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ICE3
Homeland Security Solutions for America’s First Responders
John Wesley Anderson
On September 11, 2001, at 8:48 a.m. Eastern Standard Time,
the world as we knew it changed forever. The worst terrorist
attack in history had begun with a hijacked commercial airliner
crashing into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New
York City. People the world over stopped and witnessed the heroic
efforts of the first responding police and fire units and
wondered how this tragedy could have occurred. Most
questioned whether this catastrophe was an unfortunate accident
or some unimaginable deliberate act.
We didn’t have to wait long to find out. Fifteen minutes later,
at 9:03 a.m. EST, a second hijacked jet slammed into the south
tower, ending any speculation that this disaster was anything
but accidental. At 9:43 a.m. EST, a third hijacked
jet impacted the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. And at 10:10 a.m.
EST, a fourth commercial jetliner plowed into an abandoned quarry
in rural Pennsylvania, as several incredibly brave passengers
struggled to regain control of their hijacked aircraft . The
last words of passengers frantically calling loved ones by cell
phones will stir the emotions of Americans for centuries to
come.
These acts of international terrorism deliberately struck the
very heart of America’s economic, military, and political centers.
Not since the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, had
the events of a single morning changed America. The President
was swift to act and declared a global “War on Terrorism.” The
response of the U.S. Military was integrated, coordinated, and
it exploited all of our national capabilities.
At the national level the President established the Office of
Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense created the
Northern Command to provide for the security and defense of
America. However, this war is being fought on two fronts. America’s
First Responders—the Nation’s fire and crime fighters—will stand
alongside her war fighters to face our enemies. And although
the U.S. military is well prepared to fight this War on Terrorism,
America’s First Responders are not as well prepared.
Solutions
To be successful, America’s First Responders need only to follow
the lead of our Nation’s military. When Pearl Harbor was attacked,
the U.S. military forces were ranked the 29th most powerful
military in the world. Today, the combined power of the American
military forces is unparalleled. The United States Military
is undeniably the world’s most powerful military, leaving our
enemies the only option available to strike against America:
asymmetrical warfare or terrorism.
The model that established the U.S. military’s dominance included
a partnership of political, corporate, and national will. In
addition, over the past sixty years, America has been blessed
with the some of the finest military leaders world history has
ever known. The formula for America’s First Responders success
must include a commitment toward the Integration, Coordination,
and Exploitation (ICE3) of our national capabilities.
Integration means “to make into a whole, unify; to join with
something else; unite. Coordination refers to the act of coordinating
or the state of being coordinated. Exploitation means to utilize
fully or advantageously. Cubed means to raise (a quantity or
number) to the third power.
Integration: 3D Information Technology
An advanced robust IT architecture must be created to allow
first responders to function in a three-dimensional (terrestrial,
airborne, and space based) integrated digital environment with
the inclusion of the forth dimension (time). Nearly all
crime fighter and fire fighter IT systems are “stove-piped,”
meaning they do not provide for the “fusion” of data. Information
systems must provide for a horizontal flow of information and
be time sensitive (past, near real-time, present or future).
Coordination: C5ISR
Coordination (the fifth “C”) must be added to the components
of command, control, communications and computers, intelligence,
surveillance, and recognizance (C4ISR). First responders understand
command and control. Most first responders have been trained
and are committed to the principles of an Incident Command Structure
(ICS). They all have emergency radio communication capabilities
and computers. The problem is interoperability.
Exploitation: TENCAPII
The war fighter in Operation Desert Storm clearly benefited
by an initiative that began several years earlier known as the
Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities (TENCAP). The
premise was that if America were to send her young men and women
off to war, they would be sent with the finest war fighting
capabilities this nation had to offer. The intent of a TENCAP
II would be to create the same level of commitment to develop
advanced technologies and capabilities on the “civilian” front
for the benefit of the fire fighter and crime fighter engaged
in this War on Terrorism.
Cubed
The U.S. military has long recognized that technology is a force
multiplier. Any of the three initiatives stated above would
advance the capabilities of the crime fighter and fire fighter.
However, were the elements of ICE to be raised to a higher power,
a three-dimensional power, these solutions become an even greater
force multiplier.
FEMA
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has played an
important role in national disasters over the past several decades.
With the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security, under
which FEMA now resides, it will play an even larger role in
the future. The FEMA footprint of Mitigation, Preparedness,
Response, and Recovery will continue to lead the way for first
responders at both the local and state level.
Mitigation
An initial assessment concerning the vulnerabilities of our
federal key assets from future acts of terrorism (e.g.,transportation,
water, power, and communication systems) is presently underway.
However, at the state and local level, much needs to be done
to prevent or minimize the risk of loss (of both lives and property).
“Target hardening” efforts must focus on strategic initiative
to reduce our exposure to risk, and where the risk cannot be
eliminated, steps should be taken to mitigate the loss (i.e.,
built-in redundancies).
Preparedness
The first responder focus in the near term will be in the training
and equipping of our emergency response personnel. The modeling,
simulation, and analysis (MS&A) in preparedness for catastrophic
events need to occur at the local levels, with special consideration
given to community-wide responses. Even though significant federal
assets exist, local emergency first responders will be heavily
engaged for at least the initial one to four hours.
Response
The inability of emergency response personnel to coordinate
their responses on a secure, wireless emergency communication
system was painfully apparent in crises such as the Columbine
High School shooting (April 1999), the escape and capture
of the Texas Seven (January 2001), and the September 11th terrorist
attack to name a few. Each of these events, as well as future
significant events, will require a coordinated response
from local, state, and federal first responders and secondary
response agencies.
Recovery
There is much to be learned and shared concerning the recovery
from significant events. Knowledge gained from recovery will
better prepare first responders for future events and help in
the mitigation efforts. Case studies of significant events will
assist in saving lives as well as reduce the dollars spent for
response and recovery efforts.
Conclusion
As a nation, we owe our first responders strong support to ensure
that they will be successful in completing the missions we ask
them to accomplish. Solution providers in corporate America
can play an important role in helping to leverage our national
capabilities in support of the fire fighter and crime fighter.
With the standup of the military’s Northern Command, located
in Colorado Springs, the ability to coordinate a response to
an international terrorist threat within America’s homeland
is even more critical, as the response may require a joint action
by both military and law enforcement personnel. The future payoff
for this effort may extend beyond the risks associated with
acts of international or domestic terrorism; there has always
existed greater risk from natural disasters than from man-made
events. Efforts made to advance first responder capabilities
today will save lives and reduce the property loss of future
catastrophic events.
We would never ask our military men and women to defend America
without every capability our nation has to offer. Advanced
technologies such as robust systems integration, geospatial
imaging, remote sensing, satellite communication capabilities,
GPS, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s), and other aerial and
space-based platforms must be exploited for the benefit of America’s
war fighters as well as her fire fighters and crime fighters.
About the Author
John Wesley Anderson at the time of this writing, was finishing
his second term in office in El Paso County, Colorado, where
he served as Sheriff from 1994 to 2002.
For more information on this article, and full list of references,
please e-mail Francesca Pozzi at fpozzi@ciesin. columbia.edu
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