First Responders
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that New York was awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to enhance security preparedness and anti-terror activities through grant programming in fiscal year 2018.
New York City will receive $178 million under the... Read More »
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced this week that it is working with the Government of Puerto Rico to train emergency and healthcare workers to respond to mass casualty incidents.
FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness is running a four-day training course from May 29 to... Read More »
Marines and first responders with Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF), the Provost Marshal’s Office, and MCAS Miramar Fire Department recently conducted an exercise that simulated a bioterrorism attack at MCAS Miramar, California.
Marines with... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives approved four bills last week that would take steps to enhance protections for law enforcement officers through stricter penalties, additional resources and improved collaboration with local communities.
The Protect and Serve Act, H.R. 5698, aims to prevent... Read More »
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is calling on students and young professionals from around the world to offer new ideas regarding communication around nuclear and radiological emergencies.
Calling the effort the “Young Innovative Communicators Competition,” participants must... Read More »
In the wake of being recently tapped Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Port Director at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Raymond S. Polley is embracing his new post.
“Houston is a great place to be,” Polley said. “I am very happy to be here and look forward to working with the... Read More »
The Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs is conducting a training exercise from May 15-17 in the state simulating a long-term mass power outage.
The training exercise, known as Dark Sky, will take place in Brown, Calumet, Dane, Fond du Lac, Milwaukee, Outagamie, and Winnebago Counties. It is... Read More »
A professional services and technology firm has been awarded a contract to provide combat-ready equipment to Marines worldwide.
KBR, Inc. officials said the contract calls for a modification by the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) to provide prepositioning and logistics support services for the USMC... Read More »
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) staff recently developed virtual reality environments designed to support industry in designing user interfaces for use by first responders.
These interfaces could include visual indicators, sounds or voice commands that could be embedded... Read More »
A regional basic training course offered by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in Panama from April 23-27 allowed first responders from Latin America and the Caribbean to improve chemical incident response capabilities.
Organized jointly by OPCW and the Panamanian... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) recently led a letter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chair John McCain (R-AZ) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI) urging the continuation of funding for modernizing Stryker A1 Vehicles in the fiscal year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.
The funding would... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives recently advanced the Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA), which proposes broad reforms at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
DRRA, introduced by U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA), was included in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, H.R. 4.
DRRA... Read More »
After U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the opioid epidemic the “deadliest drug crisis in our nation’s history” during an address to members of Montana law enforcers on Friday, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) called for support of legislation he introduced to continue critical anti-drug... Read More »
A bipartisan coalition of senators introduced legislation on Friday that would reauthorize the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program through fiscal year 2023 to help law enforcement agencies at all levels hire new personnel and provide training and technical assistance.
In fiscal... Read More »
The U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) would be expanded to include a national program that conducts research and provides resources on school violence across the country.
Named for Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s mascot, the Eagles Act, S. 2759, would... Read More »
The 526th Intelligence Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base (AFB), Nevada, recently hosted an Artificial Intelligence and Design Thinking seminar at AFWERX Vegas, which more than 100 Airmen, contractors, and Department of Defense employees attended.
AFWERX Vegas, a branch of DEFENSEWERX, is a... Read More »
More than 1,000 private-sector stakeholders recently took part in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cyber Storm VI training exercise featuring a simulated cyber crisis.
The multi-sector training scenario enabled stakeholders to vet cybersecurity training, policies, procedures,... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials in Philadelphia have developed some innovative partnerships and processes to reduce the damage of pests on perishable produce coming into the United States.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, invasive species cause $138 billion... Read More »
The 14th annual Heads of National Central Bureaus (NCBs) Conference held this week focused on the role NCBs play in supporting technological and strategic innovation in law enforcement.
Attending the three-day meeting, 295 senior police officials from 145 countries explored the theme “NCBs:... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps reevaluate fighter pilot squadron requirements.
Officials said the GAO’s assessment and recommendation stems from the Air Force, Navy Marine Corps having gaps between the actual numbers of fighter... Read More »
A mobile, laptop-based intelligence program created by the Raytheon Company has become the focus of the U.S. Army, in an effort to give soldiers greater battlefield information collection and access.
The program is commercially available currently, but the Army wishes to see the FoXTEN system... Read More »
A bipartisan group of 41 senators called for at least $225.5 million in funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program in the fiscal year 2019 federal budget on Wednesday.
Hiring grants administered through the COPS program can be used by state, local and tribal law... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is putting its capabilities for transferring patients with highly infectious diseases to the test this week with the largest patient movement exercise in the department’s history.
It is a nationwide test that will be conducted by more... Read More »
Reps. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) and Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI) recently introduced a bill designed to strengthen civil defense preparedness in Hawaii and across the country.
Gabbard and Hanabusa said the Civil Defense Preparedness Act of 2018 would expand existing Department of Homeland Security (DHS)... Read More »
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Radiological Assistance Program (RAP) teams from across the country recently underwent classroom and field training as part of the Radiological Assistance Program Training for Emergency Response (RAPTER) in Las Vegas.
“RAP team members are often... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) hosted an exhibit focusing on how science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills can contribute to national defense at the USA Science & Engineering Festival at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., last week.
The... Read More »
As part of a simulation last year, digital disaster services volunteers from Whatcom County, Washington, and the Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada, practiced discerning fact from fiction online to keep responders informed during the hypothetical eruption of Mt. Baker, an active volcano... Read More »
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the arrest of 24 alleged members of MS-13 and other transnational criminal gangs in the Long Island and Hudson Valley areas of New York on Thursday.
The arrests were made under Operation Matador, a joint initiative launched in May 2017 by... Read More »
AT&T and the First Responder Network Authority announced the launch of the FirstNet network core on Tuesday, a critical step in establishing the first dedicated public safety communications platform for first responders.
Serving as the brain of Firstnet, the LTE evolved packet network core... Read More »
United States preparedness against terrorist attacks from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) agents includes prep and planning for the public, as well as for the first responders who will be on the front lines during a catastrophic emergency event.
Dr. Robert Kadlec, Assistant... Read More »
The DoD Information Warfare Symposium presented by the Defense Strategies Institute will take place on March 28-29 at the Mary M. Gates Learning Center in Alexandria, Virginia. Designed for members of the Department of Defense, federal government, private industry, academia, and other stakeholders,... Read More »
The DoD Information Warfare Symposium presented by the Defense Strategies Institute will take place on March 28-29 at the Mary M. Gates Learning Center in Alexandria, Virginia. Designed for members of the Department of Defense, federal government, private industry, academia, and other stakeholders,... Read More »
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) first responders recently expanded their chemical incidents training acumen in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The training was jointly run by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Bangladesh National Authority for... Read More »
The DoD Information Warfare Symposium presented by the Defense Strategies Institute will take place on March 28-29 at the Mary M. Gates Learning Center in Alexandria, Virginia. Designed for members of the Department of Defense, federal government, private industry, academia, and other stakeholders,... Read More »
The Department of Defense (DoD) Information Warfare Symposium, which will be held March 28-29 at the Mary M. Gates Learning Center in Alexandria, Va., will create an open space for dialogue regarding current and future efforts to converge the use of cyber, electronic warfare, and information... Read More »
