U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

65–976 CC WASHINGTON : 2000

S. HRG. 106–601

TRAINING FIRST RESPONDERS INTO

THE NEXT CENTURY

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON YOUTH VIOLENCE

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

ON

THE TRAINING OF FIRST RESPONDERS SUCH AS POLICE, FIRE FIGHTERS, EMERGENCY TECHNICIANS, AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS FOR

THE CHALLENGES THEY FACE

FORT MCCLELLAN, AL

JUNE 11, 1999

Serial No. J–106–601

Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary

(

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah, Chairman

STROM THURMOND, South Carolina

CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa

ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania

JON KYL, Arizona

MIKE DEWINE, Ohio

JOHN ASHCROFT, Missouri

SPENCER ABRAHAM, Michigan

JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama

BOB SMITH, New Hampshire

PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont

EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts

JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Delaware

HERBERT KOHL, Wisconsin

DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California

RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin

ROBERT G. TORRICELLI, New Jersey

CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York

MANUS COONEY, Chief Counsel and Staff Director

BRUCE A. COHEN, Minority Chief Counsel

SUBCOMMITTEE ON YOUTH VIOLENCE

JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama, Chairman

BOB SMITH, New Hampshire

JON KYL, Arizona

JOHN ASHCROFT, Missouri

JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Delaware

DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California

HERBERT KOHL, Wisconsin

KRISTI LEE, Chief Counsel

SHERYL WALTER, Minority Chief Counsel

(II)

(III)

C O N T E N T S

STATEMENT OF COMMITTEE MEMBER

Page

Sessions, Hon. Jeff, U.S. Senator from the State of Alabama ............................. 2

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES

Panel consisting of Robert Knouss, Director, Office of Emergency Preparedness, Department of Health and Human Services; Michael A. Parker, Deputy Commander, Soldier and Biological Chemical Command, Department

of Defense; and Curtis H. Straub, Director, Office for State and Local

Domestic Preparedness Support, Office of Justice Programs, Department

of Justice ............................................................................................................... 8

Panel consisting of Darrell Huguchi, deputy fire chief, Los Angeles County,

CA and Gary McConnell, director, Georgia Emergency Management Agency ........................................................................................................................... 42

ALPHABETICAL LIST AND MATERIAL SUBMITTED

Higuchi, Darrell: Testimony ................................................................................... 42

Knouss, Robert: Testimony ..................................................................................... 8

McConnell, Gary: Testimony .................................................................................. 44

Parker, Michael A.:

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 12

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 16

Straub, Curtis H.:

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 22

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 23

Various letters ........................................................................................... 27

A P P E N D I X

ADDITIONAL SUBMISSION FOR THE RECORD

Nerve Gas Summary for GB/VX by Cliff Bourg, Anniston, AL, dated June

11, 1999 ................................................................................................................. 51

(1)

TRAINING FIRST RESPONDERS INTO THE

NEXT CENTURY

Friday, June 11, 1999

U.S. SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON YOUTH VIOLENCE,

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY,

Fort McClellan, AL.

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:08 a.m., in the

Cadwell Auditorium, Building 3181, Fort McClellan, AL, Hon. Jeff

Sessions (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Mr. JOHNSON. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to

the showplace of the south, Fort McClellan, and specifically the

Center for Domestic Preparedness.

We are extremely pleased today to have Senator Sessions conducting a field hearing here at Fort McClellan and the Center for

Domestic Preparedness and we are going to get to the hearing in

just a moment, but first a couple of administrative announcements.

If you have a requirement for restroom facilities, they are out in

the hallway to my right front as you go out the rear of the building.

And also, as we leave this morning head out to the live agent facility for a visit with the first responders undergoing training; the

panelists that are going to be testifying this morning and your support staff, please board the bus that will be parked outside and

transportation will be provided to you for the rest of your stay

here.

I need to introduce just for a second if I could—all media folks,

if you would, please talk with Angie in the back of the room there.

We have a room set aside for a media event shortly after the hearing concludes this morning.

I would like to recognize some community leaders and guest that

we have in the audience this morning. First of all, on behalf of the

Center for Domestic Preparedness, thanks very much for your interest and being here with us this morning at the hearing.

First, I would like to introduce to you Dr. Harold McGee, president of the Jacksonville State University. Also from Jacksonville

State University is Dr. Barry Cox.

Would you please stand when I call your name? And then please

be seated after that. Thank you very much, Dr. McGee and Dr.

Cox.

Dr. Mike Moriarty from Auburn University.

Also, I would be remiss if I did not introduce his right arm and

that is Maj. Gen. Ret. Jerry Watson, the former commander of Fort

McClellan here, who is currently working with the Center for DoVerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:20 Aug 11, 2000 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 RESPONDERS SJUD4 PsN: SJUD4
2

mestic Preparedness along with the Auburn Institute on development of a strategic plan.

Also, Mr. Tim Moore from Auburn University is the director of

Auburn University’s Biological Detection Institute—I think I got

that right. Anyway, glad to have you here.

Also, I would like to introduce County Commission Chairman

Dunn.

Also, I would like to introduce Mr. Roy Hanna, the chairman of

the Joint Powers Authority and Mr. Kenny Whitley, the executive

director of the Joint Powers Authority.

I also would like to introduce Brig. Gen. Ret. Tom Adams, Superintendent of Marion Military Institute.

Mr. Jerry Powell, a community leader. Thank you, sir.

Mr. Dwayne Higgins, the president of Anniston-Calhoun County

Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. John Blue from Gadsden State Community College.

And Mr. Ed Miller from the Anniston Water and Sewer Board.

I tried to catch everyone as you came in and if I happened to

overlook someone, please identify yourself to me so that we can

make sure that a proper introduction is made.

Again, thank you very much for being here this morning and I

am going to sit down now and Senator Sessions will conduct the

hearing.

Again, those of you that are going to be joining us for lunch also

have been informed, and the bus, once it leaves here, will go to the

live agent facility and from there on over to the McClellan Club for

lunch and then the bus will return here for you to pick up your vehicles.

Again, welcome and thank you very much for being here.

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JEFF SESSIONS, A U.S.

SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF ALABAMA

Senator SESSIONS. Thank you very much, L.Z.

This is a little bit awkward kind of hearing room, but it works,

I think.

I really appreciate having the opportunity to know you and work

with you, our whole staff does and the whole leadership in this

town, Mayor Stedham, Chairman Dunn and others at the Joint

Powers Authority, all of you have worked together in a way that

I think can lead to making Fort McClellan a center of excellence

for training for the entire Nation for responders to chemical weapons attack. I think that is critical for us, I hope we can do that and

I do not believe there is anyone in the country that has done a better job today in getting prepared to lead that effort than this center

has, and I am real pleased with it.

I have just given a lot of thought and attention to this community, as has my staff. We believe it is a great community, a tremendous asset to Alabama. We are going to have some economic downturn from the closure of Fort McClellan, but there are going to be

some good things that are coming in behind it. And the more we

work at that intentionally and the community works together effectively, I believe we can continue to build the kind of community

you cherish and desire.

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I want to tell you how much I have appreciated the leadership

of Senator Shelby in so many ways. We have been able to call on

him, he is on the Appropriations Committee, which is key at a

number of different points. And he has been a real asset in everything that we have done for Anniston and for me personally. And

I want to say that.

As you know, you have no greater champion than Bob Riley. I

talked to Bob yesterday, he and Robert Aderholt both hoped to

come but they are having votes in the House today and they could

not get out of town. I am very sorry that they could not be here,

because I wanted them to participate in this. Bob just continues to

press for the issues that you care about, whether it is the bypass

or developing Fort McClellan, he is at the forefront in all those

matters.

I would like to make a few opening remarks and then introduce

the panel. We will have some questions and then we will have a

second panel.

This is a field hearing of our subcommittee, which is the Subcommittee on Youth Violence, but it also has oversight over the Office of Justice Programs, and that, of course, is the entity within

the Department of Justice that will be running the center here.

First responders have been estimated to number five million persons. These include police, fire, emergency technicians and other

professionals. So I want to welcome today’s panelists who hold key

positions in our effort to train and prepare them for the challenges

they will face.

The bomb that exploded outside the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City took 168 American lives. I am sure all of us remember

the images of panic, shock, grief, and horror that were associated

with that incident.

Elsewhere in the country, we still seek the individual responsible

for the clinic bombing in Birmingham, which took the life of a police officer and permanently crippled a nurse.

Recently, we have been shocked again by the tragedies which occurred in Littleton, CO, and Conyers, GA.

The pictures of local emergency responders in each instance

struggling diligently to save lives and protect property are vivid

and poignant. The seriousness and consequence of these events

cannot be overstated. We are witnessing massive damage and loss

of life on a scale never before experienced before outside combat.

These events, however horrific and unusual, were accomplished

with so-called conventional weapons. It is hard to imagine, but had

any of these events included a chemical, nuclear or biological weapon of mass destruction, each could have been even more catastrophic.

Chemical, nuclear or biological weapons are not beyond the capability of some of the world’s terrorists or their sponsoring rogue

states. It is clear America must be prepared to defend itself against

such a threat when a weapon of mass destruction event occurs.

They must respond efficiently and effectively with required resources.

One of the major difficulties faced by local jurisdictions is the

large number of layered bureaucracies involved in responding to a

crisis. What many people may not realize is that numerous FedVerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:20 Aug 11, 2000 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 RESPONDERS SJUD4 PsN: SJUD4
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eral, State and local agencies will be called upon to perform individual functions in the aftermath of an incident. Accordingly, successful coordination and management is absolutely critical.

Several weeks ago, this subcommittee and the Subcommittee on

Technology, Terrorism and Government Information held a joint

hearing on domestic preparedness, the next millennium. This hearing, chaired by Senator John Kyl and myself, examined the Administration’s plan to train and equip first responders. Most panelists

on that day noted that America is vulnerable to attack and more

than once they said the question is not whether it will occur, but

when.

Barbara Martinez, an agent with the FBI now assigned to the

National Domestic Preparedness Office stated in her testimony

that over 40 agencies could have a role in the preparation and response to a true terrorist attack. Because of the number of agencies

involved, Ms. Martinez described the coordinating role that the

new National Domestic Preparedness Office, a new office that has

been created, and I think probably necessarily, will play. It is unfortunate that the Director, Mr. Tom Kuker, whom we expected to

be here today, is caught in a plane problem in Oklahoma and could

not make it in today. So we will be missing him but we will continue to coordinate with him.

Witnesses representing National Associations for Fire Chiefs,

Sheriffs and Emergency Technicians all testified that due to complex bureaucracy and the numerous agencies involved, a Federal

agency which could provide fast and effective one-stop shopping

would help fill a need that currently exists. Although the NDPO is

new, I sincerely hope it has been adequately staffed and resourced

to meet the needs of our local first responders.

During the last subcommittee hearing, it became clear America

may be fooling herself that we are currently prepared to handle

such an event. Sheriff Patrick Sullivan, Arapaho County, CO—and

this was the day of the Columbine shooting—Sheriff Sullivan was

testifying when we got the news. You did not see him on television,

Columbine High School is the edge of his county. He testified that,

While others may be reluctant to say so, I will tell you

that America is not ready to meet this challenge. As such,

we are not prepared to handle the crisis and the mass casualties that would occur, God forbid, if there should ever

be a chemical or biological release in a major American

city.

Mr. Charles Cragin, Acting Secretary of Defense Reserve Affairs,

last year before the House Committee said,

Should a weapon of mass destruction actually be used,

responders, be they local, State or Federal, civilian or military, will confront unique and daunting challenges. These

rescue and medical personnel will need to perform their

mission without themselves becoming casualties.

This point, I might add, is of great concern to me. During Mr.

Cragin’s more recent testimony, he said,

As a Nation, we are also facing the fact that the front

lines in the war against terrorism are no longer overseas,

5

they are right here at home. Hence, the challenges faced

by communities and responders include an unknown danger in containing the impact of the attack, providing medical assistance throughout the system, investigating the nature of the attack while simultaneously protecting the evidence, and finally the restoration of normalcy to the community as quickly as possible.

A significant portion of the funding for domestic preparedness

will pass through the OJP, Department of Justice. This year, our

Youth Violence Committee’s jurisdiction was expanded to include

Office of Justice Programs and I expect that we will be spending

a good bit of time exercising oversight responsibilities in attempting to help them as they develop this program.

Any effective national domestic preparedness policies, as I am

sure the President and Attorney General Reno realize must fully

integrate all aspects of response to a weapon of mass destruction

attack to ensure interoperability. In addition, the national effort

must provide guidance for planning, training, exercising and equipping the first responders. State and local officials must be provided

with the best training, equipment and information so that if a crisis occurs, front line responders can assess the immediate needs,

take action to protect themselves and the public from further harm.

Modeling done by a company outside of Washington suggests, for

example, that anthrax aerosol spray released in and around

Reagan National Airport might result in over 250,000 casualties

with 10 percent of those fatal. This danger is real.

To prepare State and local communities for such an unfortunate

incident, a heavy emphasis for preparation must be placed on preparing those communities. I would define first responders as local

fire, law enforcement, medical workers, emergency management officials and public officials who will be the first on the scene. It will

fall to these people to assess the damage, treat those injured, keep

casualties to a minimum and stabilize the infrastructure.

Under the Federal response plan, the FBI, FEMA, Federal Emergency Management Association, and other Federal agencies will assume many duties to help. However, State and local officials will

have the initial responsibility.

To this end, I might also point out that local medical facilities

must also have a trained cadre who can function around contaminated casualties. And I think Dr. Knouss from the Public Health

Service, who will be testifying here today, will be able to shed some

light on that challenge and his plans.

We have seen through the implementation of Presidential Directive 62 the establishment of the National Coordinator for Security,

Infrastructure Protection and Counter-Terrorism headed by Mr.

Dick Clark, which will oversee the national counterterrorism effort.

Mr. Clark, with whom I recently met in Washington, has now established a weapons of national destruction preparedness group.

The only thing that is making me nervous in all this effort is how

many groups and agencies we have got trying to coordinate. We

need a coordinator and I was impressed with Mr. Clark and hope

that he can make sure we are working together and not competing

with one another, as we strive to build our proper response.

6

For too long, we have failed to begin to train and act. We have

got to coordinate policy immediately to involve Federal assistance

and local jurisdiction. We have got to have research and development. We have got to have equipment development—that is extremely important. We have got to know the equipment that we

provide will work, that it is the best possible equipment and we

have got to make sure that every agency that needs it, has it.

Any failure to integrate all our critical activities of research and

development will cost us money and increase risk. We have got to

protect those responders with the best possible clothing and diagnostic equipment we can provide.

A second area of concern is interoperability, which includes the

need for compatible communication systems. We found in the Columbine High School incident that that was a serious problem for

them and it undermined their ability to respond.

A third area of concern involves a need for timely information exchange. The National Preparedness Office in association with the

FBI, has implemented a policy whereby communities and their responders may acquire information to assist in preparedness. For

too long, agencies did not have or did not share information with

the local communities to aid them in updating their threat and vulnerability assessments. In the current environment that we find

ourselves, this is a must.

Civic leaders across Alabama, for instance, need access to pertinent information which aids them in their decisionmaking. Using

Fort McClellan’s teleconferencing center by DOJ personnel may be

one resource, another possibility might include a special Center for

Domestic Preparedness web page along with applicable hotlines

and correspondence packages and the like.

A fourth area of concern involves the equipment. I am gravely

concerned about the equipment. As I mentioned, we have got to

make sure that we have the best equipment. The military has proven equipment, but we have got to go beyond that and make sure

that the equipment is compatible and effective for local communication.

A fifth area of concern involves training. In response to the needs

of State and local governments, President Clinton has stated that

over 1.4 billion will be dedicated to this effort over a period of

years. Domestic preparedness training, only if conducted properly

and efficiently, will save lives in the event of a terrorist attack. The

framework for training and equipping first responders is currently

in place and while I share the fear of others who argue that it is

not moving along fast enough, I do believe that Congress and the

Administration has an obligation to examine our training capabilities to make sure that we are not just throwing money at the problem, that we are going to make it work, and that the training is

quality training.

There presently exists some 140 domestic preparedness training

courses in America. Some of these are done through DOD, FEMA,

Department of Justice, Public Health Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy and other agencies, as well

as State universities and colleges. As a result a lot has been said

about integrating these programs with good national standards,

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but we are not there yet—in my opinion we are far from where we

ought to be.

Consequently, so the government needs to quit studying now—

we have done that enough. We need to start producing effective

training so that people in our communities are ready to respond.

A little closer to home, I want to mention the Department of Justice program at Fort McClellan and L.Z.’s efforts. Fort McClellan

was designated as the Department of Justice’s Federal Center for

Domestic Preparedness and as such the center develops and delivers training under a tiered concept that offers basic through advanced courses. Each course includes a hands-on type exercise, requiring students to perform their duties in a weapons of mass destruction environment, including forcing them to face actual nerve

agents.

During the August 1998 Attorney General Stakeholders’ Forum,

Attorney General Reno was told by first responders that live agent

training at Fort McClellan, which I am going to invite our panelists

to visit after the hearing, this facility with me was an absolute necessity. The Center has trained over 1000 responders and is capable of training up to 10,000 per year. This is the goal that we must

attain. Their courses are currently full through September 30. I

have learned that during this time the Department of Justice will

train an additional 550 students. Demand is high. There are now

waiting lists of 850 who would like to sign up for courses. The

training conducted by the Center is a type and quality that we

must provide—excellence in training will save lives.

L.Z. received this e-mail from Lieutenant Jake Shirt of the Arapaho, Colorado Police Department, who was involved in the Columbine shooting, after having been trained here. This is what he

wrote,

I wanted to let you know that the advanced operations

training I received in April at the CDP was of benefit.

While not directly involved in the first day of the Columbine High School shooting, I was subsequently asked to

set up large teams of officers to bomb sweep 12 schools.

The ICS incident command training was of great benefit in

assisting me to set up those events. Thank you again for

the outstanding training program.

That is direct evidence that this kind of training is valuable. You

have got to know how to respond under those circumstances.

I would also suggest that maybe we expand our thinking and

consider training of this kind for schools, principals, superintendents and others because they are often even quicker to respond

than others.

In conclusion, I believe that establishing the Center for Domestic

Preparedness here at Fort McClellan has proved to be a great step

in establishing a model for training. As our hearing established, it

is important that all training for first responders has well defined

standards and training plans. It would not serve any purpose to

have several different training centers across the country offering

incompatible instruction. We do not want our communities to think

they are prepared, we want them to be prepared. A well-defined

standard along with equipment and training, permits follow-up inVerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:20 Aug 11, 2000 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 RESPONDERS SJUD4 PsN: SJUD4
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spections and effective evaluation. If there are no standards by

which to measure and judge the quality of equipment and training,

then there is no possible way to judge the level of preparedness.

The Department of Justice, now has an opportunity that has not

presented itself before to ensure that we have a coordinated procedure of training, equipment exercises, research, and development

that can help us achieve the goal we all seek. That goal is having

prepared communities.

I am delighted that we have this outstanding panel with us

today; I look forward to hearing their comments and testimony and

asking questions as we go forward.

Let me begin by introducing our first panel. Dr. Robert Knouss

is the director of Emergency Preparedness for the U.S. Public

Health Service. He has been to Fort McClellan previously and I am

glad to have him back. He is actively involved in development of

the medical training program in coordination with the Center here.

He is a key individual in the establishment of training for the metropolitan strike teams.

Mike Parker is Deputy Commander of the Soldier and Biological

Chemical Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground. He will be providing us insight from the military side.

Butch Straub is director of the Office for State and Local Domestic Preparedness Support of OJP, Office of Justice Programs. Laurie Robinson, who has been here previously, planned to be here

today, but could not make it. At any rate, we are glad to have

Butch here—he has been working intensely on that.

That will be our first panel. Dr. Knouss, do you want to lead off?

Do you have any comments?

PANEL CONSISTING OF ROBERT KNOUSS, DIRECTOR, OFFICE

OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

AND HUMAN SERVICES; MICHAEL A. PARKER, DEPUTY COMMANDER, SOLDIER AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMICAL COMMAND,

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE; AND CURTIS H. STRAUB, DIRECTOR, OFFICE FOR STATE AND LOCAL DOMESTIC PREPAREDNESS SUPPORT, OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

STATEMENT OF ROBERT KNOUSS

Mr. KNOUSS. Thank you very much, Senator Sessions.

Mr. Chairman, it is a great pleasure for us to be here and I am

accompanied today by Dr. Jarrett Clinton, who is the Regional

Health Administrator for this Region IV within our Department, located in Atlanta and he will be responsible for activities here at

Fort McClellan, out of the Regional Office in Atlanta. Eventually,

I hope that we will have some people who are directly stationed at

Fort McClellan, but under his able leadership.

I would like to spend just a few minutes, with your permission,

Senator, discussing a little bit about what we are doing in our Department in terms of domestic preparedness and the activities that

we have undertaken.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services, headed by the

Hon. Donna Shalala, is committed to developing a strong local,

State and Federal capacity to respond to the health consequences

9

of a terrorist attack, particularly one using chemical or biological

weapons of mass destruction.

Under our Department’s operating plan for this fiscal year, the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is supporting State and

local governments in strengthening their surveillance, epidemiological investigation and laboratory identification capabilities as well

as initiating a national stockpile of critical pharmaceuticals and

vaccines to supplement local and State resources, if needed.

The National Institutes of Health is increasing its research related to protecting against bioterrorism and our office, the Office of

Emergency Preparedness, is expanding the development of local

emergency health system capabilities to respond to the health consequences of a WMD attack.

We focus much of our attention in our office on local preparedness because the first response to any immediately evident terrorist incident in the United States will be with community-based resources supplemented by State and Federal assistance. Therefore,

local capability and capacity building are absolutely crucial for reducing morbidity and mortality caused by these types of attacks.

The critical issue is preparedness, which includes developing and

strengthening community response plans and operational capabilities. The effectiveness of the integration of the capabilities of all

levels of government will determine the success or failure of our

Nation’s ability to respond to a major terrorist attack.

Just as a little bit of background, our office coordinates the

health and medical emergency preparedness activities within the

Department of Health and Human Services and is the lead organization to coordinate disaster and emergency health response activities with other Federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense and with the Federal Emergency

Management Agency.

During a federally declared disaster, HHS is the primary agency

that provides the health and medical response known as emergency

support function number eight under the Federal response plan.

We also manage the national disaster medical system, which is

known as NDMS. It is a partnership between Health and Human

Services, the Departments of Veterans’ Affairs and Defense and

FEMA, and really is a remarkable system. I call this, at times, the

country’s largest volunteer fire department. And the reason for that

is that we have 7,000 private citizens across the country who volunteer their time and expertise as members of response teams to

provide primary medical and certain types of specialized care to

disaster victims, and more than 2,000 participating non-Federal

hospitals.

Our response capability is organized into teams such as primary

care; disaster medical assistance teams; specialty medical teams,

for example those that concentrate on pediatrics or burn care; and

disaster mortuary teams. We have 25 level one DMAT’s, including

one that is located here in Alabama—headquartered in Birmingham, which we are very proud of and which I think every

State that has one or more of these teams should be proud of. They

can be federalized to deploy within hours, they can be self-sufficient at a disaster scene for 72 hours, providing on-site medical

services. This means that they carry their own pharmaceutical and

10

medical supplies, food and water, shelter and communication and

other mission essential equipment. These teams have been sent to

many areas in the aftermath of disasters, in support of FEMA-coordinated response activities.

Our mortuary teams can assist local medical examiners to identify and deal appropriately with the remains of those who do not

survive major disasters or in the aftermath of airline and other

transportation accidents when requested by the National Transportation Safety Board. Just recently we deployed that team, for example, again in Oklahoma City as a consequence of the horrible

tornadoes that swept through that State and several other States

in the midwest.

To make maximum use of these resources, we also allow State

governments to activate the national teams that are based in their

own States if necessary.

Over the last 2 years, we have provided additional training and

specialized equipment to three of our DMAT’s to develop the required capabilities to respond to terrorist attacks. We call them national medical response teams. These teams, which are located in

North Carolina, Colorado and California, are capable of rapidly deploying to an incident site and providing medical treatment after

the release of a chemical or biological weapon. They can respond

with a cache of specialized pharmaceuticals, each one of them to

treat up to 5,000 people exposed to a chemical weapon. They also

have specialized personal protective equipment, detection devices

and patient decontamination capabilities.

A fourth team, actually the prototype team, is located in Washington, DC, and remains locally to respond in our Nation’s Capital.

It was prepositioned to respond should the need have arisen during

several State of the Union Addresses—located in the U.S. Capitol,

the 1997 Inauguration and most recently during the celebration of

the 50th anniversary of NATO.

Senator SESSIONS. I am glad you are worrying about those

events. The only time I have ever thought much about security was

there at the inauguration when I noticed that everybody in the

whole government was sitting right there. It makes you think

about the possibilities that could happen. The State of the Union

Address also makes you think about things, as well.

Anyway, sorry to interrupt you.

Mr. KNOUSS. Those were precisely our concerns as well, and we

have joined with the Capitol Police to respond to that potential.

Several years ago, our Department realized the Nation was not

prepared to deal with the health effects of terrorism and that

should a terrorist event occur, our cities and metropolitan areas

would bear the brunt of coping with its effects. In addition, we realized that local medical communities would be faced with severe

problems, including the possibility of contaminating major

healthcare institutions, overloading hospital capabilities and

threatening the safety of medical personnel.

Consequently, in fiscal year 1995, we began developing the first

prototype metropolitan medical response system in partnership

with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and its

18 local member jurisdictions. This system, primarily designed to

respond to a chemical attack, became the prototype of response for

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capabilities that we developed in Atlanta in 1996 in preparation for

the Centennial Olympic Games, and for the 25 local systems that

we began developing in 1997 as part of the domestic preparedness

program stimulated by Senators Nunn, Lugar, and Domenici.

This year, we expect to begin an additional 20 systems in addition to supplementing the initial metropolitan systems in order to

respond to biological terrorism. These systems activities are HHS’s

highest priority in helping the Nation to prepare to cope with the

effects of terrorist acts.

Once an immediately evident terrorist incident occurs, local first

responders, police and fire and emergency medical services, would

respond. HAZMAT teams would be called to provide agent identification and hot zone rescue management. These actions would

have been the focus of DOD and FEMA under the domestic preparedness program.

The purpose of the NMRS is to ensure that a metropolitan area’s

health system is able to cope with the human health consequences

that can result from a terrorist act. Because each city has a public

safety and public health system with unique characteristics, our

system development contracts—our NMRS development contracts,

excuse me—emphasize that each metropolitan area will develop its

enhanced medical and health response system within its current

emergency response structure. These systems provide an integrated

prehospital, hospital and public health response capability in local

jurisdictions. Each system must ensure that health workers be able

to recognize WMD injuries, know the proper treatment, be able to

ensure that medical facilities maintain their functional capacities

and plan the integration of State and Federal responders when

they arrive. Our goal is to develop 120 of these medical response

systems in the largest metropolitan areas across the country.

In regard to our training activities which brings us specifically

to the point of these field hearings, our primary focus has been on

the development of these metropolitan medical response systems

with the components of metropolitan-based systems that would provide decontamination, triage and definitive medical care. While

DOD, DOJ, FEMA and other Federal agencies are providing first

responder awareness training, there has been little focus on the

preparation of healthcare delivery systems and their health professionals, those being the doctors and nurses and paramedics. Therefore, we have begun developing the health professions curricula

that are necessary to prepare the Nation’s emergency medical response personnel to meet this challenge. The American College of

Emergency Physicians along with the American Nurses’ Association and other health professional groups, are developing with our

support the competency objectives that are needed for training and

testing of these critical types of health profession responders. We

are also seeking to address the standards used by hospitals for assuring the maintenance of their functional capacity during a WMD

event in their communities.

In this fiscal year, Congress appropriated $3 million to our Department for renovation and modernization of the Nobel Army Hospital here at Fort McClellan. DOJ’s Center for Domestic Preparedness is currently establishing a national training center, which you

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ist acts, to address the training needs of law enforcement, fire

fighting, emergency medical and emergency communications personnel, among others.

First responders need to be trained in the administration of the

antidotes and other hot zone medically related activities in addition

to triage and primary care at the scene. Paramedics need to be

trained about the care required during transportation. Hospital administrators need to be trained in the preparation of hospitals for

safety and protection of their operations during an incident. And

health professionals need to be trained in appropriate and essential

emergency and longer term care.

And I want to just emphasize that we are working very closely

with the Office of Justice Programs to enhance the availability of

medically related training for all first responders, and I particularly want to thank—this gives me an opportunity to thank Mr.

L.Z. Johnson for all the support that he has given to us in this dialog that we have been having of developing these programs here at

Fort McClellan.

In summary, HHS is committed to assuring that communities

across the country are prepared to respond to the health consequences of a WMD event. We are prepared to quickly mobilize

the health professionals and systems required to respond to a disaster anywhere in the United States and its territories and to assist local medical response systems in dealing with the extraordinary conditions that would be created by a WMD attack, and we

are certain that the program we are about to engage in here at

Fort McClellan can make a very significant contribution to those

efforts.

Mr. Chairman, that concludes my remarks and I would be

pleased to answer any questions you may have. Thank you again

for the opportunity to appear.

Senator SESSIONS. Thank you, Dr. Knouss. Mr. Parker.

STATEMENT OF MICHAEL A. PARKER

Mr. PARKER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the opportunity to appear before this subcommittee. It is really always great

to return here to Fort McClellan, especially on this occasion, to be

able to see firsthand how Fort McClellan and the surrounding communities continue to apply their expertise in chem bio defense now

in our homelands defense.

Senator SESSIONS. Let me ask a question. Can people hear in the

back? OK, good, the microphone is working. Go ahead.

Mr. PARKER. It really again demonstrates its value, critical

value, to our Nation.

I would like to request your permission to submit extended remarks for the record and do a quick summary.

Senator SESSIONS. That will be fine and we will make those a

part of the record.

Mr. PARKER. My purpose this morning before you is to update

you on the progress of the domestic preparedness program, at least

the portion that the Department of Defense is responsible for, and

our plan to transition the leadership to the interagency program

which will now be headed by the Department of Justice.

13

In addition, I would like to take the opportunity to describe some

of the support we believe that the Department of Defense can provide to the Department of Justice as they continue to mature the

domestic preparedness program to deal with weapons of mass destruction.

As of this date, we, as the interagency team, that is the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Health and Human Services, Department of Energy and other Federal agencies, have trained 59 communities. By the end of this fiscal year, we will have trained 65.

We have plans to complete an additional 36 in fiscal year 2000 and

will complete the last 19 for a total of 120 cities, by about midyear

fiscal 2001. A list of the cities and their status is contained in the

written submission.

To date, we have trained approximately 17,000 first responders,

drawn from the fire-fighting, law enforcement, hazardous materials

handlers, emergency medical, emergency management and the 911

operator/dispatcher communities. I must remark that these personnel have been absolutely professional to the highest level throughout this training program.

This community-given training, equipment and exercise to standards will be able to respond and meet your challenge that you stated earlier of being prepared. It is our obligation at the Federal level

to assist the local communities to meet those standards.

In our efforts, we have employed a train-the-trainer concept in

our efforts. There are several reasons for this approach, one of

which you touched on in your opening remarks. There are literally

hundreds of thousands of initial first responders and when extended through the complete community, including the medical

community, there literally are millions of people involved. In order

to reach this community in a practical manner, we determined that

to use the existing training infrastructure was the only practical

timely manner approach to take to deal with these communities.

The second aspect, Dr. Knouss touched on this as well, is each

of these communities has a unique element. They have built a very

effective response capability around their unique circumstance,

their infrastructure, the challenges that face them, how they interface on a regional basis and many other factors. So it is important

that the Federal efforts are tailored to fit within the communities’

needs vice a top-down driven approach. So training the trainers inculcates into the local community’s culture the aspects of chem bio

defense and nuclear response that we are trying to provide to the

first responder community.

This approach, as I touched on, generates a real partnership by

inducting the Federal efforts into the local efforts where we knit together then a Federal, State and local partnership in preparing a

true domestically prepared and responsive local community.

Another aspect of our training is a team approach where we have

taken a member from the interagency training team and paired

that person with somebody from the local community. Many of

these local community personnel, because of military training, already have some insight into weapons of mass destruction. So by

teaming a person from the Federal interagency effort, the DOD effort, with someone from the local community and putting these

14

people on the podium to do the training, we have felt a much

stronger sense with the local community of acceptance because

they see someone from their own community participating in the

training. It has led to a much more meaningful dialog and interchange at that level.

In previous testimony before Congress, we cited the fact that

skills learned in this area are very perishable. This is further compounded by the fact that there are constant personnel turnover. So

the area of sustainment, training sustainment, is a very, very critical issue. There are a number of initiatives that have been taken

to address this area. One such initiative is the establishment of the

Fort McClellan Center for Domestic Preparedness here at Fort

McClellan.

DOJ has taken the leadership to establish this center, to build

the necessary long-term training environment that will not only

prepare our local communities, but sustain them in that level of

preparedness as long as this threat is offered to our country.

One of the aspects that we have learned out of a Department of

Army Federal emergency management program called the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, is that you do

need to address an overarching strategy from which you can then

build a training strategy, an equipping strategy and an exercise

strategy, all built around standards by which to measure the attainment; in this case, the attainment of real preparedness. I think

it relates earlier in your remarks that it is a very critical component of the program and would suggest that the Department of

Justice especially here at the Center for Domestic Preparedness,

that the efforts that have been initiated on these strategies and national standards development is something that must be pursued

in order to really have a prepared domestic first response community.

We have offered to the Department of Justice, especially as it relates to the Center for Domestic Preparedness here at Fort McClellan, DOJ and DOA, Department of Army, have entered into a support agreement where the Department of Army has agreed, as we

have been directed by the Secretary of Defense, to provide the support to continue the operations here at the Center that build on

prior activities at Fort McClellan, specifically the agent training facility referenced earlier, and any other technical support that Department of Justice would desire. That agreement is in place and

we are fine-tuning it and we have built, I believe, a very strong relationship with L.Z. Johnson here at the Center.

We are also involved in the Department of Defense’s efforts to

prepare another element of the domestic response support community. That is the Consequence Management Program Integration

Office, which is preparing the National Guard elements to underpin State and local response in the event of a weapons of mass destruction incident. The Army’s efforts and my command’s efforts,

have been focused primarily on the equipment, evaluation, characterization, equipping of the National Guard units and providing

various levels of technical expertise in the area of chemical and biological agents, and certain facets of training that we have learned

through the domestic preparedness program.

15

The elements are primarily in the National Guard, although

there are a few Army Reserve component units as well involved in

this. There are approximately 10 military support detachments also

known as the rapid assessment and initial detection detachments,

or RAID units, ten of which will be regionalized across the country.

These will be underpinned by 44 additional RAID-like detachments

which will underpin any consequence management activity or support during the critical incident phase.

Additional units have been designated, 43 reconnaissance elements as well as 127 domestic response casualty decontamination

elements, which will be available to the local communities to call

upon through the State National Guard command and control

structure. These units, because they are moving out of a traditional

military role into a domestic preparedness role, require certain

equipment that is tailored then to this domestic environment. We

are using a performance-based approach to look at not only military equipment which is already qualified to operate in these environments, but also to tap into new emerging technologies that are

either a domestic commercial or a military research lab product or

commercial technologies that are already on the shelf. We are providing the technical evaluation and will feed those into the various

National Guard elements as those are qualified.

We will also evaluate some of the considerations that you

touched on earlier, the command and control, the ability for the

communications system to cross a wide spectrum of equipment that

is already in the field is one of the elements that the National

Guard units have recognized, and we are assisting in building communications vans with the ability to cross multiple frequencies so

that the National Guard elements can provide assistance for the

local authorities in bringing the communications together so that

there is really connectivity across many, many of the elements that

lack that as we stand today.

Senator SESSIONS. Mr. Parker, I would just note that the Senate

Armed Services Committee did add some money for that—I think

there will be 17 new teams approved under our proposal. Additionally, I think the National Guard has a critical role to play and I

appreciate that.

We are dealing with time constraints so if you can wrap up then

we’ll let Mr. Straub speak. Then we will hear from the second

panel.

Mr. PARKER. Yes, sir.

One of the comments that I think needs to be passed to the Committee is one that has to do with equipping. We have—the domestic

communities that we have interfaced with have really appreciated

and been very laudatory towards the training provided. But a common thread that comes back from every community is that they

need the equipment in order to be able to respond and utilize the

training. We have mitigated this to some degree by DOD providing

equipment training packages which we leave behind as we complete the training of a city. That is really an equipment package

that’s focused on training.

To move beyond and fully equip the communities, the Department of Justice effort with the Department of Army would like to

provide technical support to, would characterize equipment and

16

then through Department of Justice’s grant authority significantly

streamline and enhance the efficiency of providing equipment to

the local first responders—a very critical element.

I think I could just maybe step to the latter part and talk about

our final transition of leadership from Department of Defense to

Department of Justice. We are—we do have agreement at the departmental levels, the Department of Justice and Department of

Defense came together and Department of Justice will be assuming

responsibility as the lead Federal agency for this domestic preparedness. We have been instructed by our Secretary, Mr. Cohen,

and the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Dr. Hamry, to fully support

the Department of Justice in any manner that they need. Our leadership in the Department of Army, Secretary Caldera, has noted

that the Army has over 82 years of experience in the chem bio defense area and we literally have invested billions and billions of the

taxpayers’ dollars in generating this infrastructure and this expertise, and it is our obligation in the Army to provide support to Justice in this domestic preparedness effort. Whatever they need,

whenever they need it, we are a full supporting partner.

We are looking for a formal transition about October 1, 2000 and

we will be proceeding across fiscal year 2000 and actually we already have, to implementing the details, the necessary transition

steps so there will be a smooth, transparent transition and the domestic authorities who are the beneficiaries of this program will

see us at the Federal level move in an absolutely transparent cross

over from Defense to Justice.

With that, I thank you, sir, for the opportunity to present today.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Parker follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MICHAEL A. PARKER

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate this, opportunity to appear before the subcommittee.

I am Michael Parker, Deputy to the Commander, Soldier and Biological Chemical

Command. My purpose in testifying here today is to update you on the progress of

the domestic preparedness program and the plan to transition lead responsibility for

this interagency program to the Department of Justice. In addition I would like to

take this opportunity to describe the types of support we can render to the Department of Justice as they continue to address the challenges posed by Weapons of

Mass Destruction (WMD).

As of this date, we, the interagency team, have trained 59 cities. By the end of

this fiscal year we will have trained a total of 65 cities. We, the interagency team,

plan to train approximately thirty-six cities in fiscal year 2000, with the remaining

19 cities trained by third quarter, fiscal year 2001. A listing of the cities trained

is included as part of my written submission. To date, we have trained over 16,850

first responder-trainers drawn from the firefighting community, law enforcement

community, hazardous material handlers, emergency medical and management communities and the 911 operator/dispatcher community.

We employ the ‘‘Train-the-Trainer’’ concept in our training. There are several reasons for using this concept. First, the sheer numbers of emergency responders who

have to be trained are overwhelming. Second, each community responds differently

to various emergencies and relies upon its unique infrastructure to accomplish its

response. Finally, each community generally has specific training institutions for

various segments of its response infrastructure. Utilization of a train-the-trainer approach, we think, institutionalizes the response material within the local culture.

Upon completion of our training, the city trainers take the instructor training material and adapt it to their unique response structures and organizations and train

their responders. The training program in essence, is a federal, state, and local partnership.

Another important aspect of our training approach is the ‘‘team teaching’’ technique. This technique involves pairing a subject matter expert in the nuclear, bioVerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:20 Aug 11, 2000 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 RESPONDERS SJUD4 PsN: SJUD4
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logical or chemical (NBC) arena with an emergency responder with experience in

these areas. Together the pairing brings a high degree of credibility to the training

due to the extensive experience of the individuals involved. Both the train-the-trainer approach and the team teaching approach continue to be very well received by

our training audience and we suggest that these approaches continue to be used for

future training of this type.

A synopsis of each course of instruction follows:

1. Employee Awareness (Video). Employee Awareness is a 30-minute video presentation for 911 operators and diverse employees at potential terrorist target facilities. The video is presented in layman’s terms in both English and Spanish. There

is no instructor requirement, however, a facilitator (provided by the facility employer) is recommended to introduce the video. The video covers:

• General aspects of NBC terrorism

• Information on how to recognize a NBC terrorist incident through signs and

symptoms, and possible dissemination devices

• Self-protection measures—Instructional materials include a facilitator’s guide, a

pamphlet for the participants and a 911 checklist for future reference.

2. Senior Officials’ Workshop. The workshop is a 4.5-hour course intended to instruct and inform the senior leadership of the city. The interactive workshop employs video clips, case studies, lecture and discussion to promote understanding

amongst city officials of the impacts of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons

of mass destruction. The workshop objectives are to:

• Assess the potential risk to their community from NBC WMD.

• Identify possible targets within their community.

• Understand the implications for their community from NBC WMD.

• Interact with state and federal personnel so that operational assets can be assembled, assigned and employed with maximum effectiveness.

• Identify special legal and financial considerations that NBC WMD incidents

may involve.

The Senior Officials’ Workshop is a stand-alone course with no Domestic Preparedness (DP) course prerequisites.

3. Emergency Responder Awareness. Unlike the Employee Awareness video, the

Emergency Responder Awareness course (4 hours, 0.4 Continuing Education Units

(CEU)), is designed for the trainers of emergency responders. These responders

include firefighters, police officers and emergency medical responders. The goal of

this course is to enable participants to teach other responders the signs and symptoms of chemical and biological agents and nuclear materials; potential devices

used for dissemination; make proper notification; and defensive actions to safeguard themselves and their community. This course covers:

• Introduction to the NBC Terrorism Threat.

• Radiological, Biological, and Chemical Materials and Weapons.

• Dissemination Devices

• Responder Actions.

Prior to enrollment in the Responder Awareness course, participants should be

trainers and have a basic understanding of principles and procedures to respond to

a hazardous material incident.

4. Emergency Responder Operations. The Emergency Responder Operations course

(4 hours, 0.4 CEU) is designed specifically for incident response teams in a defensive mode. The goal of this course is to enable participants to teach the technical

aspects of NBC incidents, and the defensive actions required for responders to

protect themselves and their community. This course covers:

• Responder Actions at the Operations Level

• Chemical Downwind Hazard Analysis

• Personal Protection

• Introduction to Detection and Identification

• Emergency Decontamination Procedures

• Practical Exercise

The Responder Awareness course is the prerequisite.

5. Technician—HAZMAT. The Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) course (12 hours,

1.2 CEU) is specifically designed for trainers of current HAZMAT Technicians.

HAZMAT Technicians learn the difference between responding to NBC terrorist

incidents compared to an ‘‘everyday’’ HAZMAT event. The goal of this course is

to enable participants to teach the technical aspects of NBC incidents and the ofVerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:20 Aug 11, 2000 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 RESPONDERS SJUD4 PsN: SJUD4
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fensive actions required for responders to protect themselves and their community. This course covers the same subjects as the Awareness and Operation

courses, but at a more advanced level. In addition, this course covers:

• Responder Actions at the HAZMAT Technician Level

• Hands-on Detection and Identification Exercise

• NBC Agents at the HAZMAT Technician Level

• Protective Equipment

• Decontamination Procedures

• Chemical Classification, Detection and Identification

• Practical Exercise

• Downwind Hazard Analysis

• Dissemination Devices

The participants should be HAZMAT technician qualified prior to enrollment. No

DP course prerequisites are required.

6. Technician—Emergency Medical Service. The Emergency Medical Services

(EMS) course (8 hours, 8.5 CEU) instructs trainers of emergency medical technicians and paramedics on the unique aspects of a response to a NBC terrorist

event. The goal of this course is to enable participants to teach the technical aspects of NBC incidents and the defensive actions required by EMS responders to

protect themselves and their community. This course includes:

• Introduction to NBC terrorism threat

• Possible dissemination devices

• Recognizing NBC exposure

• Trends indicating possible events

• Safe and legal antidote requirements

• Unique triage of potential mass casualties and emergency medical field treatment demands

• Unique considerations to treat children and elderly victims of an NBC, terrorist

incident

The course consists of lectures, demonstrations and field exercises to include personal protection measures, detection, decontamination and triage. No DP course prerequisites are required.

7. Hospital Provider. The Hospital Provider course (8 hours, 7 CMEU for physicians and 8.4 CEU for nurses) provides instruction to trainers of emergency department physicians and nurses. The goal of this course is to enable participants

to teach the medical technical aspects of NBC incidents and the defensive actions

required for responders to protect themselves and their community. This course

includes the same topics as the EMS course, but at a more advanced level. Course

covers:

• Introduction to NBC terrorism threat

• Diagnosis and treatment victims of an NBC incident

• Unique public health guidelines

• Special considerations for Hospital personnel dealing with an NBC incident

• Properly manage contaminated victims

• Decontamination

• Protect against cross-contamination using personal protective measures

Course format includes classroom lecture with demonstrations and case studies.

No DP course prerequisites are required.

8. Incident Command. This course (6 hours, 0.6 CEU) provides trainers of incident

commanders with the necessary information and considerations to effectively

manage an NBC incident. The course consists of 4 hours of lecture and 2 hours

of a tabletop exercise. Specific topics include coordination of resources; protective

measures and associated risks; evacuation versus shelter-in-place considerations;

perimeter security measures; management of mass casualties, and applications of

the Federal Response Plan. The goal of this course is to enable the participants

to teach the challenges, consequences, and special considerations of incident commanders when dealing with NBC incidents. This course covers:

• Challenges and Consequences of Management in an NBC Incident

• Tactical Considerations and Actions for NBC Incidents

• Understanding the Roles of the Federal Government in an NBC Terrorist Incident

• NBC Terrorism Response and Planning Exercise

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The DP Responder Awareness and Responder Operations courses are prerequisites for the Incident Command course or any of the Technician Level courses

(i.e., EMS, HAZMAT, Hospital Provider).

As a critical part of city training, exercises add to the overall comprehensive training process of the Domestic Preparedness program. Three main components comprise the exercise program as an integrated strategy:

• Chemical weapons tabletop exercises

• Chemical weapons functional exercises

• Biological weapons tabletop exercises

Chemical Weapons Tabletop Exercise

The chemical weapons tabletop exercise is a six to eight hour event conducted in

a conference room environment for city, county and state emergency responders.

Federal agency representatives also participate in the exercise. A chemical tabletop

exercise typically follows emergency responder training. This exercise routinely focuses on a range of crisis and consequence management activities beginning with

threat identification, through initial and secondary responses, to follow-on actions

and long-term consequences. This exercise presents emergency responders with simulated emergency situations designed to encourage constructive discussion.

The objectives of the chemical weapons tabletop exercise are to:

• Assist local authorities to exercise the decision process in response to a chemical

weapons terrorist incident scenario.

• Examine the response mechanism of the incident command structure.

• Capitalize, reinforce and provide feedback on the training conducted by the Domestic Preparedness program.

Chemical Weapons Functional Exercise

The chemical weapons functional exercise is a two to four-hour, hands-on event

that normally follows six months after the Domestic Preparedness training of the

city emergency responders. A three-day timeframe encompasses the actual exercise

and includes:

• Controller/evaluator training (Day 1)

• Site setup (Day 1)

• Actor/observer/media briefings (Day 2)

• Two to four-hour functional exercise (Day 2)

• Formal debriefs (Close of Day 2 and Day 3)

This exercise is real time, and the participants include: fire, law enforcement hazardous materials (HAZMAT) and emergency medical services (EMS) units that received the Domestic Preparedness training. Participants must assess and act on the

simulated terrorist incident based upon expert knowledge of these issues: response

procedures, current plans and protocols at their respective agencies and the Domestic Preparedness training lessons. In this exercise, emergency responders treat and

decontaminate simulated ‘‘victims’’ and simulate transporting them to area hospitals

as if a real world situation occurred. Furthermore, the city provides controllers and

evaluators for these exercises. Controllers ensure the city’s identified objectives are

met through key actions during the CW exercise, whereas evaluators assess the response as the chemical weapons functional exercise is executed. The objectives of the

chemical weapons functional exercise are to:

• Establish a learning environment.

• Familiarize response teams and agencies with protocols to respond to a chemical incident involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

• Acquaint emergency responders with the potential of a chemical terrorist attack.

Biological Weapons Tabletop Exercise

The biological tabletop is a one-day, six to eight-hour exercise conducted for the

city, county and state emergency responders. Federal agency representatives also

participate in the exercise. This exercise is conducted in a conference room environment where participants respond to a simulated terrorist incident. The biological exercise depicts the major functional response aspects of a biological terrorist incident.

This exercise focuses on how to detect and mitigate a biological terrorist incident.

Medical consequences of a biological terrorist attack are emphasized.

The objectives of the biological tabletop are to:

• Assist local authorities to exercise the decision process in response to an assessment of a biological terrorist incident.

• Examine, as a unified command, the response mechanisms of the city, county

and state agencies with federal support.

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• Provide feedback on the training conducted by the Domestic Preparedness program.

In previous testimony before Congress, we have cited the fact that the skills

learned are perishable and that factors such as personnel turnover create a need

for sustainment. There are a number of initiatives that have addressed this issue.

One such initiative has resulted in the establishment at Fort McClellan of the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) under the Department of Justice. The Deputy

Secretary of Defense has indicated that the Department of Defense will act in a support role and in concert with that, we have entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to provide a broad range of supporting services to the CDP. We

view the relationship created by this agreement as a partnership which will aid in

program continuity and efficiency and which will leverage on the body of effort not

only gained in our Domestic Preparedness program activities but in our eighty-two

years of experience and our recognition as the Army’s leader in the chemical and

biological arena.

We are also involved in supporting the Consequence Management Program Integration Office (CoMPIO) through the provision of SBCCOM functional expertise as

they establish state and regional response teams within the DoD Reserve Component. We are supporting the CoMPIO in equipping and providing logistical support

to the first 10 Military Support Detachment (Rapid Assessment and Initial Detection (RAID)) Detachments and the initial 44 Military Support Detachment (RAID

Light) Detachments, 43 Reconnaissance Elements, and 127 Domestic Response Casualty Decontamination Elements. We utilize performance-based research and development to provide ‘‘tried, true and tested’’ products. We utilize emerging technological applications to transition promising advanced technologies or rapidly develop

prototype systems into field applications. We have leverage the defense test and

evaluation infrastructure to conduct technical performance evaluations of commercially available equipment, and participate on the Interagency Board (IAB) to develop a list to ensure equipment standardization and interoperability at the local,

state and federal levels. In addition we apply functional experts to develop and deliver training programs and expert technical assistance for the response teams.

One of the fundamental components of readiness for the cities as they prepare for

a WMD incident is equipment. As we travel the country in our training program

and other related activities we constantly hear the message ‘‘We need equipment—

what good is training without equipment?’’ We recognized the need and have provided on a loan basis under the Domestic Preparedness program a training equipment set with an approximate value of $300,000.00 to each city trained. Each

loaned equipment training set is tailored to the unique needs of the specific city involved. This process however, doesn’t fully address the larger operational requirements of the communities.

The training equipment set includes four categories of equipment: protective

equipment; detection equipment; decontamination equipment; and training aids.

The training aids are delivered during the week that the Federal Training Team

trains the city’s emergency responder trainers. The training aids are used by the

city as they train their responders. After the city is trained and has had an opportunity to assess their Domestic Preparedness requirements, the city makes an

equipment selection and requests DOD to acquire protective, detection, and decontamination equipment which meets their training plans. If the requested equipment

is approved, DOD acquires the equipment and provides it under the loan agreement.

Examples of items that are found in typical Training Equipment Sets follows:

Personal Protective Equipment: Level A Encapsulated Protective Suits; Level B

Protective Suits; Respiratory Equipment; Protective gloves and boots.

Detection: M256A1 Training Kits; M256A1 Test Kits; M8 Paper, Box; M9 Paper,

Roll; Chemical vapor colorimetric sampling tubes and pump; Commercial Chemical

Detector.

Decontamination: M291 Decon Kit; M295 Decon Kit; Portable Showers; Emergency Shelters.

Training Aids Set (contents fixed): M256 Simulator, Chemical Agent Detector Kit,

box; Bio Detection Tickets; M28 Simulator, Detector Tickets, Boxes; M29 Simulator,

Detector Tickets, Boxes; M18A2 Chemical Agent Detection Kit; M8 Paper; M9

Paper; CAMSIM (Optional); CAM Simulator (Optional); CWA Detector Kit (Tubes

and Pumps); Mark I Nerve Agent Antidote Trainers; Blue Books (Med Mgt of Bio

Casualties); Green Books (Med Mgt of Chem Casualties); Yellow Books (EMS);

REAC/TS Transport of Radiological Materials—Q&A About Incident Response; Sets

of 35mm Slides for the Six Courses; Sets of Instructor and Student Guides for the

Six Courses (Master Copies); CD–ROM containing the six courses; Video Tapes of

‘‘Terror at Harford Mall’’ Master Copies (Beta or other format); Video Tapes of ‘‘TerVerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:20 Aug 11, 2000 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 RESPONDERS SJUD4 PsN: SJUD4
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ror at Harford Mall’’ and FBI—WMD Briefing Video, VHS; Employee Awareness

Video, Master Copies (Beta or other format); Employee Awareness Video, VHS;

Medical Courses Video, VHS; Preval Sprayer; Technician-HAZMAT Training Exercise Kit; Persistent Chemical Agent Dissemination Device; Non-Persistent Chemical

Agent Dissemination Device; Small Vials (For Sugar and Baby Oil)

Currently there are efforts under way within the National Domestic Preparedness

Office (NDPO) to create a standardized equipment list which will meet these needs

and when coupled with DOJ’s grant authority should be able to make the process

far more efficient and effective. We at SBCCOM would suggest however, that it is

important to avail the communities of expertise available at SBCCOM and other

federal agencies early in the process to aid in selecting equipment and after the

equipment delivery ensuring that it meets the needs of the community and properly

addresses the challenges posed in the WMD environment.

An integral part of the domestic preparedness program is the testing that we are

performing by the Department of Army available equipment, which is in general use

by the emergency responders around the country. We subject the equipment to

agent and simulant testing and make the performance data available to the emergency response community via the Domestic Preparedness Web site. We don’t recommend a particular piece of equipment based on the test results. We simply discuss the test protocol utilized and list the test data that we obtain. In essence, we

act as a kind of Underwriter’s Laboratory. This type of information is critical to the

emergency response community. Our efforts in this regard have been very well received by the emergency response community. We think that this type of testing activity should be continued and would strongly support the activities of DOJ as they

address further challenges in this area while leading the National Domestic Preparedness Program.

Finally, I’d like to address the status of the planned transition of program responsibility from the Department of Defense to the Department of Justice. There is an

agreement, which is currently being worked which will outline the various aspects

of the transition. It is anticipated that this transition will take place on 1 October

of the year 2000 or beginning of fiscal year 2001.

Tentative plans for the transition include the following:

• DoD will fund and execute all aspects of the Domestic Preparedness program

through city number 68 of 120.

• DoD will fund and execute training, chemical tabletop exercises and Category

IV equipment sets for cities 69 through 105.

• DoD will fund and execute the annual Federal, State, and Local exercises

through fiscal year 2001.

• DOJ will fund and execute Categories 1–3 grant money distribution, chemical

weapons functional exercises, and the biological weapons tabletop exercise for

cities 69 through 105.

• DOJ will fund and execute all aspects of the Domestic Preparedness program

for cities number 106–120.

• DoD and DOJ will jointly fund and execute the Improved Response Program beginning in fiscal year 2001. The DoD focus, beginning in fiscal year 2001, will

be to enhance the Services’ response units and installation responders. DOJ will

continue to focus on responders at the state and local levels.

• DOJ will be responsible for the funding and execution mechanisms for the

HelpLine and Hotline beginning in fiscal year 2001.

• DOJ will control the Domestic Preparedness World Wide Web Page after transition.

• DoD will be responsible for the funding and execution of the Chemical Biological (CB) Response portion of the DP program.

Regardless of the transition details one thing remains paramount—we as a nation

are faced with a serious challenge—the challenge posed by weapons of mass destruction. SBCCOM and its interagency partners have gained a lot of experience through

their domestic preparedness activities thus far and SBCCOM desires to support the

new lead agency in the fulfillment of their programmatic responsibilities by bringing

to bear functional and testing expertise gained from decades of experience and from

other preparedness related programs.

We continue to be proud to be associated with this important program and look

forward to supporting DOJ in their leadership role in the future. Thank you for this

opportunity to testify before you here today.

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DOMESTIC PREPAREDNESS TRAINING SCHEDULE

Fiscal year 1997

1. Philadelphia; 2. Boston; 3. Detroit; 4. Chicago.

Fiscal year 1998

5. New York City; 6. Los Angeles; 7. San Antonio; 8. Washington D.C.; 9. Memphis; 10. Kansas City, MO; 11. San Jose; 12. Honolulu; 13. Indianapolis; 14. Dallas;

15. Seattle; 16. Miami; 17. Baltimore; 18. Houston; 19. Atlanta; 20. San Francisco;

21. Portland; 22. Jacksonville; 23. Phoenix; 24. San Diego; 25. Columbus, OH; 26.

Anchorage; 27. Denver; 28. Milwaukee; 29. New Orleans; 30. Providence; 31. Albuquerque; 32. Saint Louis; 33. Nashville; 34. Tucson; 35. Charlotte.

Fiscal year 1999

Hampton Roads Area (Cities 36–39 trained Collectively); 36. Virginia Beach; 37.

Norfolk; 38. Chesapeake; 39. Newport News; 40. El Paso; 41. Sacramento; 42. Cleveland; 43. Austin; 44. Oklahoma City; 45. Colorado Springs; 46. Buffalo; 47. Long

Beach; 48. Minneapolis; 49. Pittsburgh; 50. Newark; 51. Omaha; 52. Santa Ana; 53.

Tulsa; 54. Fort Worth; 55. Raleigh; 56. Oakland; 57. Cincinnati; 58. Tampa; 59. Birmingham

Since program inception fifty-nine cities have been trained through June 11, 1999.

Senator SESSIONS. Thank you, and I appreciate your insightful

comments, they are important, on all aspects of what we are dealing with.

Butch Straub, with Office of Justice Programs, again, we are

glad to have you here.

STATEMENT OF CURTIS H. STRAUB

Mr. STRAUB. Thank you. Good to see you again.

On behalf of Attorney General Reno, Assistant Attorney General

Roy Robinson, I am pleased to be with you today to discuss our programs, particularly our training programs that are dedicated to enhancing the capability of State and local first responders.

I am particularly pleased to be at Fort McClellan again with you.

This is OJP’s first responder training center, a premier center, the

Center for Domestic Preparedness. At this time, Mr. Chairman, I

request that my formal written statement be entered into the

record.

Senator SESSIONS. We will be glad to receive that.

Mr. STRAUB. It is always terrible to go last. The two gentlemen

at the table have taken most of my speech.

As you have heard, OJP is working closely with both of these

agencies. Today, however, I am pleased to tell you that OJP has

formed an alliance with PHS——

Senator SESSIONS. Public Health Service.

Mr. STRAUB. Absolutely, to establish a public health training center here at Fort McClellan. We believe that the presence of the

PHS center will provide excellent opportunities for partnership and

enhanced ability for the two Federal agencies to serve the first responder community.

First responder training is a critical element and perhaps the

most important element of the OJP Program. Training currently

available for the first responder community to address WMD terrorism is far from comprehensive. OJP’s programs are designed to

bridge gaps in other programs and offer new enhanced specialized

training. OJP’s training mission is simple—to ensure that State

and local emergency response personnel receive the skills, knowledge, abilities to enhance them to respond to domestic terrorism

23

and in turn protect lives, property and enhance safety and security

in the communities.

As OJP moves into fiscal year 2,000, we will be able to use needs

assessments and comprehensive plans developed by the States

themselves to identify training requirements and target training

resources.

As you stated, the CDP was opened June 1, 1998. Even now, in

its initial stages of operation, the CDP has trained over 1,000 first

responders from 305 jurisdictions, 43 States in basic awareness, incident command and incident management.

As you know, Mr. Chairman, Fort McClellan, which is currently

the home of the U.S. Army Chemical School, is scheduled to be

closed at the end of the current fiscal year. In directing the establishment of the CDP, I believe Congress saw a unique opportunity

that was being provided to the civilian emergency response community. Simply put, facilities at Fort McClellan that so successfully

served the Army’s chemical training needs can now be used to benefit the training needs of America’s civilian emergency responders.

Mr. Chairman, the transformation of Fort McClellan from a military training facility to a civilian first responder training facility

through the creation and development of the Center for Domestic

Preparedness has the full support and commitment of the Attorney

General and Assistant Attorney General Roy Robinson.

Senator Sessions, I truly believe that CDP will be a success

story, not just for the Federal Government, but for America’s first

responders.

Mr. Chairman, I have eight letters of support that I would like

to enter into the record, one of which is from Colorado.

Senator SESSIONS. We would be pleased to receive those.

Mr. STRAUB. As I conclude my statement, I want to personally

thank you for all your support of the CDP and of all your support

for the OJP program activities.

That concludes my statement. I will be pleased to answer any

questions.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Straub and the above mentioned

letters follow:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF CURTIS H. STRAUB

MR. CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE: My name is Curtis H.

Straub, and I am the Director of the Office for State and Local Domestic Preparedness Support (OSLDPS), Office of Justice Programs (OJP). On behalf of the Attorney

General Reno and Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson, I am pleased to be

with you today to discuss programs that are dedicated to enhancing the capabilities

of state and local first responders to deal with the threat of domestic terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD). I am particularly pleased to be here

at Fort McClellan, at the Office of Justice Programs’ first responder training center,

the Center for Domestic Preparedness. As you know, the Center for Domestic Preparedness, which is a component of the Office for State and Local Domestic Preparedness Support, is an integral part of OJP’s first responder training initiative.

The Center has successfully trained over 1,000 first responders since it opened June

1, 1998.

OSLDPS Deputy Director Andy Mitchell was pleased to testify before this subcommittee on April 20, to discuss the full range of our programs, so I will limit my

remarks today to aspects of our training initiatives.

The standards by which OJP/OSLDPS assists state and local jurisdictions in accessing and acquiring training and equipment for emergency responder personnel

will be coordinated by the Department of Justice’s National Domestic Preparedness

Office (NDPO), which has been proposed as an office to coordinate federal domestic

24

preparedness initiatives and to serve as a single point of contact for first responders

for information on federal preparedness programs.

When fully operational, NDPO will act as the single federal office for coordinating

federal initiatives on domestic preparedness into a cohesive and logical program

that enhances the capabilities of first responders. As part of this mission, OJP/

OSLDPS will operate under the umbrella of NDPO to assist state and local jurisdictions with the delivery of appropriate training, equipment, and exercises consistent

with the standards coordinated by NDPO.

Responder training, like any other learning experience, must be incremental, with

progressive steps in the learning process. Training currently being offered to address readiness for WMD terrorism is far from comprehensive. OJP/OSLDPS programs are designed to bridge gaps in other programs and offer new enhanced, specialized training. OJP/OSLDPS will work in partnership with other federal agencies,

as well as through the NDPO, to ensure that its programs complement other ongoing federal training efforts.

OJP/OSLDPS’ overall training mission is to ensure that state and local emergency

response personnel receive the skills, knowledge, and abilities to enable them to respond to incidents of domestic terrorism, and in turn, better protect lives, property,

and public safety. The training focuses on enhancing a jurisdiction’s ability to respond to explosive, incendiary, chemical, radiological, nuclear and biological incidents. During fiscal year 1999, training efforts are being focused on those jurisdictions that received OJP/OSLDPS equipment grant funding during fiscal year 1998,

and those jurisdictions targeted under OJP/OSLDPS Metropolitan Firefighter and

Emergency Medical Service Program. This ensures that current training builds on

past efforts and that there is a continuity to the resources targeted to jurisdictions.

The Metropolitan Firefighters and Emergency Medical Services (MFEMS) Program was begun in fiscal year 1997, and offers training and technical support to

the fire and emergency medical services of the nation’s largest metropolitan jurisdictions. Originally targeted to the nation’s 120 largest jurisdictions, this program has

been recently expanded to cover 255 jurisdictions across the country, including all

cities targeted for training under the Defense Department’s Nunn-Lugar-Domenici

Domestic Preparedness Program, and all state capitals.

Since its inception, the MFEMS Program has been primarily responsible for providing basic instruction in WMD awareness to fire and emergency medical service

personnel. The program’s principal course, ‘‘Emergency Response to Terrorism:

Basic Concepts,’’ is a two-day training course that has, to date, trained over 32,000

fire and emergency medical service first responders in basic WMD awareness principles. In addition, over 59,000 persons are currently in the process of being trained.

The Basic Concepts course is delivered in the first responders’ local communities

in order to reach the maximum numbers of first responders. This course is also

available through a ‘‘ self-study’’ version that has proven very successful. We are

also exploring ways to deliver it through both ‘‘distance learning’’ mechanisms and

through an Internet-based version. OJP/OSLDPS has also worked with the Federal

Emergency Management Agency to ensure that this course has become part of the

standing curriculum at all state fire training academies.

Since fiscal year 1997, OJP/OSLDPS’ responsibilities in the area of first responder

training have significantly increased, notably with the passage of the ‘‘Departments

of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Acts of 1998 and 1999.’’ During this time, we have built on the success of the

MFEMS Program and integrated its training efforts into a comprehensive initiative

to meet state and local first responder training needs. Key to this process is the use

of a variety of needs assessment methods to garner information from state and local

jurisdictions aimed at identifying training requirements and serving as a road map

for targeting training resources.

Beginning in the current fiscal year, OJP/OSLDPS will require states to submit

a three-year comprehensive plan that will identify equipment, training, exercise,

and other needs, which will be used to identify needs and target resources. The collection of this type of information will allow OJP/OSLDPS, working with NDPO, to

determine the WMD training that is available, being utilized, or required by jurisdictions across the country. The information will assist the development of new

training materials and courses to fill training gaps. This effort will be aided by

NDPO’s function as a central federal government clearinghouse for training information.

A key element of the federal government’s domestic preparedness initiative is

OJP/OSLDPS’ National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC). Organized as

part of OJP’s domestic preparedness training initiative in fiscal year 1998, the

NDPC is providing the nation’s first responders with specialized training specifically

designed for responding to WMD incidents of domestic terrorism, filling existing

25

training gaps, and enhancing training currently provided by FEMA, DoD, and other

federal agencies. The specialized NDPC training will be delivered in three ways: on

location at the Consortium facilities, through regional or traveling courses, and via

distance learning technology. During fiscal year 1999, the Consortium is identifying

training needs, developing training courses, and delivering courses to first responders in four major areas: awareness, responder operations, technician responses, and

WMD incident management.

The Consortium incorporates several of the organizations that have received funding under the OJP/OSLDPS’ domestic preparedness initiative into a single, coordinated, and integrated training program. Each of the five NDPC members has capabilities that make it uniquely qualified to provide specialized WMD training.

• The National Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center at the New

Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology provides live explosive training and

field exercises.

• The National Center for Bio-Medical Research and Training at Louisiana State

University provides expertise and training in biological agents and in law enforcement.

• The National Emergency and Response and Rescue Training Center at Texas

A&M University provides the ability to conduct field exercises and expertise

and facilities for training on urban search and rescue techniques, with emphasis

on the fire, HAZMAT, and EMS disciplines.

• The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Exercise, Test, and Training Center

at the Nevada Test Site provides the ability to conduct large scale field exercises using a wide range of live agent simulants and explosives.

• The Office of Justice Program’s Center for Domestic Preparedness here at Fort

McClellan provides the ability to conduct training in a live chemical agent environment and to conduct field exercises. The Center was opened by OJP/

OSLDPS on June 1, 1998, to train state and local emergency responders in both

basic and advanced methods of responding to, and managing, incidents of domestic terrorism and has already trained nearly 1,000 first responders in basic

awareness, incident command, and incident management. OJP/OSLDPS is also

working in partnership with the Public Health Service (PHS) as PHS establishes a public health training center for responding to WMD incidents at Fort

McClellan. ‘‘OJP/OSLDPS believes that the presence of the PHS center will provide excellent opportunities for partnership and an enhanced ability for these

two federal entities to serve the first responder community.’’

The newest addition to OJP/OSLDPS domestic preparedness training initiative

will be the assumption by OJP/OSLDPS of the Department of Defense’s (DoD)

Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Domestic Preparedness Training Program in fiscal year 2001.

Currently DoD and the Department of Justice are working on a Memorandum of

Understanding for the proposed transition of the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici program.

This agreement should be completed later this month. During fiscal year 2000, the

program transition will begin and will be completed by the beginning of fiscal year

2001. The two departments are working well together, with excellent cooperation

from DoD, which should make the transition seamless, with no impact on the cities

involved with the training. The Department of Justice is committed to completing

the training in the 120 jurisdictions originally identified by DoD. I am confident

that the program transition will result in a much more comprehensive federal training program for first responders, enabling OJP/OSLDPS to integrate our training

and other domestic preparedness assets with the Domestic Preparedness Program

implementation. The integration will also address legitimate concerns regarding

DOJ’s and DoD’s two programs having different target groups with different delivery mechanisms.

Among the goals of this transition is to provide the basic Nunn-Lugar-Domenici

training elements to as many of the 120 cities designated by DoD as Nunn-LugarDomenici training sites as possible by the end of fiscal year 2000. Under the terms

of the agreement between DoD and the Justice Department, DoD will complete all

phases of the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici program for 68 of the 120 jurisdictions, and will

complete all basic training elements for an additional 37 cities, by the end of fiscal

year 2000. OJP/OSLDPS will initiate its administration of the program with the remaining 15 cities in fiscal year 2001. The completion of the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici

exercise component for cities 69–120 will be accomplished by OJP/OSLDPS, beginning on a small scale in fiscal year 2000, followed by an accelerated rate in fiscal

year 2001.

In addition, OJP/OSLDPS, as part of its administration of the Nunn-LugarDomenici program, is developing an enhanced Senior Officials Course tailored for

26

each recipient jurisdiction. The course builds on the existing Senior Official courses

and is part of the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici transition. This enhanced course will dovetail with the new state planning and assessment process under the equipment grant

program and will ultimately serve as a vehicle for delivering the assessment findings to state and local leaders. The course teaches baseline awareness, then walks

participants through the findings of the jurisdictional assessment. Through this

process, decision makers will come to fully understand the community’s state of preparedness and the necessary steps to ameliorate shortfalls. OJP/OSLDPS will initiate the program with a special version intended for the first 25 cities that received

the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Domestic Preparedness Program train-the-trainer

courses.

DoD’s Domestic Preparedness Program training is essentially entry-level WMD

training for first responders, providing concepts and raising hazard awareness.

Other OJP/OSLDPS training efforts and programs will build upon the Nunn-LugarDomenici base and provide the next tier in that process, offering more advanced

learning opportunities to enhance the understanding, skills, and abilities of the first

responder community, including tactical and strategic responses to WMD terrorist

incidents. An effort is underway to evaluate and, by request of the first responder

community, certify effective training courses. As part of that process, the establishment of training hierarchies will assure first responders that they are progressing

toward greater levels of proficiency. NDPO will also continue DoD’s compendium of

existing federal training courses and help ensure that courses meet minimum national standards.

OJP/OSLDPS is also moving to ensure that training offered to first responders includes the training required to use and operate the equipment available to them

under the OJP/OSLDPS equipment grant programs. OJP/OSLDPS will provide jurisdictions technical training in handling equipment purchased with federal grants.

This training is available upon the jurisdiction’s request either through on-site visits, long-distance learning, or by hosting responders at training facilities around the

country.

Each of the 12 courses being developed will undergo a thorough review and critique. Comments from the review boards will then be incorporated into the courses

and, following a final expert review, the courses will be certified by OSLDPS

through the NDPO certification process. This process will help ensure that uniform,

high-quality training is available to first responders. In addition, all training efforts

will be enhanced through OSLDPS’ technical assistance program and through responder participation in both table-top and field exercises.

Throughout the training development process, we have attempted to maintain

close contact with and seek comments from our first responder customers. In August

1998, the first State and Local Domestic Preparedness Stakeholders Forum was convened with participation from over 200 local, state and federal responders. At the

conference, responders identified shortfalls or needs from the context of practical experience and offered recommended courses of action. The concerns and recommendations for action that emerged have provided invaluable guidance to planners in the

development of the OSLDPS programs and to other federal government agencies.

We intend to continue this process by maintaining an active feedback process, engaging with the responder community through efforts such as the National Domestic

Preparedness Consortium and the NDPO’s State and Local Advisory Group, which

is proposed as a key element of NDPO’s process for coordinating federal programs

with state and local needs.

Through the improved coordination of federal domestic preparedness programs

that will be provided by the NDPO, OJP/OSLDPS will continue to provide assistance to state and local jurisdictions as a part of DOJ’s overall effort to enhance the

nation’s capabilities to respond to events we hope will never occur.

Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement and I will be pleased to answer any

questions you may have. Thank you.

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Senator SESSIONS. Thank you.

It is a very fascinating area. I have oddly found myself on three

interesting committees that deal with it. I am on the Health Committee and the Public Health Subcommittee, which Dr. Knouss is

with, and on Armed Services that deals with the defense and

Chairman Warner has spoken out and had hearings with the CIA

Director and others about terrorist attacks and he is very concerned about it, and also on the Judiciary Committee where obviously Justice programs is. So it has given me an interesting insight

in all those agencies.

Mr. Parker, I do recall and appreciate very much Assistant Secretary Hamry, Dr. Hamry’s comments, Assistant Secretary of Defense, second to Mr. Cohen, when he said that he believed it was

a good idea to transition the initial responsibility you were given

under Nunn-Lugar to the Department of Justice. In fact, he said

he didn’t think that was a core mission of the military to be training in every city in the country. So he thought it was healthy that

that transition take place. And you have—and I believe the Department of Defense is cooperating fully, and it is not easy sometimes.

Agencies do not like to give up their jurisdiction or what they have

been working on. And I think that is a good event.

Dr. Knouss, just briefly, the Centers for Disease Control is in Atlanta. Do you think they will play a significant role in your planning for protecting public health in case of an attack?

Mr. KNOUSS. Senator Sessions, they play an absolutely critical

role because, as I mentioned in the very beginning, it is that agency that we need to turn to for strengthening much of our public

health infrastructure in the United States to be able to establish

the systems necessary to detect and determine what agent may

have been released, to create the laboratory capability that is necessary not only for terrorist attacks but also for other emerging infectious diseases, to be able to assist our public health departments

around the country to make a determination of what kinds of

health problems we are facing. And we are very actively engaged

with them in a partnership within our department.

CDC plays a very prominent role in disease control efforts and

prevention efforts. But when it comes to response, the lead within

our department will fall to our Office of Emergency Preparedness

to coordinate that for the department. And we firmly believe that

the capability to respond starts in the community and so we are

committed to working with communities across the country to

strengthen their capabilities in this regard and CDC is not only

working with the communities but also the States, which is their

traditional role.

It is just that it is right down the road and I think it would be

an asset to Nobel Army Hospital if you develop a training program

here. And by the way, on training, I know you have mentioned to

me, I think the last time we talked, you indicated again today, that

you are concerned about actually training physicians and nurses

and those in the communities. Do you have funding for that? And

where are we as a country in funding money for public health

training for emergencies?

Mr. KNOUSS. Most of the money that we have spent up to the

present time has been spent on developing the systems at the city

40

level for the response of the health systems, and this year, our

funding for that activity was about $3 million against a request

that was made of $14 million. So the Secretary of Health and

Human Services actually added another $11 million that she used

her authority and transferred from other programs within the Department to augment what was available through the direct appropriations. And we have made a substantial request again for fiscal

year 2000’s budget so that we can support that activity. I think we

are now requesting in excess of $16 million for that activity in the

fiscal 2000 budget.

Senator SESSIONS. That is not a line item in last year’s or this

year’s budget, is it?

Mr. KNOUSS. Yes, it was $3 million actually appropriated. We

had asked for 14, we added 11 from within the Department’s own

funds and we are asking for 16.5 to be appropriated in the coming—for fiscal year 2000.

Senator SESSIONS. We have got a lot of extra money being spent

on hazardous events and I believe we should make sure that there

is an actual appropriation sufficient to help you train the physicians and first medical responders. I think it is something we need

to work on. I thank you.

Mr. KNOUSS. I really appreciate that a great deal.

Senator SESSIONS. Mr. Parker, relative to the National Guard—

do you have plans for where they might be trained? I had heard

that Fort Leonard Wood, for example, really didn’t have the capacity to do as much as might be needed. That was one place that had

been suggested. Where are we on that?

Mr. PARKER. The overall training effort is still being formulated

but one of the considerations, as you point out, in Fort Leonard

Wood is the transitional state that the chemical school will be in

over the next year, bringing on the new training facilities at Fort

Leonard Wood is going to take some time. So there has been some

at least discussion and plans to determine whether or not there is

excess capacity here at Fort McClellan which could be called upon

as the National Guard needs exceed the ability for Fort Wood to

deal with it. So there is a realization that the facility is available

here at Fort McClellan. It will be somewhat of a balance working

with L.Z. on what are the domestic demands and then where the

capacity exists to support DOD’s uniformed personnel training.

Senator SESSIONS. We have got a great National Guard in Alabama. Per capita, it is number one in the Nation, and I think fifth

in total membership behind Texas and California. They have informed me of their interest in playing an important role in that,

and I think that has got real possibilities. I think the National

Guard is spread out geographically around most States and could

play a critical role. And I thank you for that.

Butch, I think we need to get to about 10,000 a year. Where are

we in funding and what are your latest thoughts about how close

we can come to that goal?

Mr. STRAUB. I would also like to see 10,000 a year. Of course

that has been our objective all along. In fiscal year 2000, we requested $17 million. I don’t know what the mark is going to be. I

understand the Senate was marking up——

Senator SESSIONS. It will be close to that.

41

Mr. STRAUB. I hope so. That will put us around 2000 trainees a year. But in our 2001 budget, OJP has requested $30 million which

would move the number of students to 6500. The target goal of

10,000 would take around $37 million a year, which is what we

would like to see.

Senator SESSIONS. That is a chunk of money even by Washington

standards. But it is I think an achievable goal. Senator Shelby and

I have talked about that figure several times. I think the Senate

will be in at about what the Administration requested, hopefully

we can increase it, but whether we can or not, I do not know. We

are living with our commitment to the American people to contain

spending, that the Congress and the President agreed to last year.

As a result, funds are tight, and therefore money must come from

some other programs that are of less priority. That is more difficult

than I realized when I first went to Washington. Just because one

program is more valuable or appears to be more valuable than another one does not mean you can easily walk over and take money

from it to give to others. They howl quite loudly when you take

money they have been receiving. As such, we have got to work on

that and I intend to keep working on that.

Do any of you have any other comments?

[No response.]

Senator SESSIONS. Mr. Parker, briefly, do you have any insight

from the Department of Defense’s and Army’s perspective about the

nature of this challenge—how real it is? I know you have been giving thought to it for some time now. Would you share that with us?

Mr. PARKER. I think the threat is a demonstrated fact, as it has

occurred in Tokyo. The reality is that based on the FBI, which really has the lead in the domestic threat environment, is that it is

very hard to quantify these things other than there appears to be

a consensus that the environment is as you stated earlier, it is

when, not if. That seems to be the consensus opinion. Very hard

to identify any particular group or timeframe but it is one of those

circumstances where the consequences of the event are so extreme

that we as a Nation need to proceed and be prepared.

Senator SESSIONS. Well said. The consequences are so extreme

and all the experts tell us it is a question of when, not whether,

and we do need to be prepared.

I thank you for the leadership each of you have given. I want to

be helpful. While we love the facility here, we are concerned about

the whole Nation and we want to do what is right for the country.

I know the President has said we need to shift resources to this

area and I believe the Congress agrees. If we can work together

and not allow too many different agencies to fail to coordinate effectively, I believe we can make some major progress in short

order.

Thank you very much for being with us. And I hope you can stay

around for our tour in a little bit.

On next panel, we have Darrell Higuchi, who is the deputy fire

chief in Los Angeles County Fire Department. He has an extensive

background in national disasters and domestic preparedness in

probably the Nation’s most active metropolitan area dealing with

these issues. The Los Angeles County area has been talked about

and I know you have done a lot of work on this.

42

In addition, Gary McConnell is the Director of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency in Atlanta. Of course, he grew up

around Rome, he was Sheriff up there when he did a lot of work.

Now he has moved down——

Mr. MCCONNELL. Hard work.

Senator SESSIONS. What is that?

Mr. MCCONNELL. Hard work.

Senator SESSIONS. Hard and honest work in Rome.

He was actively involved in planning and executing the 1996

Olympics and was a key operator in working on the bombing there.

He has established an office that is well-recognized nationally for

being forward thinking and effective. And we are glad to have you,

Gary. You’re too far away from here—just across the line Georgia.

Chief Higuchi, would you like to make a few comments and then

we will have some questions.

PANEL CONSISTING OF DARRELL HIGUCHI, DEPUTY FIRE

CHIEF, LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CA AND GARY McCONNELL,

DIRECTOR, GEORGIA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

STATEMENT OF DARRELL HIGUCHI

Mr. HIGUCHI. Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman, good morning. I would like

to thank you for——

Senator SESSIONS. You might need to pull that microphone a little closer.

Mr. HIGUCHI. Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for allowing me to testify this morning.

Senator SESSIONS. And I probably need to ask you to keep your

remarks around 5 minutes, opening remarks, if you would.

Mr. HIGUCHI. Yes, sir, I will keep them brief.

As you indicated, my name is Darrell Higuchi, I am the Deputy

Chief of Los Angeles County Fire Department and I am also here

before you today on behalf of the International Association of Fire

Chiefs.

Preparing for incidents of terrorism involving chemical, biological

and radiological agents, in addition to incidents that may involve

conventional explosive devices, is certainly a high priority for the

fire service. America’s fire departments are first responders and

often the last resort for rescue, prehospital emergency medical care

in any community in a time of crisis.

Should an incident of terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction occur, the fire service is typically the first public safety

agency notified, along with law enforcement. Our ability to successfully mitigate the incident and save lives will depend upon our

training and preparedness.

The Nunn-Lugar-Domenici amendment to the 1997 defense authorization and the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act

of 1996 began Federal efforts to assist and help better prepare local

fire, police and emergency service agencies for the possibility of terrorism involved in a WMD incident.

The IAFC has been involved in the development of both these

laws and continues to work with the Departments of Defense and

Justice in their administration. The Anti-Terrorism Act authorized

a $5 million appropriation to train metropolitan fire fighters in terVerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:20 Aug 11, 2000 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 RESPONDERS SJUD4 PsN: SJUD4
43

rorism response. Designated by the Attorney General to administer

this law, the Office of Justice Programs, OJP, provided four jurisdictions with demonstration grants, and importantly worked with

the National Fire Academy, in the development of awareness level

training curriculum that has been available nationwide for approximately 2 years.

A train-the-trainer approach was used for both cost-savings and

an efficient way to reach as many fire fighters as possible. Thousands have received this training based upon this curriculum.

Additionally, coordinated Federal assistance in acquiring appropriate personal protective, decontamination, detection and monitoring equipment is required. Federal support and funding for this

training is also a necessity.

Early identification of a terrorist incident and the ability to implement command and control using the standard incident command system is vitally important. Successfully mitigating an incident is incumbent upon this. Awareness level training is vital and

should continue to be provided. Congress should provide sufficient

funding to facilitate the availability and delivery of this OJP/NFA

awareness level training to every local public safety agency in the

country.

OJP has created, at the direction of Congress, a National Domestic Preparedness Consortium comprised of Louisiana State University, the New Mexico Institute of Mining & Manufacturing, Texas

A&M University and the Nevada Test Site. The Justice Department also established a National Domestic Preparedness Center

here at Fort McClellan. We support expedited access to the consortium’s facilities as well as as many local emergency services personnel as possible. It is important that each of the consortium facilities focus on those aspects of emergency operations that each

can uniquely address.

It is also essential that local emergency response agencies have

sufficient oversight and input into the training development. It is

important that what is being taught is not duplicative or contradictory and that the training meets the goals and objectives of preparedness.

The lack of training standards in both Defense and Justice programs is a concern to some. Others will claim that no standards

exist. We disagree. Consensus standards developed and promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association are the standards

that should be adopted by all agencies involved in training of local

fire departments. These standards are widely accepted and are already in use by fire training academies across our Nation. The

awareness level training developed by OJP in conjunction with the

National Fire Academy incorporates these standards. We urge Congress to mandate that all Federal agencies involved in training of

fire fighters incorporate these existing NFPA standards.

The International Association of Fire Chiefs believes that the enhancement of the existing local capability is the wisest, most costeffective course to follow in preparing for a WMD incident. It is our

experience that not only will we be the first responders on the

scene, but we will be the largest supplier of personnel and equipment to mitigate this incident. Fire department hazardous material

response teams deal with and handle spills and accidental releases

44

of highly toxic chemicals on a regular basis. This is the case across

the country. The importance of preparing for this risk should not

be understated. However, we should not forget that bombing attacks remain the most common tool of terrorists, both domestically

and abroad. We should not overlook the fact that our preparedness

plans—and we do realize that the National Domestic Preparedness

Consortium Program seeks to address that item.

The recent rash of anthrax hoaxes in Los Angeles County revealed several critical items. We found that we were unable to determine quickly whether or not anthrax agent was actually present

at the several incidents. Further training and equipment necessary

to identify biological and chemical agents is needed for all fire departments.

Of particular concern are those biological agents that have incubation periods that would expose individuals to those who unwittingly leave the scene and spread this disease across this great Nation. The ability of responding fire department personnel to make

these decisions is crucial. The steps necessary to decontaminate are

arduous to potential victims and responders alike.

In Los Angeles during recent drills, it was determined that nonambulatory victims, the fire service could only handle 10 to 20 nonambulatory victims in a given hour.

The decontamination process in itself is challenging. Training in

how to accomplish it quickly and effectively is necessary for the entire fire service.

To conclude, Mr. Chairman, local fire, public safety agency personnel will be the first on the scene in an act of terrorism. Our

ability to save lives, mitigate environmental damage will depend on

how we are prepared and trained. Existing National Fire Protection Association standards should be incorporated into the Federal

training programs for fire departments.

Finally, I would like to stress that the Federal training programs

would benefit from input and oversight by local civilian fire and

emergency response experts.

At this time, I would certainly like to acknowledge the Department of Justice, Butch Straub, for his diligence and administrative

oversight of OJP and training, and of course the grants program,

NDPO, the Pentagon and in particular L.Z. Johnson and his staff.

Our department has been a direct beneficiary of this live agent

training. Returning personnel in their assessment and critique was

rated a 9.5 out of 10 and this in itself created a flood of applicants

within our own organization. This training has now fashioned an

indelible benchmark for live agent training for all fire service individuals.

Thank you for allowing me to testify today, Mr. Chairman, and

I am happy to answer any questions you may have.

Senator SESSIONS. Thank you very much.

Mr. McConnell.

STATEMENT OF GARY McCONNELL

Mr. MCCONNELL. Senator, I am pleased to be here on behalf of

the National Emergency Management Association, but more than

that on behalf of the State of Georgia.

45

Let me preface my remarks this morning with some real issues

that we must deal with. I am probably a little more of a realist

than some of the folks that you deal with on a day-to-day basis,

Senator.

Senator SESSIONS. Sheriffs are realists as a rule.

Mr. MCCONNELL. DA’s and prosecutors are too.

Let us talk about whether it happens or not—it is going to happen. I will tell you about some of the things that have happened

in Georgia that I was involved in firsthand. But before I get into

that, it could not have occurred without the support of Justice,

Andy, Butch, and Roy Robinson. They have been tremendously supportive with terrorism especially in the State of Georgia.

Centennial Park, we all watched in July 1996, with the explosion

there, two other explosions in the City of Atlanta within 6 months.

The secondary devices are a new phenomenon in this country

where they planted it to kill the public safety responders. Just in

the last year, we have had eight anthrax hoaxes just across the

Alabama-Georgia line in Carroll County and Haralson County, just

across from Cherokee, DeKalb, and Cleburne County.

Senator SESSIONS. You had eight anthrax hoax threats?

Mr. MCCONNELL. Yes, sir. Double suicide in a school in Carroll

County, and of course the shooting about 6 weeks ago at Heritage

High School in Rockdale County.

Senator with no disrespect to anybody and none certainly is

meant, it is time that we quit talking about terrorism and school

violence, and we do something. If the State of Georgia very candidly had waited on guidance to prepare for the 1996 Olympics, we

would not have lit the torch yet. Terrorism is real, the local first

responders, the fire, EMS and law enforcement are certainly the

first folks there.

One group that I think has been overlooked this morning particularly in testimony and reality is the State. The State brings a

tremendous amount of resources to support local governments. The

Federal Government does a tremendous job supporting local and

State but it is anywhere from 48 to 72 hours, admittedly, before

they can have a large force there unless they are prestaged like

they were in the 1996 Games. And we do not have that luxury.

It is very, very important in my opinion that we have Federal involvement, State involvement and local involvement. Certainly nobody is trying to take away from the local first responders. In 20

years as a local sheriff, I understand they are the folks there that

do the work. But in 1996, for example, we brought 11,000 State officers to the 1996 Games. There has to be a coordinating agency

out of the Governor’s office who deals with mutual aid. If we train

120 cities that DOD is attempting to train across this country,

without any involvement from the local or State as to who those

are and how they are trained and how it is going to be distributed

to the other cities—for example, if you train the City of Birmingham, that is great, but what about Roebuck, Gadsden, or Fort

Payne?

So we have to have a mechanism of delivering that training

across the State through mutual aid. We think that the training

delivery and the issues that the Federal Government are dealing

with need to come through the Governor’s office, to be assigned to

46

whatever the appropriate State agency is to work with them. For

example, the CDC is certainly appropriate in working with our Department of Human Resources in our State, but there needs to be

a coordinated effort so that Agriculture or Justice is not trying to

develop the same thing in their areas; to make sure that we use

the best limited resources that we have.

The issue of the role of each individual group, we will never resolve that because of turf battles or pride and ego and who gets

credit and who gets blame. Senator, very candidly, we had 191

countries in Atlanta, GA in 1996, we had 137 local jurisdictions involved in putting on the Games, we had over 60 Federal agencies

there. What we must do is not only train on live biological weapons

of mass destruction, school violence, we must go one step further

past that and have an understanding by exercise, by an understanding of who does what. The time for the Federal agencies to

meet their State counterparts and their local counterparts is not at

Columbine High School.

You know, we all want to use media releases and we all want

to be there to arrest the perpetrators. But we have got to have a

coordinated effort on how that is going to occur. We had the luxury

of having 3 years to train and exercise for the 1996 Games. That

is the reason we had 130 odd victims of Centennial Park, but they

were all in the hospitals and emergency rooms being treated within

28 minutes because we all understood our roles, we all understood

how to accomplish that.

We have got to emphasize, whether it is the fire department of

Los Angeles or the fire department here in Anniston, that we all

have roles to play. And if we do not understand that today, we certainly cannot understand it when Columbine High School or Heritage High School in Rockdale County is under siege.

There is a tremendous need, I think, for the Federal Government

to certainly continue their efforts to single focus terrorism through

Justice or wherever the powers pick that agency to be. In my opinion, Justice is the place for that. But we do not need to reinvent

the wheel. For example, there is a system of delivering Federal assistance to State and local governments now, we need to support

that through FEMA. If the same incident would occur here in Anniston, there is a great, world class facility here to train the first

responders on weapons of mass destruction and chemical and biological. Let us quit looking at other places, let us quit trying to

build a new or better mousetrap and use the one that we have got.

Spend that money on training the fire and law enforcement, EMS

communities on the chemicals, how to deal with those and how to

better coordinate those efforts.

And with no disrespect to the gentleman from DOD who testified

earlier—and I do not want to get on a negative comment here—but

the Guard RAID teams are great, but are we going to have them

in our life time? We have been talking about Guard RAID teams

and Georgia has been selected for one of those, I understand. It

was selected for one of those shortly after the 1996 Games or whenever the program started. During those 17 days in Atlanta, GA

when the world was watching, we responded to a suspicious package every 10 minutes for 17 solid days. We ran our fire and EMS

47

and law enforcement and military guys in the ground. Every 10

minutes 24 hours a day for 17 days is a long time.

RAID teams are great, but let us move on with it. You know, I

heard this morning we are still developing where we are going to

train them at. Hell, I need them in Georgia now. Let us train them,

let us train them in Anniston and if there is a better place 10 years

down the road, let us worry about that 10 years down the road.

But the Governors of this country and the elected leadership deserve for us to not worry about who is going to get the credit, there

is enough to go around. There will be enough blame to go around.

When CNN stuck their camera in my face at 1:21 in the morning

in Atlanta, GA, they did not care who let the bomb go off, why did

we do it. They did not care whether it was DOD, the State of Georgia, the City of Atlanta, EMS, fire or the whole alphabet soup, Senator.

We have got to move on. We may not have the ideal answer to

it, it will always be different versions depending on what color shirt

or what color uniform or where your loyalty lies. But the people in

this country deserve for us to make a decision and for us to move

on with it. The mothers and fathers of those six kids in Rockdale

County 6 weeks ago, they wanted somebody to catch the shooter.

They want me or somebody in the State of Georgia to assure them

it is not going to happen again and be relatively sure that we can

back up that promise.

That is what we are about. We are not about whether the State

of Georgia, the City of Atlanta, the Federal Government or which

agency gets credit for it. We have got an obligation to do the right

thing.

I want to close with one thing that I asked my 11,000 folks to

do during the Olympics, and I challenge you in Congress to do the

same thing when you are voting on weapons of mass destruction

and terrorism. I do not know who the most important person to you

is in your life, but every time you deal with weapons of mass destruction, I want you to have that person in your mind. And if you

and I do our jobs well enough to take care of that person, the rest

of our people will be all right too. That is where we are at with

terrorism in this country right now.

I will be glad to answer any questions you have, sir.

Senator SESSIONS. Thank you. That is well said and I think we

are at that point.

I was just thinking as you said you spent 3 years getting ready

in Atlanta—would you say that virtually any city in America, if

they have got good support from training and equipment, that kind

of thing, over a period of 2 or 3 years could reach the kind of level

that you did in Atlanta? Moreover, would you say that, every major

area ought to be developing the kind of coordinated response and

communications that are necessary to respond effectively?

Mr. MCCONNELL. Senator, my——

Senator SESSIONS. Would that be your vision of what everybody

ought to do?

Mr. MCCONNELL. Yes, sir. In my opinion, there is no reason that

any city or any community in this country cannot get to that level.

It takes about four things. It takes the political support of the

elected leadership; it takes the vision and commitment of the agenVerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:20 Aug 11, 2000 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 RESPONDERS SJUD4 PsN: SJUD4
48

cies involved, it is not easy, it is not always popular, sir; it takes

elected leadership, the agencies involved committed to that goal

and it takes community support. Communities at different times in

their lives are willing to put up with more.

Senator SESSIONS. In other words, if it is the sheriff and the chief

and the fire chief and all, if they are not getting support from the

elected leaders, they are not likely to put a big effort into it, but

if they are encouraged to, they will?

Mr. MCCONNELL. Yes, sir. And the public will put up with it. We

put metal detectors at the majority of the venues, had a few complaints prior to Centennial Park. After Centennial Park, they did

not mind being checked at all when they went in, sir.

Senator SESSIONS. Yeah, good point.

Mr. Higuchi, you mentioned the quality work that the National

Fire Academy has done and the standards I guess, National Fire—

what is it?

Mr. HIGUCHI. National Fire Protection Association, NFPA.

Senator SESSIONS. National Fire Protection Association standards—those have been developed over many years of careful consideration about how to respond to fires, chemicals, explosions and

things of that nature. Do you feel like there has been enough attention paid to what has already been accomplished in developing

these responses to chemical and biological weapons, and further do

you think the Federal Government should do more in incorporating

the work that has already been done?

Mr. HIGUCHI. Yes, sir, Mr. Senator. As you indicate, there has

been a tremendous amount of Federal support in the establishment

of national guidelines relative to fire, EMS and now weapons of

mass destruction. I would certainly ask and hopefully the Congressional members will support additional funding through the Department of Justice, through FEMA down to U.S. Fire Administration, to the National Fire Academy. I am proud to say that I was

part of several course developments of weapons of mass destruction

and the support that we received, received an A grade. Although

that is not to say that we should be standard and happy with what

we currently have, but yet, we find those courses and possibly develop new additional courses to better meet the needs of the fire

service.

Senator SESSIONS. If you have say a poison gas circumstance,

what are the things that your firemen and women need to know

as they respond to that? Do you think the average fire department

in America has received enough assistance and training in how to

do it?

Mr. HIGUCHI. Mr. Senator, I cannot sit in front of you today and

acknowledge yes, they have had enough training, only because of

the fact that I have only dealt with Los Angeles County Fire Department and our surrounding communities. We have had a tremendous amount of training in the awareness area. And to answer

your question specifically with poison gas, we have had training

tapes developed, we have written materials and again, people coming to this live agent school training as well as the National Fire

Academy, has certainly broadened our exposure and knowledge and

expertise relative to weapons of mass destruction. Yet, it is one of

49

those items that in reality most fire fighters hopefully never have

to deal with.

Senator SESSIONS. Well, most people probably do not realize just

how intensive fire department training is using chlorine and all

kinds of hazardous materials that are transported on our roads and

railways and used in our cities daily. Having said that, what I hear

you saying is to go from that to biological attacks may be new to

you, but would not be that difficult, although sufficient scientific

studies have not yet been done. In addition, what I hear you saying

is that we ought to build on what has already been learned and the

training that has already gone on within the fire departments.

Mr. HIGUCHI. Yes, sir, that is correct. The fire service is built on

a lot of tradition and the culture relative to ladders, to water systems, to fire and rescue. This is just a new door that has now

opened and presents a challenge to the fire service in general and

we are trying to meet that challenge.

Senator SESSIONS. You have mentioned live agent training several times now. Do you think that is a critical component of making

training realistic and meaningful to students?

Mr. HIGUCHI. Yes, sir. On our written critiques and verbal interviews with persons that have come back, typically most fire departments across the Nation will use a color grenade or tear gas at the

most during training exercises. But when individuals found out

this was the real McCoy, they had a tendency to check their masks

and seal 10 times more, along with the assistance of the personnel

and staff here. And that in itself put a realism that has never been

experienced by this fire service before.

Senator SESSIONS. It gives them confidence that the procedures

work, I suppose, among other things also——

Mr. HIGUCHI. Yes, sir.

Senator SESSIONS. Would it not, if they have been through an actual live agent exercise.

Mr. HIGUCHI. Yes, sir, they trained as if their life depended on

it this time versus normal training.

Senator SESSIONS. Gary, I was told a few months ago—and I

think some changes have been made—that sheriffs had not been

fully involved in this. Police departments were being coordinated

with in some of the national programs. Have you heard any complaints that sheriffs have not been involved and offered the training to the extent that police departments have?

Mr. MCCONNELL. Yes, sir, I sure have.

Senator SESSIONS. I think they have made a change in that. I

have expressed my concern about it, because some of my sheriff

friends have raised it with me. A sheriff oftentimes will be the first

one there.

Mr. MCCONNELL. I think your Sheriff in Tuscaloosa County is

probably on the national board.

Senator SESSIONS. Yes, he did.

Mr. MCCONNELL. He may have expressed that to you.

Senator SESSIONS. He caught me and he does a great job. He is

a national leader in the National Sheriffs’ Association. That was a

very valid complaint and I think the Department of Justice responded well to that.

50

Mr. MCCONNELL. Justice has responded very well to weapons of

mass destruction and terrorism across the spectrum of public safety, even with the new players of Agriculture and some other folks

we normally do not think of public safety. Justice needs to be commended for reaching out to the other groups that normally have

not been involved in public safety.

Senator SESSIONS. Good.

Well, I want to thank all of you for coming. I hope that you panelists can have time after this to actually tour the facility. Your

comments are important to me. I think this is my second full hearing. We have had some secret briefings from the CIA and Defense

Intelligence that I cannot refer to, we have had hearings in Armed

Services as to which of these issues have been raised. I believe we

are as a Nation, beginning to recognize that we need to be prepared to respond effectively to these events that inevitably will

occur.

We are going to accept a letter from Dr. Moriarty at Auburn and

make that part of the record. Thank you for doing that and for your

work with this project.

Senator SESSIONS. The record will be open to receive testimony

and I may submit some follow-up questions to some of you who

have testified.

Our bus will be leaving out front in a few minutes and we would

like for you to join us there.

Thank you so much for being with us. We are adjourned.

[Whereupon, at 10:50 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]

(51)

A P P E N D I X

ADDITIONAL SUBMISSION FOR THE RECORD

June 11, 1999.

NERVE GAS SUMMARY FOR GB/VX

Nerve Gas—Used in chemical warfare, any of several poison gases derived chiefly

from phosphoric acid that weaken or paralyze the nervous system, especially that

part of the system controlling respiration.

GD—Clear water color and volatile.

VX—Persist. Light brown color.

Symptons: 1. Twitching; 2. Pin pointing of the pupils; 3. Cessation of breathing; 4.

Muscle tension; 5. Defecation; 6. Death.

How it works: Blocks the nerve junctions and effects colon esterates.

Previous logistics for shipment of GB VX in 1972. Nerve Gas (liquid) was placed

in steel containers welded and encased in concrete cubes, placed on flat cars with

decon teams, security medical personnel in support of the shipment to Sunny Point

North Carolina, placed on a surplus troop ship, carried out to sea and dumped into

many fathoms in a deep trench of the Atlantic Ocean. Quality assurance of the

Nerve Gases (liquid) is monitored periodically and found to be contained as dumped

in 1972. Fish habitant leakage is recorded by state of the art systems to insure stability.

Present proposal for shipments from Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland to

Anniston Airport by a C–12 Army Aircraft and transferred to a helicopter (UH–1)

or a helicopter in the inventory of the army for delivery to the CDT Fort McClellan

for use in chemical training of law enforcement and other elements.

I challenge this air shipment of 1 liter of GB or VX to Fort McClellan for use at

the CDT facility by the center for domestic preparedness.

Why: 1 liter is this much of VX or GB (show 1 qt. water).

1. Unsafe even at the most extremely remote possibility for reasons of plane

crash, sabotage, and leakage during shipment.

Containment during shipment is in a baker lite container. This is any of a series

of thermosetting plastics prepared by heating phenol or cresol with formaldehyde

and ammonia, under pressure: used for radio cabinets and molded plastic wares.

Baker like is a trademark.

2. If an accident occur during shipment, many people will die within minutes of

ingestion of the VX or GB. a pinpoint amount of the Nerve Agent will kill instantly

without protection of most clothing, Atropine, Topane Chloride. Everything in the

downwind hazard zone will become contaminated.

Recommendations:

1. Use of simulants (hair spray, toulene, paint thinner with M–8, detector paper

for VX and GB presents.

2. Collateral safety and security will be maintained without sickness or fatalities

using simulants.

CLIFF BOURG,

Anniston, AL.

Æ