To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. UPDATES & RESPONSES FEMA: What were they thinking? To the Editor: Thank you for your editorial regarding FEMA. (“Which way for FEMA?” February 2009.) As someone who lived in the New Orleans area prior to and then after hurricanes Katrina and Rita (although I am working in DC, my family still lives in Madisonville, La.), I still get emotional three and a half years after Katrina when I think of the “perfect storm” of government (state, local and federal, plenty to go around!) failures that occurred before and after the storms. Here we are three and a half years later and FEMA is still the bureaucratic nightmare and continues to impede the rebuilding efforts of state and local governments and residents. One needs to only look at the problems the small city of Slidell, La. is having with FEMA in trying to rebuild their city infrastructure to see this model under DHS is not working. U.S. NAVY PHOTOGRAPHER’S MATE 2ND CLASS LISA BORGES HSToday PHONE: ™ P.O. Box 9789, McLean, Va. 22101-3611 800-503-6506 FAX: 866-503-5758 WWW.HSToday.US I agree with James Lee Witt that FEMA needs to be a standalone agency that when a disaster is imminent, can muster the resources of every government and military entity, not stand in line with other DHS agencies hat in hand, asking “mother may I?” for its share of resources. At best, DHS was a poorly planned and cobbled together idea, with little forethought of the mishmash of agencies and missions thrown together with little or nothing in common (ICE—FPS and I&NS? What were they thinking? They weren’t!) nor any thought of the aftermath left behind by the legacy departments and agencies these entities were taken from. Thank you for shining the light of day on this issue. I hope they in Congress wake up before the next big disaster. It’s not a matter of “if” for the Gulf Coast, it’s a matter of when. —MATT ISSMAN, WASHINGTON, DC PUBLISHER Kimberley S. Hanson-Brown PHONE: 800-503-6506 khanson@HSToday.us EDITOR David Silverberg PHONE: 703-757-0520 editor@HSToday.US SENIOR REPORTER Anthony Kimery akimery@HSToday.us BUSINESS EDITOR Philip Leggiere Business@HSToday.us WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENTS Mickey McCarter Kelley Vlahos REGIONAL CORRESPONDENTS NORTH AMERICA Chuck Hustmyre—New Orleans Jeff O’Neill—Boston Jana Schroeder—Mexico City Michael Peltier—Tallahassee WR Stephens—Toronto Liza Porteus Viana—New York EUROPE Matt Baglio—Rome Raffaello Pantucci—London COLUMNISTS Philip Finnegan Michael Paddock Science Correspondent Lakshmi Sandhana IT Correspondent Hank Hogan CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Thomas M. Iannucci Hal Raveche COPY EDITOR PROOFREADER Kelly Medina Kristen Loesch ART DIRECTOR Michelle Wandres PHONE: 301-972-2682 FAX: 301-972-2892 production@HSToday.US SUBSCRIBER SERVICES Debbie Young PHONE: 1-800-503-6506 FAX: 1-866-503-5758 subscriptions@hstoday.us HSToday is published monthly by KMD Media LLC, 6800 Fleetwood Road, Suite 1114, McLean, Va. 22101-3611. Annual subscription rates: $49.95 for 12 issues U.S. domestic mail; $69.95 Canada; $99.95 international mail. Periodicals postage paid at McLean, VA, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to HSToday, P.O. Box 292995, Dayton, OH 45429-8995. © Copyright 2009 HSToday. All rights reserved Access for Arlington To the Editor: In the Leadership Profile article (“Chris Broderick, Chief Executive Officer, Corestreet” March 2009), the author stated that firefighters and rescue personnel were denied access to the Pentagon following the September 11 terrorist attack. Arlington County fire and rescue personnel quickly responded to the Pentagon and the fire chief immediately established incident command. There was no delay. Arlington called for support from other fire departments after their arrival. This action was possible because of the longstanding positive working relationship established between Arlington and the Defense Protective Service (DPS), the organization responsible for Pentagon security. DPS and Arlington conducted joint training exercises prior to the terrorist attack and had developed procedures over the years to deal with incident command and security issues. This allowed the two organizations to work together without friction because of the trust that had been established between the organizations and their personnel. The cooper- Smoke and flames rise over the Pentagon following the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001. Local firefighters had access to the building, according to the former head of building security. ative working relationship was recognized in the 9/11 Report. In 2002, the DPS functions were incorporated into the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA). PFPA and Arlington continued to refine their procedures and working relationship. I agree with programs to provide identity services for incidents involving more than one organization. This will greatly assist police and security personnel. However, a smart card alone will not grant access to all sensitive areas. Working relationships must be developed to ensure a smooth operation. —JOHN JESTER, DIRECTOR (RETIRED), DPS AND PFPA 2007 CentralSoutheast Region 2007 CentralSoutheast Region 2005 CentralSoutheast Region 2005 CentralSoutheast Region Bronze Special Section Bronze Special Supplement Silver Special Section Bronze Regular Department 4 May 2009 | Homeland Security Today Magazine This month’s issue is now available online at…