a CBRN incident. Panelists include: Sean Crawford, the CBRN director at FEMA; 
LTC Martin F. Spellacy, CBRN capabilities analyst, J81, National Guard Bureau; Nicholas Del Re, Chief in Charge of the New York City Fire Department’s HazMat operations; and Jeffrey Muller, director of the CBRNE Global Alliance.

The event will be structured in a town hall format, providing attendees the opportunity to address panel speakers with questions and comments.

Considered an educational and training forum, the DSI Symposium is complimentary to all DoD, federal, state, and local government employees. Industry and academia members will be charged a fee for admission.

For more information, to register or to download the agenda for the symposium, visit http://jointcbrn.dsigroup.org