REPORT: DEVELOPING FIRST RESPONDER CAPABILITY

According to National Defense Magazine, law enforcement agencies are increasingly turning to military training programs to prepare themselves for terrorist attacks. These exercises simulate a host of urban combat situations that were once largely the province of SWAT. 

Developing a robust first responder capability is crucial, as the first line of defense against terrorism and "street insurgency" is the local beat cop. As William S. Lind notes, this could account for police interest in learning about alternative strategic theory. I can attest to this, having met several policemen working in gang intelligence units who had studied John Boyd’s "Patterns of Conflict" slides on Defense and the National Interest.

However, these simulations in themselves aren’t enough. Free-play exercises, tactical decision games, and vigorous red-team exercises are needed in order to build the kind of organizational flexibility required for dealing with asymmetric threats. A presidential candidate looking to get ahead of the pack on national security would be well advised to pitch a plan about funding more free-ranging and immersive exercises to help better prepare America’s first responders.

Comments

[deichmans]

Adam,

Good post -- and your assessment of first-responder training being militaryesque is very apt. I posted on this topic a couple months ago after completing a battery of on-line and in-residence (night) classes on the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS). ICS is nearly identical to any number of staff training programs for military organizations, with common doctrinal antecedents. Your ideas for extending these programs are good, and hopefully someone from DHS is perusing these 'blogs. :-)

sf/ shane

[deichmans]

Looks like my HTML embedded link on my August post did not take. Here's the URL:

http://oz.deichman.net/2007/08/be-prepared_27.html

[A.E.]

Shane,

Thanks for your praise. I will definitely look into the disaster program more--it sounds like a step in the right direction.

[MountainRunner]

More local, check out a DHS event focused on First Respnders in Los Angeles this January (Jan '08): http://www.ndia.org/meetings/8690/.

BTW- on the the first Monday, I'm hosting two panels, one on Science as Diplomacy and the other on Blogging on S&T. (Both are currently disguised as Blogging on S&T because DHS politics, so don't tell anybody about the Science as Diplomacy panel.)

[A.E.]

Oh, very good. I've got it marked on my calendar.