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March 2014Volume 3, Issue 1

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Border Guardian

Michael J. Fisher

ChiefU.S. Border Patrol

Aerostats O CBRN Decon O Responder Comms O DHS NextGen IT Night Vision O Cargo Screening

Border Threat Prevention and CBRNE Response

Cover / Q&AFeatures

Michael J. Fisher Chief, U.S. Border PatrolU.S. Customs and Border

Protection

16

28

7Whether they are first responders, law enforcement or military, government agencies need decontamination products for personnel and equipment in response to CBRN incidents that are easy to deploy and use, cost effective, and require minimal training.By William murray

Departments Industry Interview2 editor’s PersPective3 FroNtliNe NeWs14 secUritY Watch27 resoUrce ceNter

GordoN KestiNGVice President of Command & Control Systems and Homeland Security SolutionsElbit Systems of America

4carGo screeNiNGFreight is the life blood of the economy, but rapid transit can never be at the expense of security.By Scott NaNce

10NiGht eYesNight vision and thermal imaging capabilities have both been around for some decades, but recently companies have been incorporating them into equipment in ways that add value to the technologies and the information they provide to their users.By Peter BuxBaum

12Next GeNeratioN: eNterPrise coMPUtiNG servicesWith NextGen, DHS is looking to embrace all of the benefits of cloud computing—the agile resource deployment, the ability to pay only for those services that you consume and the cost-savings that come with it, quick deployment of new services, and more.By Scott NaNce

24UP iN the airCBP is receiving and deciding how to use some formidable DoD aerostat assets under two programs. The first is reutilization of tactical aerostats returning from theater. The second is CBP’s takeover of the Tethered Aerostats Radar System (TARS), a strategic border-security system long run by DoD.By HeNry caNaday

March 2014Volume 3, Issue 1BORDER SEcuRity & EmERgEncy PREPaREDnESS

21Effective communication in crisis situations saves lives and money. It enables responders to identify problems more quickly and take corrective action more confidently. By BriaN mcNicoll

resPoNder coMMscBrN decoN

“When you look at how we’ve

identified metrics and how we

assess risk, I think we’re in a better position

to provide a broader situational awareness picture than

we ever have been able to do

heretofore.”

—Michael J. Fisher

With the release of the FY 2015 budget proposal, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is set to receive $38.2 billion. In context, this is about $1 billion less than FY 2014 and almost dead even with funding in FY 2013 (not counting the $11.5 billion supplement they received!). Their budget accounts for about 21 percent of DHS’s overall spending authority.

If enacted, U.S. Border Patrol will actually see a very modest gain over the previous two years—about 2.6 percent more than in FY13.

Within this budget, CBP expects to complete the hiring of about 2,000 new CBP officers, a program started in FY14. They are expecting to receive resources to hire an additional 2,000 officers with FY15 money. The expected metric is faster processing and inspections of passengers and cargo at ports of entry, as well as an increasing rate of seizure of illegal items and people. As a baseline, there are about 21,370 Border Patrol agents and 25,775 CBP officers.

An important take-away from Michael Fisher’s interview (Chief of U.S. Border Patrol) is that numbers for the sake of numbers are not always the best measurement of success. Metrics should look at the numbers and place them in context of the connected actions. Just because one set of numbers goes up is not necessary a bad thing, just as if they go down it is not always an accurate reflection that things are going well. For example, if more people came across the border but those people were assessed to be of lower threat risk to the U.S. then that is certainly better than a lower number crossing the border that represent a higher risk. It really is all about assessing the risks and placing more resources against the higher threats. Creating big numbers may be great for headlines, but they do not necessarily contribute to a real solution.

One budget line item that funds innovation is science & technology, which loses about $148.3 million in FY15 from FY14. Most of the reduction comes from laboratory facilities, but research, development and innovation loses about $8.7 million, which is about 28 percent of its FY15 budget.

Now, after all this, there are huge questions about how close this budget is to what will actually be passed.

EDitOR’S PERSPEctiVE


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March 2014Volume 3, Issue 1

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Border Guardian

Michael J. Fisher

ChiefU.S. Border Patrol

Aerostats O CBRN Decon O Responder Comms O DHS NextGen ITNight Vision O Cargo Screening


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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in partnership with Public Safety Canada and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), officially launched Phase II of the truck cargo pre-inspection pilot at the Peace Bridge crossing between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, N.Y. The pilot is a key deliverable under the Beyond the Border Action Plan issued by President Obama and Prime Minister Harper in 2011.

The United States and Canada are using the pilot to test the concept of conducting CBP primary inspection of U.S.-bound truck cargo in Canada in order to better manage their shared border and improve economic opportunities for both countries.

“The commencement of this pilot is another key Beyond the Border success,” said Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. “The joint efforts of the United States and Canada are key to expediting the secure flow of commerce and improving the economic opportunity of our two countries.”

Deputy Secretary Mayorkas, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the Honourable Steven Blaney, Canada’s Minister of National Defence, the Honourable Robert Nicholson, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and U.S. Representative Brian Higgins attended today’s announcement. Earlier, Deputy Secretary

Mayorkas, Minister Blaney and Minister Nicholson toured the CBP truck cargo pre-inspection area to see first-hand how pre-inspection has the potential to alleviate congestion and allow for faster crossings for travelers and trucks, all in a secure manner.

“The governments of Canada and the U.S. are ensuring the efficient flow of legitimate travelers and goods across our shared border,” said Steven Blaney, minister of public safety and emergency preparedness. “I am pleased with the success of Phase I at the Pacific Highway Crossing in British Columbia and that we are now launching Phase II of this important Beyond the Border Action Plan initiative.”

Phase II of the pilot will test the ability of the pre-inspection process to reduce wait times and border congestion—streamlining the flow of cross-border trade that is vital to both country’s economies. Pre-inspection processing in Canada will include radiation screening and basic primary processing. Secondary inspections, when required, will continue to be conducted in the U.S. port of entry.

Phase I of the initiative, which began June 2013 at the Pacific Highway crossing adjacent to Surrey, British Columbia, determined the feasibility of placing CBP officers on Canadian soil to pre-inspect selected southbound trucks, drivers and cargo prior to arrival into the United States.

compiled by Kmi media Group staffFROntLinE nEWS

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded BAE Systems a prime position on the Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading Edge Solutions II (EAGLE II) contract. BAE Systems is one of 15 primes awarded under the unrestricted track of Functional Category 1 and may compete to provide systems, software, and other IT services and support.

Under the contract, BAE Systems experts will compete to provide a full range of services and solutions to develop, implement and maintain technologies that directly support DHS’s mission and daily business functions. The scope of work includes system and software design, development, implementation and integration, as well as IT system maintenance.

“Our expert team is offering innovative, cost-efficient IT solutions capable of addressing

DHS’s current and future challenges,” said DeEtte Gray, president of BAE Systems’ Intelligence & Security sector. “This award is further evidence of BAE Systems’ position as an industry leader in systems integration, backed by trusted IT and cybersecurity expertise.”

BAE Systems provides intelligence and security services to manage big data, inform big decisions and support big missions. BAE Systems delivers a broad range of solutions and services including systems development, IT, cyber operations and intelligence analysis to enable the U.S. military and government to recognize, manage and defeat threats. The company takes pride in supporting critical national security missions that protect the nation and those who serve.

Smiths Detection has been contracted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to supply it miniaturized technology for fast and comprehensive in-field analysis of unknown suspicious substances at borders and points of entry.

A leader in ruggedizing and downsizing laboratory technology, Smiths Detection makes a range of portable and handheld systems used to identify suspected illegal or threat materials including narcotics, explosives, weapons of mass destruction and toxic industrial chemicals.

Latest product introductions have included HazMatID Elite, a Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FT-IR) which identifies material based on its light absorption, and ACE-ID, a Raman chemical identifier that uses a laser to identify solids and liquids through certain plastics and glass.

Bob Bohn, vice president, U.S. sales, said: “Smiths Detection combines cutting-edge technology in an easy-to-handle package for use in the field and in challenging environments. Our technology allows government agencies like the Customs and Border Protection to make fast decisions helping to reduce exposure, time and costs when dealing with a suspected threat or illegal substances.”

Separately, the company recently received a follow-on contract from the U.S. Army to deliver chemical biological protective shelters (CBPS) to equip the National Guard.

CBPS systems are mobile medical shelters—designed to military specifications—highly resistant to chemical and biological threats. They provide a chemical/biological agent-free environment in which to administer health care without the need for protective clothing and act as a safe haven for patients.

Truck Cargo Pre-inspection Pilot—Phase II

EAGLE Contracting AwardMiniaturized

Detection Technology for

CBP

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Screening and inspecting all of the vast amount of goods and other shipments coming into the United States, whether for con-traband or nuclear and other potential terrorist threats, was a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission and implemented by law by U.S. policymakers. That effort remains a top homeland and national security imperative today.

“Our nation must increase scanning of, and security measures surrounding, cargo headed to the United States,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), a senior member of the House Transportation and

Infrastructure Committee, said in a statement prepared exclu-sively for Border Security & Emergency Preparedness. “In order to make us all safer, we need to do more to achieve full scanning of cargo bound for our country and we should not wait to impose these procedures until it is too late. We have made some improve-ment over the last few years, but there’s still a long way to go.”

Ensuring that happens—whether the cargo arrives via ship-ping container, rail, land border crossing or other means—is a massive undertaking which can present a variety of challenges,

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according to the manufacturers who provide high-tech scanning equipment to U.S. Customs and Border Protec-tion and other authorities who carry out the job on a day-to-day basis.

“What we are hearing again and again, certainly in the U.S., is that the solutions have to be operationally effective. They have to help the government produce measurable results,” said Andrew Goldsmith, vice president of global marketing at Rapiscan Systems, a Torrance, Calif.-based provider of screening systems and services. “They have to be designed in such a way that they can be part of a larger, more intelligent security system. They have to be able to integrate, for example, with other surveillance sensors, whether that’s infrared systems or [closed-circuit television systems].”

This “data fusion,” or combining cargo inspection images with other related information, is a growing trend, the manufacturers said.

Rapiscan Systems, for instance, has developed tools that enable operators to very quickly be able to see the X-ray image of whatever’s being screened, side by side with information from other relevant databases, Goldsmith said.

“Often, an inspector will want to be able to compare what’s on the manifest, or declared information, with the actual image of what’s scanned. If you see on the manifest that they are declaring a truck full of flow-ers, and it looks like they’ve got electronic parts or something else, you might have an issue” which needs further inspection, he explained.

Similarly, there’s a lot of interest in integrating radiation detection systems with cargo security, Goldsmith said.

“We have a whole product line of radia-tion detection systems, and we have suc-cessfully integrated that capability with our cargo-screening capabilities. You can not only take an X-ray image of a container, but you can also do some analysis to see if there any potential radioactive materials,” he said.

iNcreaSiNg eFFicieNcieS

Meeting the security requirements in a highly efficient manner is a top concern for screening authorities—and the companies who supply the screening equipment, the manufacturers said.

“We try to, obviously, meet the threat-detection require-ments, or the compliance requirements, if you will, if you’re a customs agency. We understand those are very important. But we also are very, very attuned to the operational needs, the business needs of our customers,” Goldsmith said. “Even if it’s a border crossing and it’s operated by Customs and Border Protection, they need to make sure legitimate

commerce and legitimate people coming across the border aren’t impeded by security operations unnecessarily. We focus a lot on things like throughput.”

Authorities also have to accomplish their screening while getting squeezed by resource constraints—such as limited budgets and staff, according to Tim Norton, regional director for cargo inspection systems programs and the Americas market at Smiths Detection, a maker of cargo and other screening equipment headquartered in the United Kingdom.

“The efficiency of processing a scan is the element that’s not so much advertised or talked about, but it is always the element which we discuss when we work with the clients and their needs. People have shrinking budgets, they have fewer persons to be able to operate the systems—so how can we greatly improve the efficiency of the scan event for them? That’s the first and foremost thing that we cross

paths with today,” Norton said.The goal becomes how to generate more

scans in a given period of use, with fewer numbers of staff, particularly as it requires significant training of the operators to run the scanning equipment—and the scanning authorities can experience significant turn-over of these operators, Norton said.

According to Norton, two people can manage the equipment during an eight-hour shift.

Rapiscan is working on R&D designed to more fully automate the screening and detec-tion process with tools that help an operator analyze an X-ray image and very quickly flag potential problems—“really automating the inspection process,” Goldsmith said.

“That’s definitely something we’re working on. There’s been a lot of progress, although we can still make more,” he added.

The budget squeeze also has made rev-enue-compliance—not just security—more of a priority in cargo screening, Goldsmith said.

“Given the revenue challenges of coun-tries around the world, there’s going to be continued emphasis on helping customs agencies prevent smuggling [and] prevent people from not paying the customs duties they’re supposed to,” he said.

Manufacturers provide scanning equipment in a vari-ety of sizes, strengths and configurations, that includes large-scale systems based on high-energy X-rays, which are harmful—and which pose their own problems, the manu-facturers said.

8,000-PouNd gorilla

The industry is committed to operating these scanning systems in ways which mitigate the radiation and keep people safe, Norton said.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.)

Andrew Goldsmith


“You see very little in terms of unsafe practices in this busi-ness today. But these systems can be the 8,000-pound gorilla in a small space that everybody has to work around,” he said.

That safety involves much shielding and/or creating space between people and the scanning equipment, known as an exclusion zone.

Smiths Detection works closely with clients to create an envi-ronment to operate the scanning equipment safely given their particular needs, Norton said.

“Do they have a small exclusion zone requirement? Usually, the smaller they ask for, the more concrete or more mitigation of the radiation is required,” he said. “We have some systems that use concrete shielding doors—that’s an element of chal-lenge because they still want the scan event to be, typically, less than two minutes. You’ve got big doors opening and closing on a regular basis in a given hour of operation.”

Rapiscan Systems, too, is working on new technologies to “significantly reduce” the exclusion zones required, said Gold-smith. “That’s very important because ports, for example, or border crossings are very space-constrained,” he said, adding that progress should be made over the next one to three years.

To deal with these kinds of constraints, Norton said he expects to see more use of what he called a layered approach to cargo screening, in which a particular point-of-entry from one country to another may be anchored by one or two high-energy systems, depending on the potential volume. Other tools will come into play to help support that, he said, such as low- and medium-energy systems—sometimes mobile system that can be set up for a given mission one day on part of the property and move to another location on another day.

Another benefit to changing screening and inspection pro-cedures on a regular basis, Norton added, is that it keeps “the bad guys on edge, because there’s never the same process twice.”

ScreeNiNg By coSmic ray Flux

While most screening systems rely on X-rays to scan cargo, Decision Sciences International, based just outside Washington, D.C., is pioneering an entirely new technology that uses the “naturally occurring cosmic ray flux” to scan containers and vehicles, said company President and Chief Execu-tive Officer Stanton Sloane.

The Decision Sciences technology uses elec-trons and muons—a more exotic particle similar to electrons—to help authorities inspect cargo.

“The uniqueness of it derives from the fact the muons that are created in the cosmic ray flux are very penetrating. The system is very suitable for shielded nuclear threats, because it will look through lead and steel and other types of shielding,” Sloane said.

The technology originally developed at the federal Los Ala-mos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and private investors funded its further development, he said.

Decision Sciences has an operational system in the Bahamas, and is testing its technology with the U.S. government, Sloane said. “We have what I would describe as our initial, full-scale operational system ready to take orders for it,” he added.

The Decision Sciences contract with the U.S. government contract runs through the end of the year, Sloane said. “We have several other proposals underway, so it’s quite conceivable that we’ll have systems in production before the government gets done with their testing,” he added.

The technology is very new, Sloane said. “It’s never been done before. Until August 2011, it had never been demonstrated as an operational-type capability.”

Because it can scan through lead and other shielding, the Decision Sciences system has advantages over both conventional radiation detection and X-ray screening systems, Sloane said.

“Both of those have their limitations. We do the radiation detection job, and we do the imaging—or the non-intrusive inspection—job. We don’t suffer from masking and the other limitations. Muon flux comes down from the sky, [and] comes from all angles,” he said.

The Decision Sciences system works by tomography, similar to the kind of scanning performed by medical systems, Sloane said. “If you’re looking for shielded threats, this is really the only system that will see through shielding to determine if there’s a threat there,” he added.

The scanning system can be made to be as small or large as the customer requires, Sloane said.

The system in the Bahamas is sized to screen tractor trailers and 40-foot-high shipping containers, he said.

“It’s big enough to accommodate that whole rig. You drive the rig into the detector and do your scanning that way. The machine is very scalable, however. If you wanted a smaller machine to look at packages going onto airplanes, then it would be a very small system. It scales up or down,” he said. “It’s a very simple physical machine—the complexity of this machine is in the software. The physical machine is aluminum tubing, essentially, so you can make it as big or small as you want.”

Further, Sloane said, Decision Sciences system is “completely passive” and does not emit harmful radiation.

“We’re just using the radiation that Mother Nature provides in the upper atmosphere. It is completely safe. You don’t have to worry about people, animals, food—nothing. We don’t irradi-ate anything,” he said. “Operationally, that means you don’t have stand-off distances, you don’t have to take containers down to the other end of the port to X-ray them, you don’t have to put it where there’s no people. You can put it wherever you want.”

It’s also “very simple, very reliable, [and] easy to operate,” Sloane said.

“It’s an automatic system. If there’s a nuclear threat present, the operator gets a red light. If there’s no threat present, he gets a green light,” he said. “It doesn’t require image interpretation [or] a lot of training. It doesn’t suffer from the interpretation errors you get from other types of systems.” O

For more information, contact Editor-in-Chief Jeff McKaughan at [email protected] or search

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Stanton Sloane


Whether they are first responders, law enforcement or mili-tary, government agencies need decontamination products for personnel and equipment in response to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear response (CBRN) incidents that are easy to deploy and use, cost effective and require minimal train-ing, according to officials working on behalf of vendors and government agencies in this specialized field.

CBRN incidents that first responders encounter can range from meth lab cleanups to train derailments to chemical inci-dents at border crossings. If a truck near the Mexican border were hijacked with radioactive material, for example, this would create a CBRN incident. At a reduced threat level, and likely a more common occurrence, when a homeowner uses a pes-ticide to combat bed bugs, it can create a CBRN need for first responders.

In January, for example, a Russian man was arrested in Altoona, Pa., for possessing weapons of mass destruction, send-ing shock waves throughout the country. While investigating a

marijuana growing operation, police found one pound of atom-ized magnesium and one pound of Chinese potassium perchlo-rate, along with a package labeled potassium nitrate powder, in the suspect’s possession. The investigating officers also found fuses and several containers of compressed air, according to press reports.

Dennis Smagac, president of Intelagard of Lafayette, Colo., which licensed its EasyDecon DF-200 chemical and biological decontamination formula for mold and fungus remediation through a contract with Sandia National Laboratories, N.M., said that readily-deployable decon is clearly the future. “With the Mexican border, there are more than people coming over that border,” said Smagac, who has nearly 25 years of experience in the industry. His privately-held company was founded in 1991.

Composed of common household chemicals found in tooth-paste and hair conditioner, EasyDecon DF-200 is used by the FBI, U.S Special Operations Command, U.S. military branches, and urban search and rescue teams. It’s been used in Operation

By William murray, BSeP correSPoNdeNt

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Iraqi Freedom and to remediate congressional office buildings during the anthrax scare in 2001. To combat ricin, which can be a lethal threat used by those who seek to target a particular person, as opposed to inflicting mass casualties, EasyDecon DF-200 breaks down the ricin into non-toxic pieces that can then be easily disposed.

In addition, Intelagard also has sold 9,000 Macaw compressed air form (CAF) backpacks to the military. Company officials said that the Macaw is more powerful than many fire extinguishers and can be used for fire suppression, exposure protection, hazardous materi-als cleanup and decontamination, harnessing the power of stored air energy, making it a multitasking equipment. The Macaw can shoot a stream of foam up to 40 feet, so the user can keep a safe distance from flame, heat or smoke. Some users like CAF systems because they use relatively little space in vehicles and in transport for the capabilities they provide.

The Macaw multiplies 5 gallons of carried water into as much as 350 gallons of finished foam through Intelagard’s Enviroshield expansion technology.

Intelagard, which holds a GSA Schedule contract, also sells the Merlin CAF, a rugged 15-gallon system for emergency response personnel, which can expand its payload up to 70 times and can also shoot a stream of foam up to 40 feet.

One should consider the difficulty of trying to extinguish a fire set in a van near the border that was carrying undoc-umented migrants, according to Smagac. Given the 1,933 miles that encompass the U.S.-Mexico border, many border patrol agents might previously have been unable to prevent the loss of life in such a sce-nario, until the Macaw was sold on the market. It’s not good enough to have decon equipment at two or three border crossings when the U.S.-Mexico border is so extensive.

The Turkey/Syrian border is another hotspot where decon equipment is particularly needed, given the chemicals being illicitly transported into Syria, according to Smagac. Separately, he sees blood-born pathogens as an increased threat to first responders.

“You have minutes to respond in CBRN. It takes too much time to create tents and shelters,” said Amit Kapoor, president of First Line Technology LLC of Chantilly, Va., an ISO 9001: 2008-certifiied company he launched in 2003. First Line Technology builds products for first responders.

“The hurdles of moving mass decon equipment and services into place when time is of the essence leaves a huge gap in the initial response to exposure,” said Timothy G. Henry, senior vice president of the Healthcare Products Group for the Biodefense Division at Emergent BioSolutions, a specialty pharmaceutical company in Rockville, Md.

“In the case of chemical attacks when agents can kill in min-utes, Emergent’s RSDL fills the critical time gap by providing self-decontamination packets that will neutralize or remove chemical weapons on exposed skin. In addition, triage and crowd control are enhanced when medical professionals can simply pass out or use individual simple-to-use packets with self-contained applicator sponges,” Henry said.

“Nobody knows they’re going into a CBRN [situation],” Kapoor said of first responders. “They have to make quick decisions,” he added.

But Army Major George Lewis, Joint CBRN Response Planner in the J5 Plans and Policy Directorate for U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Task Force Civil Support at Fort Eustis, Va., continues to see a need for decon tents. He said that the benefit of tents is that they allow users to maintain their privacy and dignity, which is impor-tant to some people in a crisis incident. Within hours of notifica-tion, his J5 organization deploys rapidly to support FEMA, local fire departments and other first responders at CBRN incidents around the country. The CBRNE response force has approximately 5,200 personnel, so Lewis has a wealth of experience.

Gary L. Hall, vice president of military programs and develop-ment at Immediate Response Technologies Inc. of Glenn Dale, Md., also sees some value in tents for decon. First responders can set up a 3-by-3-foot tent made of polyester and vinyl with different materials and shower in 60 seconds. A 20-by-20-foot shelter that can accom-modate up to six people at a time can be set up within two minutes, according to Hall.

Hall noted that in many decontamination situations, local fire departments make the decision about where the decon area should be located and what type of structure should be used. His company was incorporated in 1977 and began working with DoD in 1980, providing technical assistance for military thermal targets.

“It is easy to transport and deploy,” Hall said of tents. Users can also quickly decon the tents and allow them to dry. His company manufactures and sells to government agencies filters, life support products, personal pro-tection, respirators and shelters.

According to Kapoor, there was a shift in decon beginning in 2004-2005, since prior to that time, companies such as his focused on providing show-ers for potentially infected personnel in response to chemical or biological hazards. Since 2005, First Line Technology has focused on alternative dry decontam-ination methods like the spray-on DeconGel, which is encapsulates CBRN contaminants and is peelable 12 to 24 hours after application. Advantages of dry decon are that it saves time, is very portable and requires minimal training.

“Since 2010, we have seen the industry shift” toward dry decontamination, Kapoor said. “They’ve gone away from showers and tents.” The speed of application allows investigators and law enforce-ment personnel at an accident scene—whether it is a border crossing, a meth lab or a train derailment—to get back to work after exposure to potentially hazardous materials.

To set up a shower at an accident scene, one needs access to running water, Kapoor said, and it usually is necessary to set up the shower 100 to 200 yards away from the accident scene.

According to the company, First Line Technology FiberTect decon wipes start at about $10 each, with decon kits costing $75 and paper-towel-like perforated rolls of 20 12-inch-by-12-inch wipes costing $380. The company also produces a heat-activated PhaseCore cooling vest and the AmbuBus, a bus stretcher converter kit that converts buses, vehicles or shelters of opportunity into mass casualty transport vehicles.

Immediate Response Technologies’ Hall has seen an increase in crime scene investigations with chemical hazards in recent years. He noted that the 72 hours after a contamination are very critical

Amit Kapoor

Gary L. Hall


for both the investigation and the potential toxicity of the chemi-cals. In addition to meth lab investigations, he noted, when police, first responders and bystanders are exposed to pepper spray and tear gas it can create a decon need.

“There are many challenges civilian EMS responders, nurses/doctors and law enforcement personnel face each day. One of the most serious problems is how to protect themselves from respira-tory threats without having to wear equipment that would hamper their mobility and hinder their ability to do their jobs,” Hall said.

For example, hospital emergency room personnel can be infected by gases released from the bodies of patients in their care. “Through purifying respirators, they can still work in such an envi-ronment,” he said.

“Hospitals don’t want to shut down the [emergency room] when someone comes in contaminated,” First Line Technology’s Kapoor said. Using a spray-on gel allows first responders and support per-sonnel to get back to work quicker.

Hall noted that the National Guard first response units have responded to approximately 2,000 CBRN incidents, and the National Guard Bureau has 18,000 personnel trained in CBRN, including decon, which shows how significant the CBRN threat is.

A retired Marine Corps major, Hall noted that the National Guard’s CBRNE Consequence Management enterprise includes five components. They use a variety of IRT shelters, shelter systems and powered air respirators.

Immediate Response Technology sells purifying respirators, inhalators and shelters through its GSA Schedule contract.

According to Lewis from Joint Task Force Civil Support, it’s important that when government agencies purchase commercial off-the-shelf decon products, they are able to be transported on military planes, so perhaps some degree of ruggedization is impor-tant in addition to ease of use and cost-effectiveness. He noted that off-the-shelf decon products should also be able to be used in vastly different environments found in the U.S., including the 120-degree Fahrenheit heat of the Arizona desert or a -20 degree cold of Alaska during the wintertime.

Emegent BioSolutions develops and manufactures medical countermeasures for the worldwide CBRN community. The com-pany’s flagship products are BioThrax Anthrax Vaccine, the only FDA-licensed vaccine to prevent anthrax disease, and RSDL, the FDA-cleared medical device for neutralizing or removing chemical warfare agents. Recently, Emergent announced its plans to acquire Cangene Corp by April 2014. Cangene produces three therapeutic products/product candidates addressing anthrax, smallpox and botulinum. All five products are currently purchased by the U.S. government for the Strategic National Stockpile.

The DoD is always interested in leveraging the latest science and technology to provide the warfighter the most effective, afford-able and user-friendly product that addresses a critical capability gap, according to Emergent BioSolutions’ Henry. “Technological advances over the past several years have resulted in the delivery of many new products that are exponentially more effective than the products or processes they replace. To the warfighter on the ground, this translates to confidence in the equipment he has been provided, allowing him to continue the mission under conditions that could have only been imagined a short time ago,” he said.

“In the personal decon space, the trend is towards neutralization instead of absorption of CBRN hazards,” Henry said. “In addition to the demonstrated superior effectiveness of chemical neutralization as achieved by RSDL, neutralization provides other advantages over obsolete powder technologies or soapy water, including the elimi-nation of an inhalation risks that are present with contaminated powders. These costs, and the cost savings of not needing to remedi-ate the environment or capture and dispose of hazardous residuals from decon operations is becoming a larger driver for decisions surrounding decon.” O



Decontamination systems that are compact, deployable, and perhaps most of all, operator friendly are indicative of the trend in new developments. When events happen, systems that can get to the scene quickly and initiate a response will prove valuable. [Photo courtesy of Intelagard]


Technologies that allow Border Patrol agents operating at night to interdict the movement of illegal immigrants and substances are essential tools in their arsenals. Night vision and thermal imaging capabilities have both been around for some decades, but recently companies have been incorporating them into equipment in ways that add value to the technologies and the information they provide to their users.

Night vision and thermal sensors are now used in varying com-binations together and with optical sensors to present wide and narrow views as well as fused visions of landscapes and objects to users. All these capabilities have now been packed into small, includ-ing handheld, form factors. They are also increasingly being used to store images and video for later use and combined with communica-tions equipment to transmit and receive data over tactical networks.

“Everything we make is portable,” said Roland Morley, director of engineering at Nivisys LLC. “A lot of our equipment that has been used by the border patrol is either handheld or weapon mounted.”

“For the last several years, night vision equipment has been integrated with thermal infrared sensors,” said Ed Yarish, director for night vision domestic busi-ness development at Exelis. “That way users can look at the traditional night vision mode, thermal mode, or a fused picture. They get low-light intensification as well as thermal capabilities in single device.”

Users often need to record their activities to pro-vide legal evidence or for later debriefing activities, noted Oded Ben-David, vice president of Elbit Systems electro-optics. “Devices are being equipped with flash memory to record images and video,” he said. “Com-munications equipment can be connected through a port to transmit the images to headquarters or a central station.”

Night vision technology and thermal imaging both allow users to view landscapes and track objects after the sun goes down, but they actually encompass two capabilities and two technologies. The purpose of both is to be able to find potential threats, identify them and provide information for follow-up action.

Night vision devices such as goggles are analog technologies that use vacuum tubes to intensify images under low-light conditions. They provide relatively high-resolution images but, because they are not digital, they are difficult to transmit and store. Some research is now ongoing to develop digital image intensifying capabilities.

Thermal imaging uses infrared sensors that pick up the heat profile emitted from the objects being viewed and display images

without the aid of any light at all. Thermal sensors are very good at detecting individuals and vehicles and provide high contrast of a person or object against a background. But they are not as sensitive as analog night vision tubes, so the resolution of the thermal image is lower than that of image-intensifying night vision equipment. As a result, facial features, license plates or vehicle markings cannot be discerned.

Thermal technology and image intensification are essentially complementary technologies. This explains why it makes sense to incorporate both into one device to be used by border patrols. Many devices also incorporate electro-optical sensors—similar to the kind used in commercial digital cameras—that allow users to discern objects and people with the benefit of daylight.

The cramming of multiple capabilities into smaller devices allows them to be used easily and efficiently by border patrols. For example Elbit’s Long View CR, a combined day/night system for long-range observa-tion and target acquisition, combines a long-range zoom forward-looking infrared sensor, a day TV chan-nel, a laser rangefinder, GPS and a magnetic compass. “If these were used as standalone products you would end up with something very big,” said Ben-David. “We were challenged a few years ago to make it so one person could carry it.”

The result was a 5-kilogram package equipped with a seven-hour battery. “This gives unique capa-bilities to border patrols,” said Ben-David. “The long-range viewing makes it possible to see if a target is carrying weapons or drugs. The device also has storage capabilities so that images can be kept for future use.”

The small form factor came about by optimizing the design of the sensors. “We had to squeeze the best performance we could get from a thermal imager with a 6-inch aperture,” said Ben-David. “All the compo-nents work off the same electronics and power supply and that also saves on space and weight.”

Two of Nivisys’ most familiar pieces of equip-ment, the MUM-14 mini-monocular and the TAM-14 thermal acquisition monocular, are both handheld

devices. “They have magnifiers that allow users to switch from a wide field of view as close in as 100 to 200 yards or to see out on a narrow view as far as a mile,” said Morley. “They are equipped with thermal long-wave sensors, which are perfectly designed for detecting move-ment of any kind of warm object against a background whether it is a coyote or a person. Wearing camouflage or hiding in the shadows is not effective against a thermal sensor because it detects body heat. People walking in the desert on a cool night show up pretty clearly.”

By Peter BuxBaum, BSeP correSPoNdeNt

aN eFFicieNt develoPmeNt aNd acquiSitioN ProceSS iS required to keeP Night viSioN caPaBilitieS oNe SteP ahead oF the oPPoNeNt.

Ed Yarish

[email protected]

Roland Morley

[email protected]


The MUM-14 is a modular, handheld passive night vision device that utilizes a single intensifier tube to provide clear images in the dark. The MUM-14’s use of a single tube in a single eyepiece is based on the concept that independent use of each eye maximizes the abil-ity of the user to operate under a wide range of low-light conditions and maintain maximum situational awareness.

The MUM-14 is also available as a dual-system that allows two mini monoculars to become one binocular system. The TAM-14 system designed to meet the needs of the individual user for ground based night operations. The system was designed to maximize versa-tility by quickly adapting to weapons, head gear and helmets.

“We specialize in making devices that are small and lightweight,” said Morley. The thermal sensors incorporated into the MUM-14 and TAM-14 are made by L-3 and FLIR, respectively. Hundreds of the TAM-14 have been sold to the U.S. Border Patrol.

“FLIR makes the newer micro-bolometer infrared sensors that respond directly to heat,” said Morley. “Older IR sensors detect radia-tion. Most of our products are now made with the micro-bolometer technology. You don’t get personal recognition or identification with thermal sensors. You can’t pick up details. But you can pick up an object a half a mile or a mile away.”

Exelis’ AN/PSQ-20A spiral enhanced night vision goggle (SENVG) combines an image intensified tube and infrared micro-bolometer into a compact monocular weighing less than 2 pounds. “The SENVG provides fusion via optical overlay of the I2 and IR imagery,” said Yar-ish. “It allows users to look across a desert or border areas and see objects that don’t have heat signatures with the image intensification tube. The user can toggle between night vision to thermal to a fused picture. The real magic is to view the fused mode to see the thermal overlay on the night vision image. The fused image provides more clarity and gives the user the ability to identify objects. The SENVG provides expanded viewing capabilities from highlight conditions to total darkness and through obscurants.”

Elbit’s Mini Coral provides optical and thermal imaging as well as dual optical fields of view in a very lightweight package. “You use the wide field of view when you are looking for something but you don’t know what,” said Ben-David. “When you spot a target then you can go to the narrow field of view.” The Mini Coral, including its battery pack, weighs 2 kilograms.

The Mini Coral allows users to fuse images of the day channel with the non-cooled thermal sensor as well as the narrow and wide fields of view. “Fusing the optical and thermal channel are very effec-tive in urban areas or where you want to look through open doors or the opening of caves where people may be hiding in the shadows,” said Ben-David. “The cave opening may look like a black hole with the optical sensor but with the thermal channel you can see people standing inside.”

Nivisys is currently working on colorizing its thermal imaging output through a process called false color. “We can have the software assign colors to different items,” said Morley. “The normal output of a thermal sensor is black and white. We can make small hot objects look red or orange with this new technique that we call alert mode. It helps if someone is scanning across a lot of scenery to pick up small movements of people or other potential objects of interest out there. The idea is to give users the choice of looking at a monochrome image, full color, or to have color of important objects superimposed on the monochrome image.”

Another Nivisys development is to incorporate an image capture capability internal to its device. “We are releasing a line of portable

video recorders that fit in a pocket and that are accessories to the handheld thermal viewers,” said Morley. “Instead of relying on only direct observation, users can send still images or pipe video out to the little recorder and record hours of video.”

Elbit’s line of products, including the Long View CR, the Mini Coral, and latter’s older sibling, the larger Coral-CR, can also transmit images and video in real time by connecting them to a transmitting device.

Exelis’ i-Aware Tactical line of products incorporates the same night vision capability as the AN/PVS-14 in a monocular or a light-weight binocular with an input/output communications connector for video import and export. It provides the user with real-time video access to critical tactical intelligence. It also allows tactical com-manders real-time access to live soldier video feeds by integrating a camera system to capture and export live night vision and/or thermal video from the user’s viewpoint.

“We started by asking how we can add more value to a night vision goggle in a tactical environment,” said Yarish. “The answer was to attach the device to a tactical network and make it a tactical ISR device. We came up with this solution based on customer feedback primarily from special forces operators.” The i-Aware Tactical goggle is in production and being delivered to an international customer. Exelis last year announced a contract for the delivery of the system to an undisclosed international country as a part of $11.6 million sale.

As a result, officers can now send users relevant maps directly to the display. Users don’t have to pull out maps or shine lights on them which can give away their position.

“Connecting the night vision goggle to a communications sys-tem allows the goggle to be used as a heads up display,” said Yarish, “and its gives user a lot more security and operational capability in a tactical environment. In a border area, an overhead drone can be capturing video, which can be displayed in the night-vision device in real time.”

Exelis has integrated its night-vision system with its own Spear-Net tactical radio. The integrated solution is also being evaluated by international customers as well as the U.S. military and by U.S. Cus-toms and Border Protection. The lightweight SpearNet team member UHF radio provides users with high-throughput of voice, data and video, communications over ad hoc networks.

“Integrating the night vision and the tactical communications pieces makes for a great turnkey solution,” said Yarish. “The night vision device becomes a tactical sensor. Its output can be transmitted in real time up the echelon to a tactical operations center or a com-mand post. We anticipate many benefits to flow from taking a night vision device and connecting it to a tactical network.”

At some point, traditional image-intensifying night-vision tech-nology will likely be made digital, which will increase its utility—but at a price. “Night vision is a mature technology but it is not a digital technology, so it is difficult to capture images or export video,” said Morley. “Some people are trying to make digital night vision, but as soon as you go digital you lose resolution. Night vision equipment has three megapixels of resolution. Its digital equivalent has one-third of that resolution.” O




When it comes to their impending Next Generation: Enterprise Computing Services contracting effort, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials liter-ally say, “We want it all.”

With NextGen, DHS is looking to embrace all of the benefits of cloud com-puting—the agile resource deployment, the ability to pay only for those services that you consume and the cost-savings that come with it, quick deployment of new services, and more—but department contracting officials are quick to point out they still aren’t quite sure how to get there.

“We have no clue right now what we’re really looking for in the future

besides the enterprise computing ser-vices,” DHS Office of Procurement Opera-tions Executive Director Dennis Smiley told participants of a December 2013 industry day devoted to the effort. “We’ll narrow it down. … As we gather this market research, then we will determine the contract type. It’s not determined right now.”

But DHS Deputy Chief Information Officer Margie Graves clearly pointed out what that meant.

“When Dennis says, ‘We’re taking the journey to figure out what we want,’ well, we want it all,” Graves said. “Let’s be very clear about that. We want to be out in front of our [DHS] customers, and

we want them to have access to whatever they need in order to move forward.”

DHS simply is looking for the best, most-cost-effective and efficient means to get it, Graves explained.

“A few things that we run into today: How do you move money between com-ponents in DHS? How do you make sure that you can buy [services] on-demand, provision [them] in 24 hours, turn [some services] up, [then] turn [them] down and only consume what you need? And how do you work the procurement process so it’s already pre-staged for you, so that once you go through that procurement process once, you’re not constantly having to compete task orders, add [contract line

By Scott NaNce, BSeP correSPoNdeNt


item numbers]—you don’t have to do the kinds of things that take time out of your program schedules and put you at risk for not meeting the DHS mission,” she said.

With NextGen, DHS officials want to make sure that they “have the ability to adopt new technologies as they come to the fore, as opposed to having to re-compete or let another contract,” Graves added. “In order to do that, we’ve got to put in place some flexible structures that would allow that technology to change behind-the-curtain and we would still have access to it.”

FaSt-Paced chaNgeS

Information technology has evolved considerably in the past several years since DHS first began looking to stream-line its computing infrastructure with “data-center consolidation, and a little bit of shared services,” Graves said.

“The technology brought in cloud ser-vices; it brought in mobility. It brought in new kinds of business models, the ability to buy consumption computing and what we started to call utility computing, and has since been turned into shared services and all of the business models that sur-round that,” she said. “All of that changed, just in that short timeframe. What we found was that we had put together a contract that wasn’t flexible enough to support some of those changes.”

Now, Graves said, DHS is looking for an IT revamp that can vault the depart-ment from behind to readily be able to keep up with whatever the state-of-the-art is at the moment.

“Working with our components inter-nally, we’ve gathered requirements; we’ve looked at what worked and didn’t work within our current structure. We’ve deter-mined what technologies are out there today, but not only that, we’ve looked two to three, four years out in the future, say-ing, ‘Where is it trending?’ so that we can make sure that we converge upon that instead of always being one cycle behind.”

gettiNg headquarterS out oF the equatioN

Graves told potential vendors that DHS would be asking them how they have handled similar enterprise comput-ing environments in past, inquiring about future products in development that could

be useful to DHS, but “most importantly, how do we get the end-user to be able to use the business model to actually provi-sion [services] for themselves?

“We, at headquarters, don’t need to be in the middle of it, for the most part,” she added.

With NextGen, DHS is looking to embrace the flexibility of cloud comput-ing and shared services instead of the tra-ditional data-center approach it currently employs. DHS works with private-sector contractors to maintain two data centers.

Even within that data-center approach, Graves said the contracts with the compa-nies that operate those centers have been modified to begin providing some shared services and cloud computing.

Between the cloud services at the data centers, as well as the ones from the General Services Administration’s public cloud that DHS uses, the department has about 12 operating shared services “that do follow that business model that we’re trying to adopt,” Graves said.

“There is no way, with the current budget strategies, that we can possibly operate any other way,” she said. “We have embraced shared services and cloud com-puting, and that is the way we are moving forward.”

learNiNg to SPeak a commoN laNguage

If DHS still is feeling its way toward a cloud-computing future, industry shares some of that same uncertainty, depart-ment officials said.

“There was a ready admission from all of the industry leaders in the room that we spoke with that the industry is also trying to figure out how to appropriately price and sequence their products so that they can best be consumed by the federal government,” Graves said, referring to a recent meeting on cloud computing between DHS officials and industry. “So we are taking this journey together.”

In fact, it is only fairly recently that DHS and industry even have begun speak-ing the same language when it comes to cloud computing—and to do so, DHS had to reach out to another federal agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

“One of the things when I first met many of you about a year ago, we had an uncommon taxonomy—one vendor

would use one word, another vendor would use another word, we would use a third word,” said Jeanne Etzel, executive director of NextGen Enterprise Comput-ing Services within the DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer. “So we went back to NIST and relied on all of NIST’s definitions, and I encouraged you to do the same when you communicated with us—and that has worked out very well. I think that today when we communicate, we can communicate on a common level.”

But if there are still many details yet to be determined, the basic technical framework that DHS officials developed for how to get there has been validated by the GSA Cloud Computing Project Man-agement Office and the tax office of the government of Australia, Etzel said.

“The Australian tax office is running a very similar framework,” she said. “They are about two years ahead of us. They gave us a lot of ideas and lessons learned, and those ideas were incorporated into our sequencing of contracts and our scope within each of the contract vehicles.”

Creating that framework involved gathering requirements from all the DHS component agencies through the depart-ment’s various IT councils, including the CIO Council, Application Services Council, Infrastructure Council, Secu-rity Council and Enterprise Architecture Council, Etzel said.

“Rather than going through compo-nent silos to gather requirements, we gather requirements across the coun-cils—the concept being, birds of a feather would have like thoughts and like require-ments,” she said.

In the end, DHS’s Smiley said he wants the NextGen contracting project to be a “win-win situation for the gov-ernment and industry,” but he said he realizes the department doesn’t have too much time to figure it all out.

“It’s going to take time; we real-ize that. That’s why we’re starting early. We’ve got until, what, 2015? Yeah, every-one laughs because 2015’s right here. That’s not much time. It’s not much time at all to get done what we want to get done,” he said. O

For more information, contact Editor-in-Chief Jeff McKaughan at [email protected]

or search our online archives for related stories at www.BSEP-kmi.com.


Airbus Group leaders welcomed the decision by Congress to fund procurement of 20 UH-72A Lakota helicopters through an omnibus spending package that the president has indicated he will sign into law.

“This continuation of the government contract orders for the Lakota demonstrates the value of affordable, cost-effective programs in a constrained budget environment,” said Sean O’Keefe, chairman and CEO of Airbus Group Inc. “That support means a lot to the American workers who have delivered every single Lakota on time and on budget over the last seven years.”

The UH-72A Lakota is built in Columbus, Miss., by a workforce that is more than 50 percent U.S. military veterans. The Army, National Guard and Navy have taken delivery of 290 Lakotas, for missions ranging from disaster response and border patrol to pilot training. With a unit cost of just $5.5 million, the Lakota has the lowest cost to buy, own and operate of any U.S. military helicopter in production.

Army plans originally called for purchasing 31 Lakota helicopters in fiscal 2014, but a constrained budget environment resulted in an initial budget proposal that included funding for just 10 and plans to terminate the program thereafter.

The final appropriations allocation doubles that number, allowing National Guard units to continue to provide support to citizens around the country.

“We understand that in the current fiscal environment, our customer and the American taxpayer can’t afford to waste a penny,” O’Keefe said. “This is a time to support programs that deliver what is promised and also have a vital role to play in our national security—programs like the Lakota.”

National Guard Lakotas have provided critical support responding to recent domestic emergencies including this year’s wildfires in Colorado, tornadoes in Oklahoma, severe flooding in the West and Superstorm Sandy. They are regularly used to conduct rescues of civilians in distress across the country, and are deployed along the U.S.-Mexico border flying security operations against criminal cartels.

ICC Software Inc., a biometric security research firm, has released its new mobile verification line of devices, called Identity Check. The Plano-based engineering and software company is preparing for the nationwide launch of the new biometric devices that will give military and law enforcement users the ability to verify and confirm identities on a mobile device in the field using facial or fingerprint scans.

“We have spent several years in the development of these biometric devices,” said Anthony Johnson, president and owner, “because we recognized the need for this type of product in any industry, especially those that require tactical operations information like federal, state or local law enforcement agencies.”

Identity Check devices will dynamically enhance security by empowering users to scan single or multiple fingerprints at one time, eliminating the process of scanning one by one. The mobile devices will save users time and money. ICC Software has refined the biometric software to one streamlined process that is affordable yet powerful. Identity Check comes with Ethernet, and four other ports for easy synchronization of profile information.

Government entities such as the Coast Guard, Border Patrol and DoD will benefit from their ability to confirm identities while in the field of operation. “Operators will simply scan biometric and photographic characteristic profiles on the handheld, and even authenticate them in a completely portable fashion,” said Johnson.

Anthony Johnson;[email protected]

Implant Sciences Corporation, a technology supplier of systems and sensors for homeland security and defense markets, recently announced that Pacific Air Cargo has purchased its first QS-B220 desktop explosives trace detector (ETD). This sale is the most recent in a series of orders resulting from Implant Sciences exhibiting its QS-B220 explosives trace detector.

Pacific Air Cargo CEO Beti Ward commented, “We heard about the QS-B220 from a colleague who attended Air Cargo, where they saw the QS-B220 demo and were very impressed. After evaluating the QS-B220’s performance metrics and total cost of ownership, it was clear to us that this is the TSA-qualified ETD we want to use at Pacific Air Cargo.”

“Air cargo purchasers who get exposure and familiarity with our QS-B220 see the clear value in our ETD and this directly results in purchases. Attending industry trade shows is a key component of our sales and marketing strategy. This is the most recent in a series of orders that resulted from Air Cargo 2013 and we look forward to participating in Air Cargo 2014 this year,” commented Implant Sciences’ Vice President of Sales and Marketing Dr. Darryl Jones.

The Utility in the UH-72A

Portable Biometric Handheld Device Verifies

Identities

More Explosive Trace Detection

Explosives Trace Detector

Smiths Detection’s Ionscan 500DT is included among “qualified” technologies for Explosive Trace Detection on the TSA Air Cargo Screening Technology Lists (ACSTL) and meets new procurement guidelines that took effect on January 1, 2014.

A reliable trace detection system used to screen cargo, packages or baggage, the Ionscan 500DT uses ion mobility spectroscopy (IMS) to perform material analysis in seconds helping to expedite inspections.

TSA’s guidelines state that “when procuring equipment from the ACSTL, regulated parties are encouraged to select equipment from the qualified

technology section.” Since August 2010, the 500DT meets the new 2014 qualified standards and, according to the company, can be deployed earlier can be easily upgraded to maintain qualification.

Lance Roncalli, U.S. managing director for Smiths Detection, said: “The Ionscan 500DT is one of the most widely deployed trace detection solutions at airports around the world because it is highly effective and easy to use. By providing easily installed upgrades, Smiths Detection ensures this technology will continue to help protect travelers around the world for years to come.”


SEcuRity WatcH

Argon Electronics has been contracted by the United States Air Force through the Air Force Civil Engineer Center to deliver their PlumeSIM CBRN training system to enhance CBRN exercises at the Silver Flag Exercise Site at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.

PlumeSIM will be used with Argon’s M4 JCAD simulators to create highly realistic CBRN and HazMat exercises, implemented in both virtual and live training environments. The system will permit challenging exercises involving chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial materials in a wide range of scenarios to be implemented with ease. The highly flexible PlumeSIM architecture will enable the system to be expanded to support any future potential CBRN/hazmat simulation requirements the USAF may have.

PlumeSIM provides Air Force emergency management with a realistic way to demonstrate their equipment proficiency and knowledge in a CBRN environment during field training exercises without the risk of personnel injury and damage to the environment or operational equipment. The realistic scenarios and after action review capability within PlumeSIM will help ensure Emergency Management response teams maintain the highest standards of readiness, while also providing a valuable means to verify student performance.

Argon Managing Director Steven Pike stated, “We are absolutely delighted to be delivering PlumeSIM to one of the foremost CBRN training facilities in the world. The Air Force has been an important and long standing customer of Argon. This contract further demonstrates the importance the U.S. government places on the need to maintain CBRN skills to ensure an effective response capability.”

The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate has issued a request for information to gain knowledge of all qualified and interested sources with experience within the referenced subject and is being issued solely for DHS’s informational and planning purposes as it may relate to acquisition strategy, planning schedules, feasibility of the requirement, development of the requirement, etc.

The Department of Homeland Security, Office of Health Affairs (OHA), has reached out to DHS S&T for assistance with technology foraging related to the use of canines for detection of biological threats. Despite countless past research efforts, there currently still does not exist an “electronic nose” that can rival a well-trained canine for detection of vapor signatures. The electronic sensoring community understands that the development of an “electronic nose,” modeled after a canine olfactory system, would provide a leap-ahead sensing technology.

DHS S&T wishes to gather information regarding past and current research on the development of “electronic noses” as sensors for biological threat agents, as well as the current and past use of canines for the detection of biological materials in particular (to include pathogens, biological warfare agents, organisms, toxins and growth media).

DHS S&T is interested in receiving any related information as well to include training aids and procedures, logistical requirements for purchasing, training, and maintaining the canines. If a source does not have specific information applicable to detection of biological materials but has information regarding use of canines for detection of other materials (chemical, explosive, narcotics) and feels that the information is transferable to the detection of biomaterials, that information would also be of interest.

SRA International Inc., a provider of IT solutions and professional services to government organizations, announced it was selected for a position on the Tools and Continuous Monitoring as a Service (CMaaS) blanket purchase agreement (BPA) awarded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation Program (CDM). The multiple-award BPA has a $6 billion ceiling.

In response to an escalating number of cyber threats, government agencies are under immense pressure to improve cybersecurity. The CDM program enables civilian agencies to partner with DHS to

gain access to continuous diagnostics, remediation tools and security dashboards that streamline cybersecurity processes and reduce cybersecurity risks.

SRA will compete for task orders to support CDM’s mission to fortify the cybersecurity of computer networks and systems by delivering innovative solutions designed to enhance and automate the existing continuous network monitoring capabilities, correlate and analyze critical security-related information and enhance risk-based decision making at the agency and federal enterprise level.

SRA will team with the following companies to deliver first-class products and

services under the BPA: Compass Federal Consulting, Grayscout, Halfaker & Associates, Intercom Consulting & Federal Systems, Kingfisher Systems, MBL Technologies, The RSR Company, VariQ, TripWire, Symantec, IBM, McAfee, Application Security, Qualys, Hewlett Packard, ForeScout Technologies, Bit9, REDSEAL, and FireMon.

George Batsakis, executive vice president of SRA’s National Security Group, commented, “We are pleased to be part of the CDM mission, and we will bring the full breadth of SRA’s capabilities to bear in order to ensure the security of America’s cyber infrastructure.”

The Search for an Electronic Nose

Continuous Diagnostics & Mitigation Program

CBRN Training System


compiled by Kmi media Group staff

Michael J. Fisher is the chief of the U.S. Border Patrol and a member of the Senior Executive Service. He is responsible for planning, organizing, coordinating, and directing enforcement efforts designed to secure our nation’s borders.

Fisher entered on duty with the U.S. Border Patrol in June 1987 as a member of Class 208. His first duty assignment as a Border Patrol agent was at the Douglas Station in the Tucson Sec-tor. He successfully completed the selection process for the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) in 1990 and was later selected as a field operations supervisor for BORTAC in El Paso, Texas. Over a four-year period, he planned and executed operations throughout the United States and nine foreign countries. Fisher later served as the deputy chief patrol agent of the Detroit Sector and as an assistant chief patrol agent in the Tucson Sector.

During the transition to the Department of Homeland Secu-rity in March 2003, Fisher was appointed deputy director for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Anti-Terrorism in Washington, D.C., where he staffed and directed the office during periods of increased threats and served as the CBP liaison to the inter-agency intelligence community for anti-terrorist planning and operational coordination. Fisher later served at Border Patrol headquarters as an associate chief and in 2004 was promoted to senior associate chief. He returned to the field in February 2006 as the deputy chief patrol agent of San Diego Sector. He was promoted to chief patrol agent of San Diego Sector in June 2007. He was named acting chief of the Border Patrol on January 3, 2010, and assumed his current position on May 9, 2010.

Fisher earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in business administration. He is a graduate of the Senior Executive Fellows Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He also completed the Capstone program at the National Defense University in 2009.

Q: I’d like to start with the shutdown last year. How did that and the budgetary issues impact the Border Patrol?

A: Organizationally—and broadly within CBP—for us and the American people, fortunately the frontline agents and officers worked through the furlough. Although during that time they received a short paycheck, their pay was retroactively paid their full amount later on.

Our frontline officers and agents worked, certainly some of our mission operational support folks did not, so we had a little bit of

a slide in terms of administration and capability that supports the operational CBP mission and the frontline agents.

Like most things, it was short-lived and we were able to over-come, because CBP broadly has this ability to improvise, adapt and overcome, and we came out of it pretty much unscathed.

Q: Along those same lines but perhaps in a little broader context with the sequester and the budget deal that was signed at the end of December, did that directly affect any programs or acquisitions that have had longer-lasting consequences?

A: I’ll take you back—you mentioned sequestration. As part of an organization that plans heavily and then executes, and has a degree of flexibility of operations, it was not uncommon for us when we were getting into sequestration to take a look at how it was going to affect us. It forced broadly, and spe-cifically within CBP, to really get back to the commissioner’s priorities.

I think in some respects it made us stronger. Looking at not just baseline levels and then discussing the increment of increase, which has historically been the case for CBP since 2003, it made the leadership come around the table, look back at the commis-sioner’s priorities, and then try to leverage what we were going to continue to do and what we were going to divest in terms of new programs and new initiatives.

Michael J. FisherChief

U.S. Border Patrol

Border Guardian Q&AQ&A


Managing Intelligence and Metrics for Maximum Border Effectiveness

From that standpoint we’re going to come out stronger as a leadership organization, recognizing that we can’t just do every-thing for everybody like we’ve done perhaps in previous years.

Q: How do the conversations go with your other agency partners when discussing missions that you may not be able to do for them in the future as the budget evolves? How does that community ensure that there is not a mission gap?

A: For us, and at the local levels too, everyone is feeling the same budget crunch within their own government structures. That sharedness facilitated our ability across the board to really understand what integration and mission integration was. As threats were going to continue to evolve and manifest them-selves throughout other communities, we just couldn’t inde-pendently, at the federal level or certainly at the state level, say, ‘Hey, we don’t have the resources to do this.’ There is too much codependency in our line of work for anything to be done independently.

I think what it did was it forced the leadership on the ground to realize that true integration is truly required. And if you weren’t sold on that three years ago as CBP was pushing out integrated operations with our state, local and tribal partners, the current lack of resources at all levels has facilitated that now.

I think we’re going to be a lot stronger in the out years because we’ve seen some really no-kidding integration operations that have real outcomes, and not just for the Border Patrol or for CBP, but I think for the nation at large as it relates to border security.

Q: As far as manning and staffing, do you have all of your slots filled? How do you go about attracting qualified candidates to come into CBP and the Border Patrol? And how do you reach out to a broad spectrum of people for the diversity that you’re looking for?

A: You’re familiar with our mandatory minimum staffing level; even with the 2014 appropriations that we were just getting briefed on this week, we’re still mandated by Congress to maintain 21,370 Border Patrol agents. This has been the standard over the last few years.

We’re very well attuned within the CBP to maintain attrition hiring, to make sure that we have, at a minimum, those levels on staff. With attrition at less than 3 percent, we don’t do a lot of hir-ing. We do steady-stream hiring, which allows us to really look out to those areas for diversification, to go out and do some pointed, targeted recruiting for the organization.

Where it becomes a little bit challenging is [asking], is 21,370 the right number? My answer to that is, as we’re working toward that, I can tell you I don’t have them in the right locations. So I have, as an example, say 900 Border Patrol agents in a place like Yuma, Ariz., which is averaging about 25 apprehensions a day—in relative terms, very low levels of activity. I want to be able to have the discretionary funds to relocate those to higher-risk areas, like Rio Grande Valley.

As we start working through our ’14 budget—the prioritiza-tion process, the staffing numbers, etc.—although the numbers will remain constant per the congressional legislation, we want to build in some flexibility to be able to move the force commensu-rate with the threat.

Q: With attrition at only 3 percent, that sounds like a great retention rate.

A: It is; not only is it low, but it has been sustained with very little fluctuation for some time. And by the way, that’s not an anomaly, because if you look at the CBP officers, their attrition is very similar.

CBP continues to hire—you probably saw in the ’14 appro-priations where the CBP officer corps will increase within the next two years by 2,000. These kinds of increases are prob-ably not the case for other federal law enforcement in the federal government.

When I came into the Border Patrol, a lot of Border Patrol agents came in because they wanted to transfer over to the DEA and FBI at some point in their career. We don’t see a lot of that transition from government to government movement.

Q: DoD is bringing back a lot of equipment that is probably going to be deemed redundant. Is CBP looking to acquire some of that type of equipment? If so, what is the process you go through to either purchase or acquire? How do you go about making that transaction happen?

A: About three years ago, I approached Chairwoman [Candice] Miller, who is the chairwoman for the subcommittee on the House Homeland Border and Maritime Security subcommittee, in antici-pation of that very thing.

You should remember that the military has been working a counterdrug mission ever since the early 1990s. As the war spun up in Iraq and Afghanistan, oftentimes the military, as they were getting ready to deploy to theater, would be testing new equipment, maybe ground sensors, maybe sensing or radar sys-tems, and they would use portions along the southwest border because the terrain matched the areas in which they were going to be deployed.

Many times we would host those DoD assets; CBP would receive 30-60 days of additional capability while they trained on those systems. This gave us a sense over the years of what type of equipment was coming out. And by the way, because of the way that they were using that gear, it was very similar to our type of mission requirements.

In going to Chairwoman Miller, she agreed to sponsor, as part of her committee, working with the department. The long story short is that we signed a memorandum of understanding with DoD, and over the last couple of years have started receiving what we call DoD reuse equipment.

The taxpayers have already paid for once, and instead of com-ing back to some warehouse for long-term storage, we have CBP and Border Patrol agents look at the equipment and match it up to our requirements. Some of the equipment is returned material from Iraq and Afghanistan while some of it is equipment pur-chased for, but now not being sent, overseas.

Over the past year, we’ve put about 1,000 pieces of equipment out to frontline Border Patrol agents and training academies, including handheld thermals, infrared scopes, and most recently in South Texas, we had put up three balloons with high end radar and detection capability. The latter are the same systems deployed to protect forward operating bases. A little smaller than an aero-stat, we’re finding dual use for them, because with an elevated


platform in the areas around the Rio Grande river in South Texas, this gives our Border Patrol agents broader situational awareness of emerging threats.

Q: Could you give me an update on the fixed tower program?

A: I just received the brief about two weeks ago from Mark Borkowski [assistant commissioner, Office of Technology Innova-tion and Acquisition] and his shop within CBP who are the ones that take our requirements, go out to industry and do the procure-ment actions. CBP is in the process of awarding that contract over the next couple of weeks.

I can’t go into the details obviously because it’s pre-award, but I will tell you that there is still a requirement that this contract would fill, in certain locations, for integrated fixed towers. These are the areas where continuous surveillance of ongoing vulner-abilities exist and will exist. Those towers will be used to shore up the gap and allow us to shift some of our resources into other areas where we don’t have integrated fixed towers.

Q: You’re a couple years into the Border Patrol 2012-2016 strategic plan. As part of a multiyear plan and program that works in an evolving environment, how is that plan holding up?

A: Once this strategy was finalized, I gave the staff about a half a day to high five and enjoy it, then I quickly reminded them that strategies really don’t matter—it’s about the implementation. Over the past year and a half of implementation, we’ve reached out and tried to understand what situational awareness means, and then how do you then institute an effectiveness ratio, and does it make sense in the larger pool of metrics?

The team has really exceeded my expectations of what they’ve been able to do over the course of the last year, and with two things in particular: First and foremost, really taking a look from an intelligence standpoint, the first pillar of which is information. Because you’re dealing with a risk-based approach, our ability to clearly articulate the intelligence requirements that we feed to the intelligence community, and then to drive our operation, has really made exceptional gains in terms of where we thought we would be so far.

The other area we’ve really accelerated, although we’re just at our infancy in understanding this capability, is situational aware-ness. I’ll go through one example. This whole notion about, ‘Well you don’t have border control agents everywhere and you don’t have cameras everywhere, therefore the border must be unse-cured.’ We’ve recognized over the years that, even though we may not have areas covered, we have an idea of what is happening in that area, but we needed to be able to have some empirical data to be able to back that up.

Last March we started the first of what we called vulner-ability assessments. We took some of our unmanned Predator Bs with synthetic aperture radar—with the focus on change detection. Using those systems, we did baseline tests, sending before and after video within 24 hours to a processing, exploi-tation and dissemination cell—we have two, one up in North Dakota and one up in the Air Marine Operation Center, in Riverside, Calif.

These cells have computers running sophisticated algorithms that spit out anomalies, and we have analysts looking at the ter-

rain. They send their findings back to the ops division here in headquarters and using standard operating procedures we have developed, distribute that information back out to the agents in the field.

So what does all that mean? It means that right now, we asked the sectors over this past year to identify areas that they believe were low-activity, low-risk. They did that based on agent observa-tion, experience, judgments, terrain features and so on. Let’s face it—if you’re a smuggling organization, and you’re in a business to make money, which those illicit networks are, the last place you’re going to pick is some area where you’re going to be exposed over ground for days at a time. For them, that business model just doesn’t make sense because they have to assume more risk.

We identified possible target areas, which in some cases could be a mile wide and in some cases could be 10 miles wide. What we’ve been able to do since March of last year is collect over 115 targets covering approximately 350 non-contiguous border miles, which basically means we’ve done thousands and thousands of collections, being able to utilize not only at the unclassified level, the Predator Bs, but utilizing geospatial intelligence systems at the national level to reaffirm areas that we have designated as low-risk without having to deploy agents and technology to confirm that on a continuous basis.

We continue building that target deck, we continue to build those border miles of persistent surveillance, enabling us to provide a broader situational awareness picture than we ever had before. When you’re looking at border security and people extrapolating how many Border Patrol agents you would need to cover every inch of the northern and southern border, the fallacy that suggests that a vulnerability exists in the absence of those things is no longer the case. We’ve been able to utilize assets that have worked very well, that the military has perfected over the years, and we brought that into the fold to our domestic border security mission.

We need to know where the threats are or are emerging, and then be able to use that force to be able to move. Which, if you look back again about the strategy, that’s the whole piece about the three pillars: the information, the integration and the rapid response. How the implementation was built around those pillars.

Q: Down at the agent level, how would you characterize how the Border Patrol goes about enhancing training capabilities to give the agents control over the elasticity of their security mission?

A: That’s an ever-evolving challenge, and we’re hard on ourselves in terms of making sure that those Border Patrol agents are the best-trained to be able to make those decisions and be able to effect an interdiction within that last 50 feet, because there’s not a lot of help at that point in terms of air or ground support in many cases.

I think it’s just a constant iteration, and it starts with the acad-emy—they give them the foundation, and contrary to what some would tell you, the Border Patrol Academy doesn’t make Border Patrol agents. What it does is prepare individuals from the academy to learn how to become a Border Patrol agent.

Generally, the follow-up question I get is, ‘How long does it take to train a Border Patrol agent?’ And I say, ‘I don’t know, I’m going on 26 years and I’m still being trained every day by the men and women in this organization, so when I get there, I’ll let you know.’ But the point is, when you’re dealing with an evolv-ing threat picture and the environments where these men and


women work each and every day, they’re always constantly learning and adapting.

Our message to them is to make sure that their supervisors and leadership are aware of those changing dynamics so that we have the ability to tweak and make the adjustments, not just on the training side, but within our operational planning and implemen-tation cycles as well. A lot of the ideas that are coming out of this implementation didn’t come from a cubicle here in Washington, D.C.—it was from Border Patrol agents who understood fundamen-tally what we were asking them to do as an organization, and then we stepped out and we let them own the ‘how’ lane. They developed a lot of this implementation to be able to understand what those strategic objectives were once we articulated it to them.

Q: We talked earlier about the technologies and the equipment that you’re acquiring, both on your own and independently, and also piggybacking on the DoD equipment items. Have you found that the threats, the traffickers, the smugglers, the target threats that you’re looking at, have become more sophisticated?

A: Absolutely. A couple of examples: When I came into the Border Patrol many years ago, using encryption and rolling code for com-munication systems was new to us. It wasn’t until a few years ago that we had that capability; now we see the bad guys have, in some cases, even better, communications capability. In very remote areas along the border, where you don’t have coverage because of the terrain features, very high mountains, they’re not moving to other areas—they’re building their own antenna system, both in the U.S. and in Mexico.

We too have and are evolving in our ability to detect and interdict them, because that level of sophistication and technology keeps getting better and better.

But that is an emerging threat, our ability to identify where they have moved to and how they are communicating As it has become harder for them to get product across, whatever their commodity is, and in order to stay within their business model and be able to be profitable, they’ve had to make some investments, whether in GPS systems, secure and unsecure communications systems, they have some pretty state-of-the-art equipment that keeps us sharp.

Q: You mentioned earlier that one of the pillars is information, and some information comes from intelligence. Do you have agents or teams deployed forward into other countries and other areas to try and learn about threats before they get to the border?

A: CBPS Inc. is really on the forefront of doing just that, and whether it’s a CSI program, joint security teams, or Border Patrol in particular, generally our overseas response is at the request of the state department from a host country that wants to have a 30-day training on patrolling or rural interdiction or something similar. We have a host of requests from foreign governments to do that type of training—we continue to do that.

Most of the information that we get, whether it’s from the intelligence community or the CBP machine, if you will, our own foreign deployments help work through the embassies to be able to identify in advance those threats coming to the United States. Whether they’re coming on aircraft, whether they’re coming up through Central/South America on the ground, whether they’re flying into Mexico City, again, information is going to be the key.

The more that we know about those threats in advance, the better prepared we are to defeat them before they get to our borders, and that’s really the hallmark of the commissioner’s priorities for this year as well.

Q: Over the years, biometric data collection equipment has become more accurate and more sophisticated. How would you characterize CBP’s use of biometric identification equipment? How do you go about collecting the data, how is it stored, and how is it accessible for an agent in the field?

A: If you were to ask me the one or two most revolutionizing things that I’ve seen in my history of the Border Patrol, biometrics would be one

Up until probably the mid-1990s, without that capability, I would catch individuals two or three times on the same shift, the same person, and they would tell me a different name each and every time. There was absolutely no way to positively identify them. That was even before we started thinking about the homeland secu-rity threat and the terrorism threat. This was just people coming across the border.

With biometrics, I’ll walk you through very quickly what happens from a Border Patrol agent’s perspective. And it’s really critical for Border Patrol agents, because unlike the CBP offi-cer at a port of entry, the vast majority, 95-98 percent of the individuals that we apprehend, don’t have any documents whatso-ever. We have no idea—and therein lies the threat. We have no idea who these people are, where they came from and what threat they may pose to the citizens of this country.

So once we make the arrest, we generally take them to a pro-cessing area, which may be a Border Patrol station, it may be a forward observation base, it may be mobile capability right there in the field. We’re taking 10 biometric digital fingerprints and doing a federated query. Those prints are simultaneously going out to three databases—the first one is the U.S. VISIT (Visitor Immigration Status Indicator Technology), which basically tells us any time that the Department of Homeland Security has encountered them. There’s a whole host of data fields, as you can imagine. So it basically tells us if we have encountered this person before, which is helpful when you look at recidivism as it relates to areas of risk.

The second database that it checks is NCIC, which is the crime index, which will tell us if there are any warrants for this person. This gives us a threat segmentation, risk segmentation piece that we didn’t have prior to that.

The third database that came online a couple of years ago was ABIS, the Automated Biometric Information System from DoD—anybody that DoD has enrolled over the last few years.

From these queries, we get a broad range of information back on those individuals in mere minutes. Then we can figure out what we do at that point as it relates to final disposition, but it’s really helped the agents in the field identify and segment during levels of risk when they’re apprehending individuals between the ports of entry.

Q: Around June of last year, there was a Government Accountability Office report that came out with a recommendation that established November 2013 as a timeframe for the organization to come up with recommendations for securing the borders


between ports of entry. Can you bring me up to speed on where that response is?

A: I don’t know specifically the response—I can tell you, even when I was talking with Rebecca Gam-bler [of GAO] at the time she was doing the report, we had already transitioned into implementation. We had identified what the metrics were going to be, we have tweaked them over the past year or so.

But as it relates specifically to the GAO report, what we had done in terms of crafting what a secure border looks like, we’re not talking about whether definitively at a point in time if the border is secure or not, so that question generally gets posed to me as an either-or proposition. ‘Chief, is the border secure or not?’

When you’re looking at an environment and assessing risk, there’s a few variables you have take into consideration to answer that question, neither of which is static, so you’re looking at threat pre-dominantly, which is the whole intent and capabil-ity of the opposition that really defines the first piece of a threat matrix.

The second piece is vulnerability. We do vulner-ability assessments, we find out how to close that gap, we look at the consequence, and that tells us at a given point in time what the risk is.

Last year in 2013 we actually baselined a whole series of new metrics and a process to be able to assign levels of risk.

By the way, in some of the hearings last year and the year before, they started teeing up, ‘What does the secure border look like?’ There’s an old saying: If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. So we’re working with the committees, trying to figure out and get away from that 2006 Secure Fence Act definition of a secure border, which basically said prevention of all entries—so even if we were able to apprehend everybody that came across the border, the mere fact that they made it in was a failure.

Regarding the whole notion of sealing the border, we had to move people away from that, because it was just unattainable. I think more and more folks have come to realize with this risk-based approach, you’re not going to be able to 100 percent seal and guarantee along the borders, let alone the coastline.

So when you look at what we’ve baselined, there’s a whole host of metrics that far exceed those used in the past. Apprehensions used to be the metric of choice. People just gravitated to that met-ric, so we were able to explain, if it went up it was good, and if it went down we were doing okay as well.

People just react to one metric, and we really used that metric only to tell us how many people in that timeframe. For instance, when you look at the FY13 numbers, you’ll see we made about 420,000 apprehensions. But behind that, you should be able to say “Well, how many people was that?” The answer is about 320,000. Then the question should be about the threat. A lot of people would be surprised that we apprehended people from 144 different countries in 2013.

There are individuals waking up each and every day and trying to do harm to this country, and [we have to] understand who these

people are. We have to be able to assess that risk. When you look at how we’ve identified metrics and how we assess risk, I think we’re in a better position to provide a broader situational awareness picture than we ever have been able to do heretofore.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add about the men and women of the Border Patrol and CBP?

A: Yes, I’m very, very proud and very fortunate to be the chief of an organization that the men and women selflessly go out each and every day to protect this country. Not only are we asking them to change things that they have learned throughout their career in terms of this new strategy, and certainly the implementation.

You mentioned the furlough before, the fact that we weren’t able to pay them until the furlough was over, and there are some administrative issues that are still being worked through as far as the levels of that pay, but I have been out to the field and worked with my own staff here. There’s not one person that’s whining or moaning about it. These men and women go out each and every day, put on this uniform because they believe in the oath that they took to protect and defend the constitution of the United States and, by extension, the people of this country.

I’m proud of the work that they do, and I know that a lot of times in the press, for a variety of reasons, the use of force techniques are being questioned, and what they do and why they do it, but they go out each and every day, undeterred by some of the detractors out there, and they really take this job seriously. I couldn’t ask for a better bunch of men and women to be able to work with. O

With an attrition rate of less than 3 percent, the Border Patrol uses steady-stream hiring to stay at strength and diversify the force. [Photo courtesy of the Department of Homeland Security]


In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast, misinformation reigned. The French Quarter was under water. No, it wasn’t. The sheriff’s office had released dozens of prisoners. No, it hadn’t. People were being shot at the Louisiana Superdome. No, they weren’t.

It was several hours before officials could accurately identify how the water that was quickly flooding the city was even getting in. Finally, officials figured out a levee had been breached along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, and water was deluging one of the city’s lowest, poorest and most vulnerable sections. By then, more than 1,800 people were dead and thousands more had lost their homes and all their possessions.

Seven years later, when Hurricane Sandy made landfall in the New York City area, the stakes were higher. The storm was far weaker—Katrina made landfall just short of a Category 4 storm; Sandy may not even have been fully hurricane strength.

But although New Orleans has no underground infrastruc-ture—it is below sea level, and even the tombs in its cemeteries sit above ground because there is nothing but water below—Sandy hit an area with more than four times the population that relies on an extensive network of tunnels for transportation, power transmission and water distribution. And much of that network would be destroyed or seriously damaged by the storm.

Of course, the response to Sandy had something the response to Katrina did not—effective communications among first responders and equally effective means of transmitting messages to the general public.

Using a product made for soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq by General Dynamics C4 Systems, National Guard units in the area

moved in quickly and set up mobile command posts to restore secure local, state and federal government communications capabilities. Within hours, law enforcement, first responders and military organizations could communicate, collaborate and share data, and the Guard could keep its secure military networks separated.

The Warfighter Information Network-Tactical—or WIN-T Increment 1 system—enabled the Guard to deliver the same vital voice, video and data communications to enable the rapid and efficient deployment of emergency first responders as it did to soldiers in the field.

Today, National Guard units in every state are equipped with WIN-T Increment 1 systems, and another 210 such systems are in the hands of active-duty Army, Army reserve and Guard units

As a result, the New York area, despite far higher property values, recovered in about a year at a cost to the federal govern-ment of around $60 billion. Five years after Katrina, New Orleans was only beginning to come back, despite $148 billion in federal spending.

Effective communication in crisis situations saves lives and money. It enables responders to identify problems more quickly and take corrective action more confidently. And in recent years, a variety of approaches have become available that should make the coordination of future disaster responses more effective, efficient and timely.

Users have identified the key features of these systems as interoperability, durability, ease of use, redundant systems and the ability to communicate to other responders and to the general public through different channels. Systems must be able to move

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teams of responders—often from disparate agencies—into action at a moment’s notice. They must be able to give and receive infor-mation quickly, locate problems quickly and precisely and stand up to long hours in adverse weather conditions.

Communications after Sandy did not go smoothly for every-one. Some commercial cell towers went down. Others were over-loaded by calls as those inside the storm area attempted to reach others, and people from outside attempted to check on loved ones. Within hours of landfall, 25 percent of the commercial mobile capacity was lost, and nearly 10 percent remained inoperable a week later.

But communications among first responders were not inter-rupted. Emergency personnel from multiple states, agencies, levels of government and tasks com-municated seamlessly throughout the ordeal. It helped that all emergency responders in the area were compliant with Project 25—the protocol that allows federal, state and local public safety agencies to communicate with one another.

But it took more than P25. It also took systems designed to reach others instantly and to offer command-and-control capacity for extended peri-ods under dire circumstances.

Motorola, which transmitted its first public safety call in 1939, played a central role in the Sandy response through its Astro25 system. Motor-ola’s command-and-control console enabled com-munications with everything from analog radio systems to P25 Phase I and II digital radios and even the transmission of data and other information. Some systems even permit the sending of video, and some responder organizations have the capability of including video sent from citizens’ phones.

Handheld radios can communicate instantly and reliably through the system, which can be scaled for increased capacity and operated in con-junction with other Astro-type cores. The radios also must be reliable in ways normal radios and cell phones are not.

Multiband interoperability, rugged housing, emergency call buttons, strong signals, noise suppression and intelligent lighting are just some of the features needed for such devices. So is one-button calling. That’s where the BeOn application from Harris Public Safety and Professional Communications, a subsidiary of Harris Communications, comes in.

BeOn was designed to enable managed group communications anywhere in the world, even where cell systems are not even pres-ent. It also provides a connection between existing, traditional LMR radio systems and other IP networks, including commercial cellular 3G, 4G and LTE networks, as well as WiFi and LANs. It also includes geolocation and situational awareness features. BeOn also provides high-quality voice when communicating with P25 radios and enables end-to-end security for communications between radios and smart phones.

“Being able to stay in touch with units even if they are beyond the geographic boundaries of their home radio system can be a significant advantage for agencies whose missions reach across state borders,” said Dan Sullivan, director, radio sales, Harris RF Communications.

The Sandy response was but one example of damage mini-mized by effective use of technology in crisis situations large and small.

Last October, a boat traveling from Naples, Fla., to Key West caught fire. The blaze severely damaged the boat’s radio and its propulsion system. The radio operated just long enough for the captain to send a two-second Mayday alert. A U.S. Coast Guard Watchstander in Sector Key West heard the call, and within hours, a C-130 and a Coast Guard vessel had found the damage boat and safely returned the boat and its occupants to shore.

The Coast Guard was using the Rescue 21 system, which through 2013 had responded to more than 61,000 search and

rescue cases. Built by General Dynamics C4 Systems, Res-

cue 21 uses 268 towers and 32 command centers to cover more than 42,000 miles of U.S. coast-line, lakes and rivers. Coast Guard “watchstand-ers” monitor the system 24/7. When distress calls arrive, the system automatically records the call, and direction-finding equipment on the towers accurately computes the caller’s location. The first such system developed for the Department of Homeland Security, Rescue 21 is interoperable with other federal agencies, as well as state and local enforcement and public safety organizations, and is designed to accommodate additional cen-sors and command-and-control equipment as it becomes available.

Rescue 21 is a “lifeline for millions of boaters,” said Chris Marzilli, president of General Dynamics C4 System. “It’s also a program that demonstrates how broadband technologies are improving mari-time situational awareness, communication and collaboration among multiple government and law-enforcement agencies.”

This integrated approach has caught on in other places where crisis communications are part of daily life—even when no apparent crisis exists. In

Washington, D.C., instances such as presidential inaugurations, State of the Union addresses, elections or mass protests neces-sitate emergency response coordination across multiple jurisdic-tions and agencies.

For instance, last January’s presidential inauguration required responders to coordinate not just intensive security across mul-tiple agencies, federal, state and local, but traffic challenges, public access for hundreds of thousands of people—including protesters, who create security needs themselves—and possible mass-casualty events should the security be breached. In addition, there had to be methods in place to inform the public of emergen-cies should that become necessary.

It was all run out of the D.C. Homeland Security and Emer-gency Management Agency. There, under the direction of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, responders, security agencies and other public safety officials coordinated activities, shared data and directed officers and responders in the field through a web-based platform called the Alerity system.

The system, a product of Cooper Industries, focuses on reaching end users in their preferred format. It operates sepa-rate systems for responders and for the public. Responders are

Chris Marzilli

Dan Sullivan

[email protected]


dispatched electronically. They receive not only the address but other relevant information—what type of disaster is involved, how many people, which sides of buildings promote the best access, etc. And it all comes over their phones via email, text and photo.

For emergencies, such as an impending tornado, messages would go out instantly and automatically both to responders and the public. Emergency agencies would have the information automatically posted to their websites and even their Facebook and Twitter pages. In addition, the public can opt in to a messag-ing system that communicates information about weather events, significant traffic events, even school closings.

According to Phil Conradt, product manager for Cooper, this is part of an effort to get responders and the public used to communi-cations from emergency services providers so the information and the services themselves can be more effective during emergencies.

“It’s been our experience if you use a system only for emergen-cies, it won’t be what you turn to when an emergency occurs,” Conradt said. “You don’t have time to dust off the operations manual at that point. If you use it daily for operational and public safety situations, it will become ingrained. People will come to know they can rely on it.”

Cooper also has tailored its system for use by college campuses, some of which are their own jurisdictions by law. Some schools use their systems only for emergency notifications; others use them to inform students when to sign up for classes, when fees are due, etc.

Conradt said some colleges even use the system to provide virtual panic buttons. Students press the buttons when in trouble, and responders receive signals that include information about the student, the student’s location and other data.

Colleges also have proven to be an area of expansion for oth-ers, such as LRAD, a California-based firm that makes long-range hailing devices. Originally designed for ships at sea to contact other ships, the product has been redesigned to project sound up to 2,000 meters over land or 3 miles across water in a full 360-degree radius.

The firm offers a stationary version that can be placed in the center of a college campus and a portable unit that can be trans-ported to mass casualty events. It even has a product used by airports that keeps away birds, such as Canadian geese, by gener-ating the sounds of their predators, such as the red-tailed hawk.

“The object is to produce clear, intelligible speech that not only informs people a disaster is at hand, but tells them what kind of disaster and what kind of action they need to take,” said Michael Shank, director of business development for LRAD.

But the problem with Web-based systems or those that rely in any way on commercial towers is that those towers may be lost during a disaster. What happens then? Companies such as ViaSat move in. ViaSat provides mobile satellite services. If Veri-zon goes down, it can become a portable Verizon on the scene, linking first responders to command-and-control with the band-width to provide not just audio communications by video link-ages so responders can see—in real time—the challenges that await them.

First responders today are far more equipped to know what they’re up against, communicate among each other, reach the public with important information, and keep themselves and the people and property they protect safe than they were even eight years ago when Katrina struck the Gulf Coast.

P25 is but the beginning of an all-out effort to achieve com-plete interoperability and to keep the public informed as never before. New technologies emerge almost daily to address these new possibilities. And that next generation—far more accessible to pictures and video as well as text—will be the best prepared yet the next time a big storm or other disaster hits in an area such as New Orleans. O



Typical Rescue 21 equipment consists of operator consoles in sector and station command centers. At remote fixed facility (RFF) sites, there is a tower and at its base is a shelter, generator and propane tank. [Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard]


U.S. Customs and Border Protection is receiving and deciding how to use some formidable Defense Department aerostat assets under two programs. The first is reutilization of tactical aerostats returning from theater. The second is CBP’s takeover of the Tethered Aerostats Radar System (TARS), a strategic border-security system long run by the Defense Department.

On the first, CBP is still running operational evaluations on Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment (RAID) and Persistent Ground Surveil-lance System (PGSS) aerostats. “We want to get a better feel on how they will fit in,” explained Tobin Ruff, acting director of integration of the defense reutilization program.

CBP is determining how much the defense equipment, which has been expensive to operate and maintain, would cost if CBP operates it. “Before we jump in, we want see what it takes to keep the systems up and running and how they fit into our operations and with the Border Patrol,” Ruff explained. CBP does not yet know how many aerostats would be available under reutilization. “Anywhere between a little and a lot,” Ruff speculated.

RAID and PGSS are tactical aerostats, noted Rob Brown, program manager of TARS. “Their primary mission is orienting sensors toward the ground domain to look for foot and vehicle traffic.”

TARS, the decades-old defense program that has been transferred to CBP, uses long-range radar to search for and track air and sea vehicles. TARS data is sent to CBP’s Air Marine Operations Center (AMOC) in Riverside, Calif.

Last summer, CBP took complete ownership of TARS operations and contract management. “We own it 100 percent,” Brown said. TARS will continue to have a mission separate from the tactical mis-sions of RAID and PGSS, but Brown said there may be economies in infrastructure for both systems—for example, in providing helium sources and qualification of flight crews.

TARS is a very capable system, but it is old and fragile and has some gaps in coverage. “We are just in the throes of doing plans and analysis in depth to figure out what we want to do in the future,” Brown said. CBP plans to continue the current TARS contract with Exelis and Northrop Grumman for at least a few years.

“We are digesting new capabilities,” Brown summarized. “We have just learned how to spell TARS, and now we are busy identifying a number of possible futures. Investment dollars are hard to come by. We want to enable our senior leadership to compete for future invest-ment opportunities.”

Ruff agreed: “We are in the exploratory mode.”

By heNry caNaday

BSeP correSPoNdeNt

Up in the Airthe deciSioN oN hoW to Put more eyeS iN the Sky over the SoutherN u.S. Border iS Still BeiNg evaluated.


Aerostat and sensor suppliers are confident their equipment can play an important role in securing U.S. borders.

TCOM tactical aerostat systems, including the 17M and 22M, are being evaluated by the Border Patrol along U.S.-Mexico border, said TCOM President Ron Bendlin. TCOM tactical systems can carry radar, video and communications payloads at altitudes from 1,000 to 3,000 feet and usually stay up for two weeks. Data is transmitted to the ground control station through a fiber-optic tether.

TCOM’s strategic aerostats are also suited to border security, carrying larger surveillance packages up to 15,000 feet for as long as 30 days. They can identify low-flying airborne vehicles attempting to evade air radar.

TCOM has long supported TARS, the U.S. military and allied gov-ernments in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

The company recently released its tactical 12M: compact, afford-able, transportable anywhere, rapidly deployable and easily retrieved. The system can be transported in a single container, less than 8 feet square. The mooring station enables mounts on various platforms or the ground.

The 12M operates at 1,000 feet and carries up to 60 pounds of payload. It has demonstrated integration of the Broadband Meshable Data Link (BMDL) and a stabilized turret camera. BMDL relays video, audio and GPS through radio to extend range far beyond that of a ground antenna. The turret camera can be controlled by operators on the ground or from the mooring sys-tem using a joystick.

TCOM has also developed a new aerostat hull material that increases the strength-to-weight ratio, resistance to temperature and humidity and helium retention. The new material enables construction of aerostats that can lift over 7,000 pounds and survive winds of 100 knots.

Frederick Edworthy, vice president of Aeroscraft, thinks CBP can use light and simple aerostats. Aeros-craft devices would be smaller, lighter and less expen-sive than military equipment and use lighter payloads built for small unmanned aircraft systems (UASs).

Aeroscraft makes a tactical aerostat, Sky Cobra. “It is small, simple and reasonable cost,” Edworthy said. Sky Cobra is five meters in length and carries 12 pounds of payload to 1,000 feet. It takes only one person to set up and operate and can handle sustained winds of 35 knots. The slightly larger Sky Crow needs just two people to set up in 30 minutes.

Edworthy thinks that aerostats should be moved quickly to choke points. He hopes to present his ideas to CBP in February.

Raven Aerostar provide aerostats and situational awareness for border security with its Vista Radars, aerospace platforms and flight services. The company has over 50 years experience with lighter-than-air technology and offers both large and tactical tethered aerostats

Raven’s Vista Radar provides situational awareness through radar intelligence. Its radar-processing experts specialize in analysis of remote-sensor data, and Vista Radars are optimized for tracking targets in the air, on land or by sea.

Vista Radar provides automatic, 360-degree wide-area persistent situational awareness without operator adjustment, control turn-ing or data interpretation. It tracks difficult-to-detect targets, even with severe radar clutter when other systems may fail. And Vista

easily integrates with other sensors for target classification and identification.

Vista was selected by the Navy for tracking small boats and by the Army to protect land forces in Afghanistan. It yields extremely low false-alarm rates, enables unattended remote deployments and offers composite display of tracks from multiple sensor feeds in combination with camera images.

Raven’s aerospace platforms allow advanced tech-nology and modern sensors to reach stratospheric heights inexpensively and from anywhere in the world. “There is nothing that a satellite does that a balloon can’t do carrying similar technology,” said Vice Presi-dent and General Manager Lon Stroschein.

Raven’s tethered aerostats, Vista Radar and aero-space platforms can be used alone, or they can be integrated into a system for continuous monitoring of any given area. Controlling all equipment from a single command center, users have access to real-time information. Raven argues it is critical for security and defense forces to detect threats as early and as far from our borders as possible.

In 2012, a Raven aerostat was used with Logos Technologies’ wide area motion imager Kestrel and a Wescam sensor in the Nogales trial for CBP.

Logos makes sensors and extracts value from the information they provide, explained President John

Marion. The company makes Kestrel for persistent surveillance of an area as big as a city.

“You can see people and vehicles,” Marion said. “It’s a movie with pictures taken once or twice a second and stored in TiVo-available form.”

Kestrel was used to protect forward operating bases. When an improvised explosive device went off, Kestrel looked backwards, saw who laid the IED and where he came from. The device saw in both daytime and, with a mid-wave infrared, sensor at night, 24 hours a day, for 30 to 40 days.

Logos demonstrated Kestrel to the CBP at Nogales in March 2012. The device peered into the city, two entry points from Mexico

Lon Stroschein

Ron Bendlin

Aerostats are, in many cases, the perfect platform for a persistent set of sensors in the sky to monitor and track large stretches of the border. [Photo courtesy of Logos Technologies]


and a hilly area to the west. In a week, 120 people were apprehended with Kestrel’s help. “As the Patrol learned how to use it, numbers went up. As bad buys learned about it, numbers went down,” Marion remembered.

The Border Patrol tracks get-away rates, how many people escape when one of their number is chased. This escape rate went down when Kestrel was on duty.

Kestrel also spotted backpackers carrying marijuana and saw where backpacks were dropped. The patrol got there before drug transporters picked up the packs. Kestrel could also see drug smug-glers entering a factory and traffic decreasing 15 minutes before and after, so coordination was likely.

The Logos chief said Kestrel might have rolled up drug-smug-gling networks, as it rolled up terrorist networks in Afghanistan, by observing patterns and places. But it lacked access to CBP and other intelligence necessary for this task.

Marion said full motion video is useful and might complement Kestrel, which could tell FMV when to zoom in on an area. Radar is good for long range in open, flat landscapes, but not useful in urban areas where radar images are just dots.

Kestrel has 100,000 hours of surveillance under its belt and weighs 150 pounds, so needs a medium to large aerostat. It is usu-ally combined with an FMV ball at 100 to 200 pounds and typically deployed as part of a 500- to 600-pound payload on aerostats at 3,000 to 4,000 feet. Near an airport at Nogales, it went up only 2,200 feet and could still see 4 to 5 kilometers.

“There is no other 360-degree day-and-night sensor for aerostats,” Marion emphasized. “Lots of people talk about persistence, but it tends not to be wide area.”

Logos continues to improve Kestrel, for example by filling in a ‘donut hole’ below the device. The company pioneered using FMV, trig-gering FMV to shoot anything moving. Logos can set up a box in the image so that anything going in or out of the box alarms the operator. “That makes the operator more productive,” Marion noted.

Controp makes a suite of sensor packages for aerostats. CEO James Dotan said these are “dramatically lighter” than competing sensors of similar capabilities. “Where we have 65 pounds, that would be 100 to 130 pounds for our rivals. And cost goes with size. We are cheaper.”

Dotan said Controp also offers better images. Its Speed-A systems offers 3-axis stabilization. “We stabilize the roll mechanically, not elec-tronically. That is better.”

Controp’s DSP-1 system is used for both on and offshore border security. Sensors include forward looking infrared (FLIR), charge-coupled device (CCD) or 3-CCD, with optional laser rangefinder and pointer. The firm says DSP-1 offers the best value for high perfor-mance. It can be mounted on aerostats and other platforms.

Controp’s Speed-A is a high-performance, lightweight aerostat-mounted electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) system specially designed for aerostats. It stabilizes pitch, yaw and roll and has long-range EO. Sensors include FLIR with continuous optical zoom, TV CCD, also with continuous zoom, and laser rangefinder and pointer.

Controp calls its DSP-HD the payload of choice for day and night surveillance. FLIR and a full high-definition camera give high perfor-mance in light weight, less than 60 pounds for the turret.

Wescam produces a range of EO/IR sensors for airborne, ground and shipboard use. Multi-sensor turrets typically include several cameras to cover multiple spectral bands and levels of magnification, explained Paul Jennison, vice president of government sales.

Wescam color cameras deliver the highest resolution and most natural-looking images in daylight. Low-light cameras employ ampli-fication to provide effective images under low light, such as dusk. IR can be used under all conditions to detect humans and can image in complete darkness. These imagers can be complemented by laser rangefinders and pointers.

Cameras and lasers are housed in stabilized multi-axis gimbals that allow operators to control direction. Vibrations are suppressed to maintain sharp images, improving target detection, recognition and identification. Most Wescam products have an automatic-steering mode that keeps imagers looking at particular geo-referenced targets, regardless of vehicle position or attitude.

Jennison said Wescam’s imaging turrets have the best stabilization and geo-location performance in the industry. “All our turrets have a 4- or 5-axis design to ensure superior stabilization. Even our smaller turrets and those intended for ground applications have a 4-axis design, which is rare. Most manufacturers use a 2-axis design, which is simpler, but has worse stabilization performance.” These factors lead to best detection range and ease of use, according to Jennison.

In 2014, Wescam will launch new offerings suitable for border security. These will include moving maps and moving target-detection technology. O

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Gordon Kesting is the vice president of Command & Control Systems and Home-land Security Solutions at Elbit Systems of America headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, the U.S. subsidiary of Elbit Systems Ltd., headquartered in Haifa, Israel. Kest-ing has worked in the national security industry for over 30 years at companies such as BAE Systems, DRS Technologies, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman in roles including systems engineering, program management and strategic planning. In his current role, he is responsible for support-ing the homeland security enterprise with Elbit Systems’ innovative security related solutions in areas such as border security, critical infrastructure protection, cyber-security and communications, many of which have been developed and deployed in Israel and other countries.

Q: What are your primary business areas within the homeland security community?

A: Elbit Systems of America offers a vari-ety of solutions for the homeland security community ranging from integrated sys-tems to products. These include systems for border security and critical infrastruc-ture protection, interoperable communica-tions for first responders, electro-optical and infrared sensors, unmanned and unat-tended systems for air, ground and mari-time applications, training and simulation, and cybersecurity solutions.

Q: How have you adjusted your homeland security-related business to maximize efficiencies and help keep costs down?

A: We have the unique ability to maximize efficiencies by leveraging solutions from our parent company, which has a strong history of providing homeland security-related solutions in Israel and other parts of the world. Because of the operational environment in these countries, our sys-tems have a pedigree of proven perfor-mance. These environments also present an

ever-changing threat, so we have become very agile in our ability to adapt solutions in a timely manner.

This background, coupled with the U.S.-based engineering and support capabilities of Elbit Systems of America, provides us the ability to offer proven and innovative solu-tions in the most efficient manner.

Q: How do you coordinate your business development efforts to make sure they match what direction the homeland security community is taking?

A: We always begin any integrated system or product development activity by studying the operational need that is being addressed. This is accomplished by direct interaction with the end users to ensure we understand their mission needs and requirements. We are also able to leverage our experience in deploying systems worldwide to further enhance our efforts to support the end user’s critical mission needs.

In other major international markets, such as Australia and Brazil, for example, Elbit Systems operates as a local company through locally-owned companies with local employees, which further enhances our customer affinity and business develop-ment efforts in those regions.

Q: How would you describe your after-sale support capabilities?

A: After-sale support begins as part of the initial design process where supportability and maintainability concerns of the end

users are considered up front. For instance, component selection takes into account operational availability so we can maximize system up time. We also build in features such as health monitoring and 24/7 call cen-ters to facilitate predictive maintenance and real-time feedback of system performance.

These capabilities are focused through a dedicated support and services solutions business unit that specializes in after-sale support and sustainment.

Q: What do you see as major challenges over the next 12 months and how are you addressing them?

A: The next 12 months will be a time of budget uncertainty that could delay the award of border security-related programs. Because of our broad base of technology and proven solutions, we have the ability to address opportunities in growing market segments such as cybersecurity, communi-cations and international markets.

Q: Is partnering with other companies an important part of your business strategy?

A: Absolutely. As an integrator, we rely on establishing relationships with “best of breed” companies that offer discriminating sensor and communications technologies or other capabilities that are not resident in our company, such as a tower construction.

Partnering with other companies allows us to support our customers’ needs to the fullest extent of our ability.

Q: How do you measure success?

A: In this business, as in most areas related to national security, success is measured by the effectiveness of our systems in sup-porting end users so they may meet their mission objectives. Within Elbit Systems of America we have captured the essence of this goal in our mission statement, which is to “provide innovative solutions that protect and save lives.” O

Gordon KestingVice President of Command & Control Systems

and Homeland Security SolutionsElbit Systems of America

inDuStRy intERViEW Border Security & Emergency Preparedness


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Cover anD in-Depth interview with:

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Features

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Threat Prediction and AnalyticsInformation is power, and the ability to collect intel and use that to predict events and course of action can create an element of safety and reaction time.

Unmanned SystemsUnmanned systems—whether air, land or sea—perform dangerous, dirty work, and extend surveillance eyes well beyond the limits of boots on the ground.

BiometricsUsing technology to detect what a human likely cannot.

speCial who’s who proFileDistrict of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency

SheltersShelters to protect against the CBRN threat can also be used as the containment system during a decontamination process.

CBRNE Detection SystemsAvoiding a chem/bio hazard, or even knowing it’s there, requires a detection capability. New systems are coming on line to supplement operational devices to detect a CBRN threat.

Personal Response GearA roundup of new technologies that add tools to the first responder tool kit.

Seamless space, air and ground layers

Scale from tactical edge to global enterprise and cloud

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Ageon ISR

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Stephen St. Mary I 617-517-3210 I [email protected]

IntelligenceSurveillanceReconnaissance

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