Homeland Security, Maritime Protection & CBRN Response
Infrastructure Guardian Suzanne E. Spaulding Under Secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate DHS
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Volume 6, Issue 3
DHS and Big Data O First Responder Gear O Corrosion Control Unmanned Capabilities O CBRN Detection
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May 2014 Volume 6, Issue 3
Cover / Q&A
First Responder Gear When dealing with any kind of hazardous materials, having the right equipment can make all the difference for first responders. Industry has responded by providing gear to deal with a wide variety of circumstances. By Scott Nance
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Managing Marine Rust Rust may not pose the same fatal dangers to ships that it does to aircraft, but it’s still a costly problem on Coast Guard vessels. Preventing and dealing with rust at sea is getting more careful attention. By Henry Canaday
16 Suzanne E. Spaulding
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Forging the CBRN Alliance Industry can play a key role in developing closer ties between military first responders and their civilian counterparts. By Gary L. Hall
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Detecting the CBRN Threat After 9/11, significant investments to prepare for, prevent, respond to, recover from and mitigate the effects of CBRN threats were made. Those efforts have waned in recent years. By Peter Buxbaum
Departments
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Sensors and platforms are becoming more sophisticated and offering the user more options in unmanned capabilities. By Henry Canaday
Government agencies are seeking ways to maximize technology and system services to match capacity demands for storing, protecting and accessing large amounts of information. By Karen E. Thuermer
Unmanned Eyes
DHS and Big Data
Industry Interview
2 Editor’s Perspective 3 Nav Notes 14 On The Horizon 27 Resource Center
Guy Miasnik
William F. “Bill” Harris
CEO AtHoc
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President and CEO W.F. Harris Lighting Inc.
Under Secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate Department of Homeland Security
“We must look at cybersecurity and physical security as means to an end—the safe and continuous operation of the critical functions we rely on.” — Suzanne E. Spaulding
EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE
U.S. Coast Guard
& Border Security Volume 6, Issue 3 • May 2014
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The birthday candles were burning strong at the Department of Homeland Security’s National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) Center of Excellence. CREATE is a universitybased CoE that is looked to for innovative solutions to pressing homeland security challenges. One of a number of centers of excellence, CREATE works with federal, state and local partners as well as other partners, including many internationally, to foster and transition solutions from ideas on paper to capabilities in the field. Led by the University of Southern California, CREATE and the other CoEs are incredibly important in showcasing to the young engineers and Jeff McKaughan Editor creative thinkers in colleges and universities that there is forward-thinking work being done by the government and that it offers boundless opportunities. The commercial world has much to offer, but the government, besides delivering practical solutions to real-world issues, can also give them the freedom of expression to generate results that are both personally satisfying and financially rewarding. In a posting by Daniel Gerstein, DHS deputy under secretary for science and technology, he said, “Centers of excellence also play an essential role in molding and encouraging the scientific workforce of the future. Today’s students will become the next generation of homeland security leaders, taking positions within DHS components, national laboratories and other agencies with similar security missions.” He continued, “As CREATE marks one decade of research through our centers of excellence program, we recognize the commitment of these centers to both the economic and physical security of the nation. Ongoing research at CREATE will include analyzing current and future catastrophic risks from emerging threat technologies, designing layered defenses against terrorism with risk analysis, and economy-wide modeling for the analysis of disruptive events—establishing CREATE as a leading research facility to provide the tools and information to support counterterrorism efforts. The Department of Homeland Security, itself not much more than a decade old—officially welcoming those across its threshold for the first time on March 1, 2003—was born from crisis and has had a full plate from day one. Legislation can still be found working its way through Congress that defines its role. For example, the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Authorization Act and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Authorization Act were both drafted to authorize for the first time the organization and security functions of CBP and ICE. Both are still working their way through Congress.
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FRONTLINE NEWS
Compiled by KMI Media Group staff
Commandant Delighted to Have the C-27J Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Robert J. Papp recently noted his delight in having received 14 of the 21 brand-new C-27J Spartan medium-range aircraft that were consigned to the boneyard by Air Force budget cuts. “It saves us about a half a billion dollars in acquisition costs, and we’re off and running the program now,” the admiral said. U.S. Special Operations Command will receive the remaining seven aircraft, he said. Papp said he expects the Coast Guard to be fully using the aircraft in fiscal year 2016, noting that the delay is due to the need to qualify instructors and thoroughly train the pilot and maintenance forces. The aircraft became available last year after declining budgets forced the Air Force to cancel the program. The cancellation came at a fortuitous time for the Coast Guard, which was seeking to fill a need for medium-range fixed wing aircraft, Papp said. In competition, the C-27J originally lost out to the HC-144 Ocean Sentry due to higher life cycle costs, the admiral said. The Coast Guard has purchased 18 HC-144s, he said, noting that he expects to end the program at 18 aircraft. “But then last year, when the Air Force put up these brand-new C-27Js as excess, we thought, ‘Wow, if we can get 21 for free, that really lowers the life cycle cost significantly,’” Papp said. Part of the cost savings comes from the fact that the two-engine C-27J uses the same engines and avionics as the four-engine C-130J Super Hercules, he said, which is slowly replacing the Coast Guard’s fleet of older C-130H Hercules aircraft. “We have been getting, incrementally, one or two each budget cycle, and hopefully we’ll replace our entire H fleet with Js sometime in the future,” the admiral said.
Medical Transport Helicopter CareFlite, a provider of fully integrated medical transport across North Texas, is now fielding four Bell 407GX helicopters, with two aircraft currently in the field and others preparing to enter service later this year. These aircraft will transport ill or injured patients to critical care facilities and one will be based out of Granbury Municipal Airport while the other will originate from Harris Methodist Fort Worth. “The Bell 407GX is an ideal aircraft for transporting critical care patients,” said James Swartz, president and CEO of CareFlite. “We chose it because of its proven reliability and performance combined with an advanced avionics suite and factory installed autopilot.” “We’re honored to be a valued partner with CareFlite and look forward to continuing to provide them with the excellent service and safe, reliable, high-performance aircraft they have come to expect from Bell Helicopter,” said Anthony Moreland, Bell Helicopter’s managing director of North American sales.
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The Coast Guard immediately put in a bid to acquire all 21 of the aircraft, the commandant said. Special Operations Command and the Forest Service also each initially expressed interest in seven aircraft, he said, but the Forest Service determined that the C-27J wasn’t large enough to join its aerial firefighting fleet. In a deal with the Air Force, the Coast Guard will send seven of its C-130H aircraft to be overhauled by Air Force technicians for use as Forest Service tankers, Papp said. The deal nets the Coast Guard a total of 14 C-27Js—enough to outfit three air stations, he said. “Initially, we really don’t have to do much more than paint them,” he said. “It has all the communications gear, it has a good surface search radar—we ultimately will want to put a sensor package in it very similar to what we use in our HC-144s and our C-130s, and that we will put in the budget in future years—but we can put that aircraft to work almost immediately after we get people trained up on it. “Since this is relatively new to us, we’re in the process now of doing an aviation plan,” Papp added. The service is determining how and where it will allocate its new aviation assets for best effect, he explained. The Coast Guard always will consider excess military equipment, the admiral said, but it has to be selective in what it accepts, particularly as budgets shrink. “A lot of the stuff that’s coming back from theater is well-worn right now,” he said. “We have a history in the Coast Guard of taking on hand-me-downs, and then they end up costing us a lot of money in the long run, because they’re old and they need repair.” Sometimes, it’s simply too expensive to acquire the equipment, the commandant noted, or it would mean displacing another still-needed program. By Claudette Roulo, American Forces Press Service
Expansion of Maritime Training Notice of Rulemaking The U.S. Coast Guard announced the publication of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking involving the possible expansion of its maritime safety training requirements to cover all persons other than crew working on offshore supply vessels (OSVs) and mobile offshore units (MOUs). These vessels are defined as the OSVs and MOUs engaged in activities on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, regardless of flag. This regulatory action aims to enhance personnel preparedness for persons other than crew (U.S. and foreign) when responding to emergencies such as fire, personal injury and abandon-ship situations in hazardous environments. Also, the Coast Guard seeks to ensure that persons other than crew receive basic maritime safety training on OSVs and MOUs engaged in Outer Continental Shelf activities, regardless of flag, consistent with the International Maritime Organization’s recommendations for maritime safety training. The Coast Guard also seeks to ensure this training is standardized and transferable from one vessel type to another to avoid duplication of effort. Comment period will end on July 14, 2014.
CGF 6.3 | 3
FRONTLINE NEWS Peregrine on the Border
Elbit Systems of America LLC has been awarded a $145 million firm fixed price contract by the United States Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to supply its Peregrine border security system for the CBP’s Integrated Fixed Tower project. The initial phase, which covers a portion of the total contract amount, will deploy the Peregrine system in the Nogales, Ariz., area. The contract contains options for deployments at other locations across the Arizona border and support services. If all options are exercised, the contract would be performed over a nearly nine-year period. “We are privileged to receive this award, which provides Elbit Systems of America an opportunity to bring Elbit’s border security capabilities to the southwest border of the United States,” said Raanan Horowitz, president and CEO, Elbit Systems of America. “Peregrine will meet the demanding mission requirements of the CBP while enhancing its agents’ safety. We look forward to providing Peregrine to the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol and to assist them in making the border secure.”
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Comms for Canadian Arctic OPS L-3 Communication Systems-East (L-3 CS-East) has been selected by Lockheed Martin Canada to support the design activity of the integrated communications subsystems for the Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN) new class of Arctic/offshore patrol ships (AOPS). Lockheed Martin Canada is one of the Tier 1 suppliers to Irving Shipbuilding, the prime for the AOPS project under the Canadian government’s National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS). Under an initial contract, L-3 CS-East will design the interior and exterior communications subsystems for the new vessels. “We are very pleased to be selected for this very important Royal Canadian Navy project,” said Dave Micha, president of L-3 Communication Systems-East. “The RCN and AOPS crews will benefit tremendously from our highly automated and user-friendly interior and exterior communications systems, which have been operationally successful in navies around the globe.” “The interior and exterior communications subsystem is critical to the operation of AOPS, allowing seamless communications from the rugged environment of Canada’s far northern waters to the busy coastal regions,” said Peter Gartenburg, vice president of L-3 Canada Operations. “This is a wonderful addition to the numerous Canadian programs supported
by L-3, which demonstrate our full range of logistics, services, manufacturing and technological expertise. We intend to engage more Canadian suppliers to support this important RCN program.” The design work for this phase of the program will be done at L-3 CS-East located in Camden, N.J., and in Canada at various Canadian subcontractor sites where the design for a number of subsystems will take place. AOPS is a Government of Canada procurement project for the RCN. The project will equip the Canadian Forces with six to eight naval icecapable offshore patrol ships able to assert and enforce sovereignty in Canada’s waters where and when necessary, including the Arctic. The first Arctic/offshore patrol ship, being built by Irving Shipbuilding, is scheduled to be delivered in 2018.
Handheld Device for Trace Chemical Detection 908 Devices, a developer of purpose-built analytical devices for chemical analysis, has introduced the M908, which is, according to the company, the world’s first and only handheld tool utilizing high-pressure mass spectrometry (HPMS) for trace-level chemical detection and identification. Engineered to provide civilian users, first responders and military teams with unique capabilities for material analysis, M908 is set to transform the way chemical and explosive hazards are controlled at the point of need. Emergency responders require dependable detection and analysis capabilities that can keep pace with the ever-expanding list of chemical and explosive threats of today. For the first time, emergency responders can now rely on the power and sensitivity of mass spectrometry for fast chemical detection, identification and continuous incident monitoring directly in hand, at the point of action. Environmentally hardened to commercial and military standards, such as MIL-STD-810G, M908 weighs just 4.4 pounds, is battery powered and 4 | CGF 6.3
designed for effortless operation in full personal protective equipment. M908 delivers multimode detection and identification for the most extreme hazards and critical threats. From trace to bulk materials in liquid, solid and vapor form, M908 provides mission-critical actionable intelligence at the push of a button. Alerts are provided in seconds with rapid clear down time between measurements and low false alarm rates, providing trusted performance for immediate action in the field. “M908 was designed to overcome limitations of existing trace detection tools and to help address the expanding needs of our customers,” said Dr. Kevin J. Knopp, co-founder and chief executive officer at 908 Devices. “We wanted to provide something really unique—a simple, rugged device that fills some very large gaps in capabilities, that does not burden a user with maintenance and logistics, and at the same time provide tremendous value with the ability to evolve to meet tomorrow’s threats and challenges. We’ve done just that with M908.”
Until now, the powerful capabilities of mass spec have been primarily confined to the centralized laboratory because of cumbersome size and weight, fragility and complex operation requiring highly trained experts. 908 Devices’ development of patented HPMS utilizing micro-scale ion traps, unique on-board algorithms and integrated software enables M908 to operate in the field with unprecedented levels of selectivity and sensitivity in the parts-per-billion. Independently tested with a wide range of chemicals and live chemical agents, M908 has also received excellent initial feedback from the response community. M908’s speed of detection and low false-positive rate, as well as the compact and lightweight form are its defining attributes. This technology was recently recognized by the scientific industry winning The Analytical Scientist Innovation Award in 2013 by demonstrating the impact a small, simple and robust mass spec device will have for safety and security and chemical detection applications more broadly. www.CGF-kmi.com
Forging the CBRN Alliance Industry can play a key role in developing closer ties between military first responders and their civilian counterparts. By Gary L. Hall When asked to write an article in regards to where industry is headed in the CBRN arena, I reached back to my experiences as I traveled the country attending seminars, exhibitions and training events over the last four years, as the director of military programs and business development for Immediate Response Technologies (IRT). I have combined those experiences with my direct contact with all our DoD military branches and the National Guard, as well as with organizations like DTRA, DARPA, BARDA, DHS, HHS, ECBC, JPM-P, the FBI, the Border Patrol, civilian law enforcement, first responders/hospital personnel and foreign markets. I also am including material from the Strategic Defense Intelligence report on CBRN Defense Market in the United States, 2013-2023. First, let’s touch on sequestration. As further defense cuts continue, sequestration will dramatically and tragically affect the strength and readiness of our armed forces. As far as I have been able to discern, while some CBRN programs have been stalled and set back to a degree, there is still substantial funding set aside for these critical projects. In the SDI report referenced above, they stated, “Overall, the U.S. market for CBRN defense is estimated at $5.5 billion in 2013 and is expected to grow at a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 0.8 percent, to reach $5.9 billion by 2023; cumulatively, the total market for CBRN defense is estimated at $62.3 billion during the forecast period. The global CBRN defense market is estimated to be valued at $9 billion in 2013, and will increase at a CAGR of 4.2 percent during the forecast period, to reach $13.7 billion by 2023. The market consists of five categories of CBRN defense: CBRN detection, CBRN protection, CBRN decontamination, CBRN disposal and CBRN simulation.” For industry, there is obviously significant opportunity for growth/expansion in the next 10 years, especially in working with the Department of Defense and other homeland defense organizations. As I said, I have traveled the country attending many CBRN events, shows and exercises, working with both military and www.CGF-kmi.com
civilian organizations. On the civilian side of the house, I have attended events in major metropolitan cities as well as in smaller, more rural venues. During these travels I have observed many things. Here are three: • The military units participating in these events often had more technically advanced equipment than their civilian counterparts. They often had equipment many of their civilian counterparts had not seen before; this was especially true in the smaller communities. • The military units had a greater depth of understanding concerning what the various companies that manufacture CBRN and health related items could provide them and how they could address future needs/requirements. I would attribute this to a tighter chain of command. In most cases, the senior headquarters and the requirements and procurement people throughout DoD have a “tighter link” to the units in the field. Having just come back from a major exercise in California, where five counties and nine hospitals were participating, I was somewhat surprised to find out that although most of the hospitals had shelters manufactured by IRT, none of them knew of the extensive array of equipment we manufacture for both the CBRN arena and the health care industry. I would guess this is true for most of the companies that manufacture CBRN/health care related items. Further, most of them had no direct connection to the manufacturers. Their equipment had been purchased through larger organizations at the county and state level. While this simplified the funding process for them, they had little or no knowledge of what the companies could additionally provide them. I believe there is an important opportunity for industry to provide life sustaining equipment needed at civilian facilities by working more closely with county and state organizations and developing relationships with the end users, particularly with fire departments, EMS units and hospitals.
• There is a greater need for civilian CBRN/ health care organizations to establish closer ties with military units, especially CBRN/medical units. Many of the civilian health care organizations/people I spoke with did not have an accurate knowledge of the capabilities of local military units. This is especially true of cities where major bases/installations are located, but possibly more critical where National Guard units such as the Civil Support Teams, Fatality Search and Rescue Teams and CBRN Enhanced Response Force Packages are located. These units have state-of-the-art equipment and superbly trained personnel that bring tremendous capabilities to the CBRN response arena and are located throughout the U.S. Here again I think industry could play an important part in helping forge closer ties between the military first response units and their civilian counterparts. As I stated earlier, there are significant opportunities for industry to expand in the five market categories previously mentioned. More importantly, there are also opportunities for industry to enhance personal relationships with the end users, find out what they need and provide it to them. Face-to-face is still the best way of doing business. After all, it’s all about saving lives! O
Gary Hall
ghall@imresponse.com Gary L. Hall is director, military programs and business development for Immediate Response Technologies. CGF 6.3 | 5
Detecting the CBRN Threat With no room for complacency, detection
technology keeps pace with advancements. In 2011, United States Customs and Border Protection seized over $25 million in counterfeit pharmaceuticals. The bureau was aided by field-deployed chemical identification tools that are able to deliver precise information to agency personnel. The same kind of identification equipment provides information on a range of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats to military, law enforcement, customs, border protection, hazmat teams, bomb squads and other first responders around the country and around the world. The kinds of instruments that are able to identify contraband, as well as explosives or the presence of radiation, have made advances in recent years. New technologies have been developed that are able to identify substances and the presence of artificial radiation with increased accuracy. These technologies are also being made available in user-friendly formats that don’t require 6 | CGF 6.3
By Peter Buxbaum, CGF Correspondent expert interpretation of readouts, in increasingly smaller form factors, and at more affordable prices. Most of these capabilities were developed and later perfected in the aftermath of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. In the wake of 9/11, great attention was paid to the vulnerabilities faced by the United States, and other countries, from substances and devices such as radiation-laden dirty bombs that could be brought into the country. As the years have gone by and the pubic perception of these types of threats is low, some wonder whether enough attention is being paid to CBRN threats. “After 9/11, the U.S. made significant investments to prepare for, prevent, respond to, recover from and mitigate the effects of CBRN threats,” said Aaron Poynton, director of the global safety and security business at Thermo Fisher Scientific. “However, over the past decade government and public attention to CBRN www.CGF-kmi.com
of graphs overlaid on graphs and the user had to threats has waned due to shifting priorities and determine subjectively what the instrument was interests, and the absence of CBRN attacks to the saying,” said Poynton. U.S. homeland.” Advances in computers and microprocessors “I think we do run the risk of becoming complaallow today’s instruments to run much more comcent,” said David Cullin, vice president for research plex algorithms yielding more precise results. “All and development at FLIR Detection. “I’ve come to of the math is done in the background and the outthink about protection against CBRN like buying put shows the name of the chemical detected along insurance. The question is how much insurance with the with statistical probability of accuracy,” you need for the low-probability but high-consesaid Poynton. “At the same time, experts don’t lose quence kind of events. I think the federal governthe capability to look at the underlying spectral ment takes these threats very seriously, but there Aaron Poynton data. But most users are interested in three things: is also the reality of paying for it that they have to They want to know what has been detected, they face.” want that clearly displayed on the instrument, and As companies continue to develop and improve they want a list of synonyms, because some subCBRN detection and analysis equipment, a number stances go by different names.” of trends have emerged. “Our users are not chemIn the radiation detection area, instruments ists or spectrometists,” said Poynton. “It is importhat were once carried in backpacks later became tant to put equipment in their hands that doesn’t handheld devices and are now small enough to fit require a Ph.D. to use and understand.” in a pager-sized device. “These smaller units are Increasingly, the equipment fielded to counter so smart, so we can hook up bigger detectors to CBRN threats provides easy to understand and them,” said Deacon. “As a result, we can cut costs unambiguous results that don’t require subjective in half and provide an enhanced ability to find interpretations. “A customs agent can look at the David Cullin radiation.” equipment and make an instant determination david.cullin@flir.com When alerting security personnel to presence whether to let a person across a border or detain of radiation, it becomes important to differentiate between the him, whether to let package through or hold it,” said Poynton. natural radiation that is found everywhere and potentially dan“This keeps borders safer and promotes the timely flow of comgerous sources. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s latest generation of merce across the borders.” radiation detection instruments is able to do that by assessing the “We are always looking for ways to make our equipment radiation found in a given area and then looking for anomalies. smaller, faster and cheaper,” said Cullin. “Some of this has to do “Many materials emit radiation, but we know it is natural,” said with the budget constrained times in which we live. But people Deacon. “But even a small amount of the wrong stuff will put the are also taking a longer view in that they are buying in terms of picture out of balance. This is a big deal because without that life cycle costs. We need to see lower prices and also deliver lower ability the user doesn’t know if what he is looking at represents back-end costs to customers. When we develop products we have a threat or not.” to think not only about performance, but also what has become FLIR Detection has been making advances in mass specequally important: how we produce it economically and sell it at trometry and has been developing a product specifically for a reasonable price point.” the aviation security market. Mass spectrometry can analyze In the area of radiation detection, new technologies have been and identify materials at the molecular level by ionizing them brought to bear that provide more accurate readings and are able and subjecting them to the influences of electric and magnetic to differentiate between dangerous radiation and levels of radiafields. tion that are naturally found in the environment. “We have been working with the Department of Homeland “The federal government sponsored the development of a new Security for several years on this,” said Cullin. “We are now getmaterial that has the ability for gamma detection and neutron ting a detection system for explosives into qualification testing measurement,” said Mark Deacon, market development manager so that it can be used in the aviation security world. The product for security instruments at Thermo Fisher Scientific’s radiation has to be qualified by the Transportation Security Administration, detection unit. “Up until recently the standard detection matewhich has a rigorous set of testing protocols, before it can be put rial, Helium-3, was distributed free by the federal government to use.” but now has become very expensive and rare.” The new material, FLIR’s work in mass spectrometry has benefited from a called CLYC, is a crystal comprised of cesium, lithium, yttrium, number of recent technology advances. “We have been able to and chloride doped with cerium. miniaturize components,” said Cullin. “Until the last few years CLYC is much more sensitive at detecting radiation and is betwe didn’t have the computational capabilities to deal with the ter at neutron measurement because it is a solid rather than a gas. calculations involved with mass spectrometry in a small enough “This is important,” explained Deacon, “because devices such as package that would make sense. There have also been advancesuitcase bombs may emit only low levels of radiation that are easy ments in vacuum systems that have allowed us to build smaller to shield. When dealing with materials like plutonium, neutron and more rugged mass spectrometry packages. This allows units detectors are important.” to be placed in fielded kinds of environments rather than in laboDetection and analysis instruments have become smaller ratory environments, and they can be operated by everyday people and easier to use. “Ten or 15 years ago, instruments were bigger rather than experts.” and more complex to use. They required spectral interpretations www.CGF-kmi.com
CGF 6.3 | 7
FLIR markets several lines of sensors that detect a variety of threats, including chemical and biological agents, explosives and radioactive materials. FLIR’s Identifinder R400 is a handheld identification device used to locate, measure and identify sources or contaminations from radiation. The Identifinder R300 is a spectroscopic personal radiation detector in a pager-sized device with detection and identification capabilities. FLIR’s Identifinder R500 is a digital handheld gamma radionuclide identification device. FLIR provides a mobile chemical analysis capability with the Griffin 460, which is able to detect and identify com- Thermo Fisher Scientific’s FirstDefender and TruDefender lines of products, directed toward the military, hazmat, explosives, customs, plex chemical samples through liquid, and border protection markets, include results screens that provide detailed information about the identified substance, including name, chemical number and hazard. [Photo courtesy of Thermo Fisher Scientific] solid, vapor and direct air sampling. The to send results by text message or email from within the hazFido NXT and X3 are handheld devices that detect homemade ard zone. A 2013 enhancement to the product allows for better and liquid explosives. The company’s Biocaptur line is portable sample control. air samplers for biological agents with a disposable collector car“We are constantly looking at ways to improve our algorithms tridge that prevents cross contamination. and add items to our library,” said Poynton. “Just a few years ago “Our focus in the near term is to provide these capabilities the library contained only 4,000 or 5,000 substances. Now it has to the folks who need them in a set of technologies and products over 11,000. Once or twice a year we do software upgrades that that meet their current requirements,” said Cullin. add more chemicals into the library.” Thermo Fisher Scientific markets lines of chemical agent Thermo Fisher Scientific has over 19,000 systems fielded analyzers based on two technologies: Raman spectroscopy and with border agencies and other law enforcement and homeland FTIR spectroscopy. As a laser-based technology, Raman spectrosdefense organizations. “We have found that our customers use copy enables non-contact sampling through sealed containers. the systems not only to detect contraband, but also to verify the But fluorescence is a challenge, and Raman spectroscopy can’t substances as they have been labeled,” said Poynton. “Discovery be used to scan dark substances. FTIR spectroscopy identifies of misdeclared items can result in levying additional duties and substances of any color and is not impacted by fluorescence, but tariffs.” requires contact with the substance. FLIR Detection’s strategy for the future is to develop technol“Many of our customers buy both Raman and FTIR-based ogies that were once the sole province of high-end markets more products in order to provide a complete solution,” said Poynubiquitous. “We are focusing our long-term research at taking ton. “Some chemicals perform better with Raman and others sensing technologies and making them at lower costs so that they with FTIR. For example, FTIR is blinded by water, so a chemical can be acquired more broadly,” said Cullin. “In the future we may diluted with water will show up as just water when FTIR is used, see sensing technologies using communications networks that while the Raman technology can detect chemicals even at small are available through smartphones.” concentrations.” Thermo Fisher Scientific is already at work in the radiation Thermo Fisher Scientific’s TruNarc line, designed for law detection area, developing apps for use on iPhones as well as enforcement, customs, and border protection agencies, is a Android and BlackBerry devices. “We think the use of smartRaman-based product to support drug investigation and prosecuphones will be good for transmitting data,” said Deacon. “The tion. The system provides clear results and automatic reports that idea is to give people something simple to work with rather than require no user interpretation. having them rely on a complex custom system.” The company’s FirstDefender and TruDefender lines of prodAll of these developments are examples of a baseline CBRN ucts, directed toward the military, hazmat, explosives, customs capability that the United States did not possess before 9/11. But, and border protection markets, include results screens that proPoynton warned, “The U.S must remain steadfast and vigilant in vide detailed information about the identified substance, includthis area. It is well documented that terrorists are attempting to ing name, chemical number and hazard. Additional information get their hands on weapons of mass destruction. They are crein the onboard library includes synonyms, chemical formulas and ative, resourceful and patient. The threats that exist are real and hazard guides. A green screen indicates a single match, while a are multigenerational.” O blue screen shows a mixture of chemicals. The FirstDefender RM and FirstDefender RMX, introduced in 2010, are second-generation Raman instruments that are half For more information, contact Editor-In-Chief the size and weight of their 2005 predecessors. The TruDefender Jeff McKaughan at jeffm@kmimediagroup.com or FTi, dating to 2011, is a FTIR spectrometry instrument that adds search our online archives for related stories at www.cgf-kmi.com. a wireless capability to the FTIR platform, enabling responders 8 | CGF 6.3
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Unmanned Eyes
Sensors and platforms are becoming more sophisticated and offering the user more options in unmanned capabilities. It seems a natural fit: Intense concerns about U.S. border security came along just as the country developed an extraordinary range of unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) for fighting terror in foreign wars. Why not adapt at least some of these new tools for duty on or near our borders? This approach has been implemented to a substantial but still limited degree. Hurdles have been encountered in tight budgets, choosing the right equipment, domestic privacy concerns and the need for clear regulations for small UASs. Nevertheless, the Department of Homeland Security remains interested in adding sensors to its big unmanned birds and the Border Patrol is considering smaller UASs for more local duties. “We obtained our initial UAS back in about 2004,” explained Lothar Eckardt, executive director of National Air Security Operations (NASO), U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Currently, NASO is working hard to “federate” its system of four UAS sites in Grand Forks, N.D., Corpus Christi, Texas, Sierra Vista, Ariz., and near Cocoa Beach, Fla. The aim is that each site be able to fly missions for other sites. “We have developed a program over the last year to have a national schedule to enable a more efficient use of manpower and birds,” Eckardt explained. Efficiency is important because NASO originally had only 10 MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Guardians, the maritime version of the Predator. One was lost in an accident and another was being repaired in late March 2014, leaving only eight in the air. NASO flies Predators on both strategic and tactical missions. The strategic missions support CBP planning. For example, NASO Predators can strip-map sectors of the border. “They fly along and take pictures, and days later go back over the
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By Henry Canaday CGF Correspondent
same ground,” Eckardt said. “You overlay the pictures and look for changes. A hundred people trudging across ground leave footprints. If SAR [synthetic aperture radar] picks that up they can send agents out. If there is no change, they do not need to cover that area.” The result is more efficient use of CBP agents. All of the Predators have electro-optical (EO) cameras. In addition, each carries SAR, SeaVue maritime radar or the Wide Area Aerial Surveillance System’s (WAAS) Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar (VADER). WAAS VADER is on two Predators undergoing operational evaluation in Arizona. It covers a large area to spot people walking across deserts, yielding “not pictures but dots,” Eckardt said. “It enables us to see the flows.” NASO is now looking at other sensors and detection technologies coming back from overseas to see whether, where and how these might be useful for border security. “Some work in a desert, but will they work in heavy woods?” Eckardt asked. “There is no silver bullet that will do it all—we must combine them.” The NASO exec emphasized he is looking at new sensors, not platforms, and is tightly focused on tools that meet specific requirements. “Can it be used for law enforcement, not just military purposes? We have privacy and civil rights concerns here. We can’t use it just because it is cool.” Eckardt cannot afford to add more UAS platforms to his Predator fleet right now. The Border Patrol is looking at small UASs to learn whether these could help in tactical missions. But deploying small UASs requires Federal Aviation Administration rules for these aircraft, not expected until 2015. Meanwhile,
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Fortson said Lockheed’s equipment is distinguished by its very NASO is working with the Border Patrol on its evaluation of small small footprint, rapid deployment, configuration for specific needs, UASs. image quality, continued improvement and system maturity. LockFor its Predators, NASO has FAA certificates of authorizations heed’s small UASs use open-system design so new capabilities can (COAs) from Brownsville to near San Diego, a strip in the Pacific be added at moderate cost. Ocean, from near Spokane to Lake Huron, and a small section in Lockheed is now working on enhancing endurance further with upstate New York. In addition, there are COAs for transit corridors new power technologies. “We will be unveiling a true leap ahead in among the UAS sites, allowing Eckardt to move his assets around small UAS design for versatility and economic configurability at the as needed. AUVSI annual conference in May,” Fortson noted. NASO is currently building on its assets, capabilities and human Textron Systems offers a range of UASs suitable for border resources. For example, it will use P-3 Orion pilots from Jacksonsecurity, said Brian Feser, vice president of international business ville to fly Predators. opportunities. Its most well-known is the Shadow 200 tactical UAS, NASO aims to eventually operate Predators seven days a week for with nearly 900,000 hours of military operation to provide persis16 hours per day. Its immediate goal is five days a week for 16 hours tent situational awareness. a day, and “we are still a little short of that,” Eckardt acknowledged. The new Shadow M2 offers greater endurance, payload and Results have been impressive, at least so far as they can be meabeyond-line-of-sight operation for high-endurance applications. sured. NASO sent Guardian to the Dominican Republic transit zone And Feser noted the Aerosonde can perform over land and sea. in 2012. The UAS almost matched the Orion’s yield of 20 pounds of In addition, Textron’s common unmanned surface vessel can cocaine seized per flying hour, and similar results were obtained by provide maritime domain awareness. Finally, Textron is now offeranother Guardian in the same area in 2013. ing a next-generation MicroObserver UGS, improving on legacy Results of tactical missions on land borders, especially in UGSs in covertness, ease-of-use and performance. apprehending illegal immigrants, are harder to estimate. “We don’t MicroObserver has more than two years of sensor node battery know,” Eckardt said. “We detect but do not apprehend. And the life and uses advanced tracking and seismic detection to reduce false agents who arrest them do not know if they were tipped by us.” alarms. It detects, classifies, tracks and displays intelligence and Private firms see plentiful opportunities for UASs to help in borshows position, direction and speed of threats. MicroObserver easder security. Steve Fortson, Lockheed Martin business development, ily and cost-effectively scales up to 2,000 sensor nodes per gateway. said his company makes several that could assist. Beyond hardware, Textron’s new iCommand 1.0 mission-comLockheed small UASs under 20 pounds include the Indago, mand solution offers cloud-enabled command and control, data a four-rotor vertical takeoff and landing UAS that is compact, convergence and integration of sensors and platforms. UAS, UGS lightweight, easy to use and rapidly deployable. The fixed wing and other sensor data is often spread across disjointed systems Desert Hawk III is Lockheed’s flagship small UAS with thousands of and displays, forcing personnel to scan multiple maps, live data hours flown. Then there is the Desert Hawk’s extended endurance displays, plans and intelligence summaries to understand situaand range configuration. This is a long-endurance variant with a tions or events. “ICommand integrates disparate systems, feeds large payload capacity and a modular design to address multiand platforms into a common platform where context is built and functional missions while maintaining hand-launch capability and a maintained over time,” Feser explained. small footprint. Logos Technologies make the Light Expeditionary Airborne In conjunction with a government agency, Lockheed has Persistent Surveillance System (LEAPS) for a fixed wing small UAS. demonstrated the capability of its Stalker eXtended Endurance “The goal is to shrink it from a Constant Hawk (XE) UAS, with integrated vehicle, sensors, ground platform to fit on Tier 2 UASs,” explained President control and communications, to rapidly deploy along John Marion. “So we had to get it to 50 pounds.” U.S. borders. In this demonstration, an unattended LEAPS has a 59-megapixel black-and-white camera ground sensor (UGS) tipped operators to plan the set up as a wide array with a 60-degree field of view. mission and launch the Stalker, which provided Like other persistent surveillance, it overlooks an rapid imagery to confirm the sensor report. “This area, peering down and over it. capability would give law-enforcement officials near “The real magic was getting embedded proreal-time, high-quality situational awareness of the cessing so we could do more processing onboard border region, saving manpower and lives,” Fortson than Constant Hawk does,” Marion said. LEAPS’s argued. 11-pound processing system includes a storage array. The Lockheed exec said the primary use of small John Marion In contrast, Constant Hawk’s commercial off-theUASs is to enhance situational awareness through EO john.marion@ shelf gear stacked up in the rear of the aircraft weight and infrared (IR) imagery to support border security logos-technologies.com of more than 1,000 pounds and used a kilowatt of missions on demand. “We automate certain functions power. LEAPS processors use just 100 watts. such as target tracking to focus on mission demands and reduce LEAPS has a 10-inch gimbal made by DRS Technologies. The users’ cognitive load so that the system is more a partner in mission camera is black and white because there is a tradeoff between accomplishment than just another tool.” area and resolution. “If you try to make it color by adding a Lockheed has integrated additional payloads on UASs to expand color filter, figuring out small features becomes more difficult,” capabilities for border security. Added capabilities include detecMarion explained. tion of radio-frequency signals, on-board cueing, direction finding, Up to 10 ground users can view LEAPS’s real-time and stored precise geo-location and communication relay to extend networks imagery simultaneously. The system records data within the entire or communicate with teams in obscure locations. 10 | CGF 6.3
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field of view, whether or not ground users are actively monitoring the area, and any portion of the data can be recalled to observe activities leading to an event. It has a nominal operating altitude of 12,000 feet and does persistent surveillance of a city-wide circle. Logos built five LEAPS for the Marines, but the service brought back Shadows from Afghanistan. The company did several demonstrations for DHS at the sector level, and Marion said DHS staff were excited by the system but so far have not shown further interest. He said LEAPS can search wide areas in flights of six hours and do so less expensively than is done from Predators because it can fit into small UASs. Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems has worked extensively on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment for both defense and border security. It is known for integrated solutions that include radar, EO, IR and other sensors. For example, Raytheon provides the high-performance sensors that are key to the success of the MQ-9 Guardian. The Guardian has been used for unmanned border patrol and drug interdiction since 2009. Raytheon sensors on the Guardian include the SeaVue XMC maritime and overland surveillance radar and Multi-Spectral Targeting System (MTS-B) of EO and IR sensors. SeaVue XMC and MTS-B sensors provide all-weather, day-andnight, wide-area surveillance. They detect and track maritime targets, classify targets at long range and identify targets of interest. Raytheon said it provides the longest-range and most accurate detection and imaging systems available. SeaVue and MTS-B
are even used to search for semi-submersibles moving drugs into the U.S. SeaVue preprocesses some data onboard to minimize the data sent to and dealt with by operators. MTS-B yields superior quality full-motion video in both day and night. Another distinction of Raytheon sensors is small vessel detection. Its submarine-periscope detection techniques can detect small maritime threats such as gofast boats and self-propelled semi-submersibles. Raytheon predicts the next generation of border surveillance radar will require high performance overland surveillance and ground moving target indication to detect targets transiting between maritime and overland environments. The company is developing such a system, scheduled to be flown late next year. Constant demands for improved video quality requires better images, more tracking aides and additional wavelength detectors. The architecture of MTS-B can incorporate these upgrades quickly. Some software upgrades can even be loaded in routine field maintenance. So capabilities are plentiful, if budgets, privacy concerns and FAA regulations permit wider UAS use for borders. As usual, the gear is willing, but some tough decisions must be made. O
For more information, contact Editor-In-Chief Jeff McKaughan at jeffm@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.cgf-kmi.com.
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ÂCGF  6.3 | 11
Wearing what’s best. By Scott Nance, CGF Correspondent
Overall, a PAPR offers a higher level of protection, Garvey said. Whether dealing with explosives, a chemical-biological event or “You can get a high level of protection with a negative-pressure other hazardous situation, having the right equipment can make all face-piece. But you can get a higher level of protection with PAPR,” the difference for first responders. he said. Additionally, anyone with a beard or facial hair that might Industry has responded by providing gear to deal with a wide interfere with the seal of the respirator will need to use a PAPR with variety of circumstances. a loose-fitting, hood or helmet headtop. Regardless if The Personal Safety Division of the St. Paul, the respirator is a PAPR or negative pressure system, Minn.-based manufacturing giant 3M Company the wearer must be properly trained, read and undermakes two kinds of emergency response respirastand the manufacturer’s user instructions on use tors: a powered-air purifying respirator (PAPR) called and limitations of the system. Breathe Easy and a negative-pressure model, the FRPAPRs tend to be “much more expensive,” with 7800B, according to Don Garvey, CIH, CSP, a technia price tag of approximately $1,700, compared to the cal service specialist with the company. Both of these negative-air respirator, which costs around $400, respirator systems have National Institute for OccupaGarvey said. Even with its higher cost, the PAPR tional Safety and Health (NIOSH) CBRN certification. model is a big seller due to the higher level of protecThe PAPR uses a filter and chemical cartridge to tion it offers and because it is physically less demandremove airborne contaminants and send purified air Don Garvey ing on the wearer, he said. on to the wearer, Garvey said. djgarvey@mmm.com “The unique thing about that is that it uses a fan and a motor to pull the air through the filter/cartridge, and then blow Suiting Up it up through a breathing tube to the face-piece for the wearer,” he said. “The wearer doesn’t have to use his lungs to pull the air through Med-Eng, a brand of the Safariland Group, designs, tests and the filter/cartridge. There are several big advantages to that.” manufactures sophisticated bomb disposal suits for public safety The main advantage of a PAPR is that there’s less stress or strain agencies facing threats from explosive devices, according to Marketon the wearer because the motor blower is doing the work of pulling ing Director John Carson. the air through the filter/cartridge, Garvey said. “In the event that a blast threat is also suspected of containing A negative-pressure respirator also has a filter and chemical cara chemical or biological agent, the Med-Eng EOD 9 Suit & Helmet tridge. But there is no motor blower, so the wearer has to pull the air accommodate a chemical protective undergarment and respiratory through the filter/cartridge, he said. equipment,” Carson said. “In addition, the Med-Eng cooling system 3M sells its Breathe Easy PAPR motor blower with the option of helps keep the operator protected against the risk of heat stress. attaching either a loose-fitting hood or tight-fitting face-piece, while This integrated multi-threat solution is ideal for scenarios where the the negative pressure FR-7800B model is sold just with a tight-fitting risk of blast and chemical or biological agent are both present. In face-piece, Garvey said. practice, the EOD 9 would be pressed into action until the explosive In addition to the reduced breathing effort noted above, using threat is eliminated and a hazmat team can proceed without facing a PAPR with a hood that covers a wearer’s entire head, neck and this risk.” shoulders offers other advantages, he said. For example, a wearer In its Morning Pride Tails line of gear, Dayton, Ohio-based Honcould have limited facial hair, whereas with a negative-pressure eywell First Responder Products provides firefighters a unique set respirator or even a tight fitting PAPR, the wearer must typically be of equipment, according to Catalina Ciobanu, global marketing and clean-shaven, he added. communications leader. 12 | CGF 6.3
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“Morning Pride Tails offers firefighters some very unique proprietary features that significantly increase thermal protection, mobility, and comfort,” she said. Ciobanu said some of the factors that set the Tails line apart include:
That includes the All Hazards Nitro pack, according to Dave Rhoden, 5.11 Tactical’s director of product activation. “Designed for the patrol car or trunk for the unknown situation that could arise, whether it’s an active shooter, biological threat, riot, or natural disaster—this is the bag that can be packed out to meet that need,” Rhoden said. “Durable construction and • Significantly improved mobility in the front and maximized numerous utilitarian features make the compact, full-featured protection in the back All Hazards Nitro ideally suited for use as a carry-on, patrol • Three-piece pattern throughout all layers bag, or long range tactical kit. Dual main compartments offer a of the garment offers unprecedented mobility 180-degree opening for easy access, loop patches at the sides and • Waterproof wristlets keep firefighters top allow you to affix a nametag or ID, dry and pass-through slots allow you to store • Kinetic Kut styling and forward flex longer implements like breaching tools or design provide freedom of movement a baton.” • Seam guard reduces wear and prevents Another of 5.11 Tactical’s top sellsnags ers includes the 4-Banger, according to Rhoden. “Designed to replace a full-sized misThorShield Protection sion pack or get home bag for quickprep operations or day-long excursions, Meanwhile, a material called ThorShield the 4-Banger from 5.11 Tactical keeps may help protect first responders who find you locked, loaded and fully prepared for themselves in a potentially violent situaany situation,” he said. “Sized to store tion. ThorShield protects the wearer against four individual 5.56 magazines and all effects of a Taser, stun gun or other similar your crucial tactical gear in a quick and device, according to Greg Schultz, one of convenient grab-and-go package, the the co-developers of the technology. 4-Banger features an adjustable non-slip “So even if the probes stick into your padded carry strap with an integrated flesh, you won’t feel the effects of the laser-cut web platform for complete weapon. You’ll be stabbed by the needles 3M’s Breathe Easy powered-air purifying respirator reduces the customizability. but you won’t feel the shock,” he said. “It’s effort it takes for the first responder to actually take in air. [Photo courtesy of 3M] “The central storage area offers elastic a pretty simple concept. It is just really conbands and compression straps for stable and secure magazine ductive. You could wrap yourself in aluminum foil if you wanted to storage, and a dual-zip storage area at the front offers plenty walk around like a big baked potato. The challenge was making it of room for optics, maps, or tactical accessories,” he added. “A so it was nice to wear, and you could iron it and dye it and make a concealed handgun pocket at the rear offers integrated elastic normal, nice fabric to be out in public with.” retention and quick two-side access, a front-facing loop patch Schultz and his partner operate a firm called G-Squared, which supports an ID or flag attachment, and a high performance licenses the ThorShield technology to be manufactured by other weather resistance treatment keeps your gear clean and dry in any companies in the form of body armor and other protective garments. environment.” “Thousands and thousands of vests out there have our material The RUSH 24 is the company’s most popular tactical backpack, in it,” Schultz said. Rhoden said. ThorShield offers those law enforcement officers and other “The roomy main compartment offers three interior mesh first responders who are armed with a stun gun protection if their organizer pockets to keep small accessories organized, a padded weapon were to be taken from and used against them, he said. hydration pocket keeps you moving, and a fleece-lined sunglass G-Squared now is seeking federal certification of ThorShield so pocket keeps your eyewear within easy reach,” he said. “Dual side as to make it easier for law enforcement agencies to purchase prostorage compartments offer double-zip access, a large stuff-it tective clothing containing the material, Schultz said. pocket with an integrated draw cord provides expandable storage “What we’re trying to do is get that education level [up] on the when you need it, and contoured compression straps ensure a [federal] side to say, ‘Hey look, if you’re carrying a Taser, your body stable, comfortable carry.” armor should also be Taser-proof because you’re bringing a Taser to What makes these products so popular? the fight,” he said, citing a recent case in which a Phoenix, Ariz., law “These are end-user designed products that are feature-rich, enforcement officer lost control of his Taser during an altercation with durable construction and plenty of organization,” Rhoden with an assailant. said. O “It was unfortunate, but a really good [example] of exactly why these materials are good to have,” Schultz said.
Keeping It Organized 5.11 Tactical, a provider of tactical apparel and related gear, reported that several of its bags and packs were among its top sellers. www.CGF-kmi.com
For more information, contact Editor-In-Chief Jeff McKaughan at jeffm@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.cgf-kmi.com.
CGF 6.3 | 13
SECURITY WATCH Latest HC-144 Delivered Airbus Defense and Space Inc. has delivered the 17th HC-144A Ocean Sentry maritime patrol aircraft to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Ocean Sentry is based on the Airbus CN235 tactical airlifter, with more than 235 currently in operation by 29 countries. This is the second of three HC-144As planned for delivery this year. The latest aircraft will join a fleet of 16 Ocean Sentries operating from Coast Guard Air Stations in Cape Cod, Mass., Mobile, Ala.,
and Miami. The Coast Guard is planning to stand up the fourth HC-144A air station in Corpus Christi, Texas, later this year. Airbus Defense and Space is committed to supporting the U.S. Coast Guard’s HC-144A fleet. Over time, the aircraft has proven to be a cost effective and operationally indispensable maritime patrol asset. The Coast Guard competitively selected and is buying the HC-144A because it has proven to perform the broad range of demanding
maritime patrol missions effectively and efficiently, including search and rescue, homeland security and disaster response. The Department of Homeland Security recently recognized the Coast Guard’s HC-144A program as its 2013 DHS Project of the Year. Airbus Defense and Space has worked to deliver the Coast Guard this capability consistently on schedule and on cost. The HC-144A achieved initial operational capability with the Coast Guard in 2008.
Rugged Computer for Search and Rescue Helo Ops GE Intelligent Platforms has received orders from AgustaWestland of Italy for their Magic1 rugged display computer. The Magic1 will be part of AgustaWestland’s OPLS (obstacle proximity LIDAR system), which the company will offer on helicopters destined for search and rescue (SAR) deployment. Helicopters operating in SAR operations are often required to fly near obstacles—trees, buildings and so on—in daylight or darkness and in adverse conditions. AgustaWestland wanted to provide the pilot with a sophisticated collision avoidance system that would aid the pilot by indicating the distance of the helicopter from these obstacles. The OPLS is based on a set of laser sensors, the data from which are collected by GE’s Maic1 and displayed in the cockpit. OPLS, including the Magic1, was first installed in AgustaWestland’s AW139 helicopter, and the company plans to adapt the kit in order to be able to offer it on other helicopters used in SAR applications.
“The Magic1 offered AgustaWestland a number of compelling benefits,” said Simon Collins, product manager, GE Intelligent Platforms. “It is a proven, pre-configured solution that can be easily integrated onboard a helicopter with minimal integration effort and cost. The Magic1’s high performance enables it to allow pilots to make timely, accurate flight path decisions, while its compactness and low weight mean that it has minimal impact on the helicopter’s operating characteristics. It is also rugged, which means that it can withstand the rigors and harsh environment that are typical of search and rescue deployments.” The 3U VPX Magic1 rugged display computer combines Intel Core i7 CPU technology with Nvidia’s EXK107 graphics processing unit to deliver unprecedented levels of performance for rugged applications. When deployed as a display computer, the Magic1 supports the industry’s most demanding video and image applications, taking advantage of the significant processing power available from general purpose computing on graphics processing units computing.
Real-time Full Motion Video Analysis Exelis has combined their Web-based Jagwire geospatial data management system with MotionDSP’s Ikena real-time image processing software to enhance the quality of video feeds collected from satellites or other airborne vehicles. Under the terms of the agreement between MotionDSP and Exelis, Jagwire will support an Ikena software plug in to enhance the quality of video feeds collected and delivered from Jagwire to end users in the military and intelligence communities. Since Ikena enables advanced analysis of the video stream, Jagwire users will benefit from additional information such as visual moving target indicators. “By integrating Jagwire with Ikena, command centers and troops can save valuable time and resources culling through imagery to produce actionable information,” said Richard Cooke, vice president, geospatial intelligence solutions at Exelis. “We are committed to promoting the Jagwire platform integration with other leading technology in order to support our military personnel, whether they are responding to natural disasters, protecting our borders or serving in wartime.” Ground-based troops face constant challenges to their missions, such as dangerous changes in terrain and physical threats from unfriendly forces. Complicating matters, troops and other end users have access to massive amounts of data from disparate sources, and they need to be able to utilize all of it quickly and efficiently to detect vulnerabilities and solve critical problems.
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Next NSC Underway Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division has received a $497 million fixed-price, incentive-fee contract from the U.S. Coast Guard to build a seventh Legendclass national security cutter (WMSL 756). “We have a hot production line with this class of ships, and we continue to get better—a tangible result demonstrating the value of serial production,” said Ingalls NSC Program Manager Jim French. “Each ship is built more effectively and more affordably than the one before it, and this is due to the hard work of our shipbuilders who are implementing efficient build plans and bringing our learning curve down as each ship is delivered. We look forward to starting construction on this ship in January 2015.” Ingalls has delivered the first three NSCs and has three more under construction. Hamilton (WMSL 753) is 81 percent complete and will deliver in the third quarter of 2014; James (WMSL 754) is 52 percent complete and will launch in April, and the sixth NSC (WMSL 755) began construction late last year and is scheduled for launch in the fourth quarter of 2015. The seventh ship, WMSL 756, is scheduled for delivery in 2018.
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Compiled by KMI Media Group staff
Airport Detection Capabilities Smiths Detection has won a $62.9 million order to supply automatic explosives scanners for carry-on baggage under the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Advanced Technology 2 (AT-2) contract. The aTiX (automatic threat identification X-ray) systems, which use multi-view, high resolution imaging to detect explosives and other threats, will be installed this year at several airports across the United States. Brian Jones, interim president of Smiths Detection, said: “I am proud and privileged that TSA has put its confidence in us as a partner in its mission to keep the traveling public safe. Our aTiX platform provides enhanced and progressive levels of detection capability to help protect against evolving threats to aviation security.” Already installed in over 70 U.S. airports, aTiX is capable of detecting a wide range of threats and illegal substances and can be readily upgraded as new threats emerge. Terry Gibson, vice president of Smiths Detection, Americas, said: “Our investments in technology and infrastructure are geared to meet the needs of major customers like TSA. Our checkpoint systems, which will be manufactured at our main U.S. facility in Maryland, provide the highest levels of both security and overall value.”
The company’s HI-Scan 6040-2is advanced baggage X-ray scanner has been approved by the European Civil Aviation Conference according to EU Standard 2 Type C, under the requirements for liquid explosive detection systems. HI-Scan 6040-2is is an advanced dual-view X-ray inspection system for automatic explosives detection at security checkpoints where bags and personal belongings are screened. Its compact footprint combined with excellent image quality and outstanding X-ray penetration enhances the comprehensive range of Smiths Detection products and solutions for aviation checkpoints. The 6040-2is is available in two resolutions as the scanner can be used in different operational areas. The standard resolution is well suited for critical infrastructure applications such as public buildings and hotels while the high resolution version is approved for the detection of liquids in hand luggage at airports in the EU. Hans Zirwes, vice president of international sales for Smiths Detection, said, “The HI-Scan 6040-2is expands our broad product range for the detection of hazardous liquids in hand luggage. It has been well received and considerably strengthens our ability to provide tailored solutions for different customer requirements in the aviation market.”
Kathleen Moore Delivered Bollinger Shipyards Inc. has delivered the Kathleen Moore, the ninth fast response cutter (FRC) to the U.S. Coast Guard. Bollinger President Chris Bollinger announced the successful delivery of the USCGC Kathleen Moore to the 7th Coast Guard District in Key West, Fla., stating, “We are very pleased with the latest delivery of this high quality fast response cutter built by the Bollinger team. Once again, this is another successful FRC delivery that is on schedule and on budget. We are all looking forward to the vessel’s commissioning, as well as honoring and celebrating the heroic acts of Lighthouse Keeper Kathleen Moore.” The 154-foot patrol craft Kathleen Moore is the ninth vessel in the Coast Guard’s Sentinel-class FRC program. To build the FRC, Bollinger used a proven, in-service parent craft design based on the Damen Stan patrol boat 4708. It has a flank speed of 28 knots, state of the art command, control, communications and computer technology, and a stern launch system for the vessel’s 26-foot cutter boat. The FRC has been described as an operational “game changer” by senior Coast Guard officials.
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The Coast Guard took delivery on March 28, 2014, in Key West, and is scheduled to commission the vessel in Key West during May 2014. Each FRC is named for an enlisted Coast Guard hero who distinguished him or herself in the line of duty. This vessel is named after Coast Guard hero Lighthouse Keeper Kathleen Moore. Moore first stood the watch at the age of 12, when her father began tending the lighthouse in 1817 after a shipboard injury prevented him from going to sea. She took on the duties herself as her father’s health worsened, although she was not officially appointed as head keeper until 1871. She served that station for an astounding 72 years, where she continually braved the harsh storms of Long Island Sound to save those in peril. Moore served as keeper of the Black Rock Harbor Light on Fayerweather Island, Conn. She was officially credited with saving 21 lives. Her light made the difference between a successful journey and catastrophe for more than 200 vessels sailing the sound nightly.
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Infrastructure Guardian
Q& A
Taking a Holistic Approach to Physical and Cyber Security Suzanne E. Spaulding Under Secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate Department of Homeland Security Suzanne E. Spaulding serves as under secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security. As under secretary, she oversees the coordinated operational and policy functions of the directorate’s subcomponents: Offices of Cybersecurity and Communications, Infrastructure Protection, Biometric Identity Management, Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis, and the Federal Protective Service, with a mission to reduce the risk to—and enhance the resiliency of—critical infrastructure, secure federal facilities, and advance identity management and verification. Spaulding has spent nearly 25 years working on national security issues for both Republican and Democratic administrations and on both sides of the aisle in Congress. She was most recently a principal in the Bingham Consulting Group and counsel for Bingham McCutchen LLP in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the private sector, she served as the minority staff director for the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for Ranking Member Jane Harman (D-Calif.), and as general counsel for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. She also spent six years at the Central Intelligence Agency and served as senior counsel and legislative director for U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (Pa.). In 2002, she was appointed by Virginia Governor Mark Warner to the Secure Commonwealth Panel, established after the attacks of September 11, 2001, to advise the governor and the legislature on preparedness issues in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Since then, Spaulding has worked with key critical infrastructure sectors including the nuclear power, electricity and chemical sectors, and served as security counsel for the Business Roundtable In addition, she served as the executive director of two congressionally mandated commissions: the National Commission on Terrorism, chaired by Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III, and the Commission to Assess the Organization of the Federal Government to Combat the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, chaired by former CIA Director John Deutch. She was assistant general counsel at CIA, including a position as legal adviser to the Nonproliferation Center, and also spent several years in private practice. In addition to running national commissions on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, she has served on commissions on cybersecurity and homeland security, convened and 16 | CGF 6.3
participated in numerous academic and professional advisory panels, and is a frequent commentator in publications, media, and before Congress. Spaulding was a Senior Fellow at George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute. She is the former Chair of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Law and National Security, and founder of the Cybersecurity Legal Task Force. She earned both her law degree and undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia. Q: Tell me about the National Protection and Programs Directorate [NPPD], what you do, and some of the challenges you face. A: NPPD leads the government’s efforts to enhance the security and resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure: those systems and assets that we use every day to power our homes, provide safe drinking water, take us to and from work, and communicate with business associates and family. This critical infrastructure depends on various physical assets and cyber networks to function, and is increasingly interconnected across different sectors of the economy and across the physical and cyber domain. If the power goes out, transportation and www.CGF-kmi.com
communication networks will not function. NPPD works with partners from across the federal government, state, local, tribal and territorial entities, and the private and non-profit sector to help ensure that essential functions are secure and resilient in physical and cyberspace. Threats to the nation’s critical infrastructure have increased dramatically. Critical infrastructure faces risks from a variety of hazards and threats, including both natural and man-made, such as aging or failing infrastructure, extreme weather, and evolving terror and cyber threats. Malicious actors, criminal and otherwise, grow more sophisticated each day. For instance, almost one year ago, assailants severed the communication cables of a power substation near San Jose and shot at its transformers, nearly causing a cascading power failure in Silicon Valley. More Threats to critical infrastructure can be caused by deliberate acts or random acts of nature. In either case, duplication recently, the nation’s financial institutions have in network capabilities and planning to eliminate single points of failure will reduce the depth of impact. fended off distributed denial of service attacks to [Photo courtesy of FEMA/Tim Burkitt] stakeholders across physical infrastructure protection, cybertheir websites that have disrupted their everyday operations. security and human security. Merging this expertise allows These attacks require that government and the private sector us to better understand the interrelationship between cyber work hand-in-hand to share information and better manage and physical systems and across interdependent sectors of the risks to the nation’s infrastructure. economy. Recently, we established an Office of Cyber and InfraAs you can tell, protecting and securing the nation’s critistructure Analysis to focus on analyzing the cascading consecal infrastructure is a tall order. NPPD leverages the unique quences of disruptions to critical infrastructure across physical capabilities of its various offices to help critical infrastructure and cyber and interdependent critical infrastructure sectors. In owners and operators better understand the risks to their assets. addition, we are able to fuse together situational awareness of The Office of Cybersecurity and Communications helps enhance threats to critical infrastructure and help our partners respond the resiliency of the Internet and the information systems we all appropriately. rely upon, safeguarding public and emergency communications, These efforts help us enhance the security and resilience of and civilian government networks. The Federal Protective Sercritical infrastructure. For instance, during Hurricane Sandy, vice protects more than 9,600 federal facilities and the millions our team worked with first responders, state and local governof Americans that work in or visit those facilities. Our Office ment, and the private sector to help prevent the storm from of Biometric Identity Management provides biometric analysis knocking out Internet capability along the East Coast. Hurrifunctions which help keep known and suspected terrorists out cane Sandy paralyzed the New York area, hindering fuel supplies of the country. And these are just a few examples. from reaching a major telecommunications hub in lower ManAs you can see, our mission is broad, but it ultimately comes hattan. As fuel stores ran low and the storm continued, the lack down to leading a collaborative effort to ensure a safe, secure of gas at the hub threatened the entire eastern seaboard’s ability and resilient nation where our way of life can thrive. to use the Internet. Had it not been for coordination amongst federal, state and local government agencies, the telecommuniQ: One of your early stated goals was to have the department cations provider, and oil suppliers, the economic damage caused approach infrastructure protection holistically. How would you by Sandy could’ve been compounded. characterize progress on that front to date and what are the challenges that you most encounter in the forefront? Q: Is it realistic to consider that the federal government as a whole could benefit from a single holistic approach, and is it A: The security of the nation’s infrastructure requires an inteeven in the realm of the possible to think in that direction? grated approach to cyber and physical security and resilience. This applies across the entire homeland security enterprise; we A: Not only is it realistic, but it’s imperative. We must look at all have an important role to play. An individual must ensure cybersecurity and physical security as means to an end—the safe that they don’t lose their credit card while out shopping, and and continuous operation of the critical functions we rely on. In must consider the safety of a public WiFi connection when order to achieve that end, we have to secure critical infrastrucchecking their balance online. CEOs must consult their chief ture in physical and cyber space and we must build resilience security officers and chief information officers together to into these systems and assets. understand the consequences of potential attacks, and to chart Last year we updated the National Infrastructure Proteca holistic risk management plan to protect their precious assets. tion Plan (NIPP), and we subtitled it “Partnering for CritiGovernment must do the same. cal Infrastructure Security and Resilience,” because no one At NPPD we integrate the capabilities and resources of our entity can do it alone. The updated plan represents an evolution subject matter experts and leverage relationships with key www.CGF-kmi.com
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from concepts introduced in the initial version of the NIPP, which was released in 2006. It’s streamlined and adaptable to the current risk, policy and strategic environments. It also provides the foundation for an integrated and collaborative approach to achieve a vision of a secure and resilience nation. It’s also worth noting that while the NIPP is a national, holistic plan, it is intended to be embraced as a community-level imperative, emphasizing the critical role of communities as the first line of response in the face of incidents and key enablers of trusted information sharing and partnership. It validates the existing partnership framework, and emphasizes that there is no single model for effective partnerships. The plan calls on partners to build on existing efforts by developing joint priorities, empowering local and regional partners, engaging in collective actions, and leveraging incentives to progress toward a national focus on security and resilience. It likewise emphasizes the need for innovative risk management to enable informed decision making based on identified dependencies, interdependencies and potential cascading effects. Such risk management would improve critical infrastructure security and resilience by advancing research and promoting community and regional recovery following incidents.
A: It’s extremely important, because the vast majority of the nation’s critical infrastructure is owned and operated by private companies. The voluntary program I just mentioned, known as the Critical Infrastructure Cyber Community, or C³, Voluntary Program, is an innovative public-private partnership designed to help align critical infrastructure owners and operators with existing resources. It will assist them in their efforts to adopt the framework and manage their cyber risks. We’ve put a particular emphasis in the program with helping small and medium businesses, as well as state, local, territorial and tribal governments, whose budgets have been tightening recently. Through the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, we’re able to offer better protection to state government networks, which protect so much of our personal data. We’ve also issued a Request for Information, asking the private sector how it can provide broadly scalable cybersecurity solutions at an affordable cost to small and medium businesses in support of adoption of the NIST framework.
Q: You mentioned cybersecurity earlier, as an example of a holistic approach. How does your directorate integrate your physical and cyber infrastructure operations?
A: Our Office of Biometric Identity Management [OBIM] serves as the provider of biometric identity services to all of DHS and to customers outside of DHS such as the Department of Justice and Department of Defense, just to name a few. Every day, OBIM works to meet their customer’s biometric needs in the form of transactions where fingerprints are searched against a repository of 165 million existing records and a Watchlist of 7.5 million records. That system, IDENT, currently processes more than 250,000 transactions per day. OBIM also maintains the IDENT system to ensure it is capable of meeting the grueling digital workload of 24/7 operations while planning for new customer requirements. We are excited about the ever-growing opportunities that biometrics have to offer, and they play an integral part in our mission to protect the nation’s infrastructure. OBIM does this by addressing the “human” dimensions associated with protection and resilience—identity. The team at OBIM must ensure that the operations and maintenance of existing services continue while also positioning itself to best address evolving departmental needs from its customers. This means investing in the upkeep of the current system, while also planning for a future system that will meet the department’s growing mission needs for biometric identity services.
A: It’s crucial to have an understanding of the criticality of assets, systems and networks, as well as the associated dependencies and interdependencies of critical infrastructure. The interplay between cyber and physical vulnerabilities cannot be overstated. NPPD understands this cyber-physical nexus very well, and our Offices of Infrastructure Protection (IP) and Cybersecurity and Communications work closely together to further both the cyber and physical security of critical infrastructure. We also recently announced the establishment of the Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis, to provide our government and private-sector partners with the information, analysis and tools they need to better understand the consequences of a physical or cyber attack on the nation’s critical infrastructure. It goes beyond our work at NPPD though. It was no coincidence that last year, when the president issued Executive Order 13636 on Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, he also issued Presidential Policy Directive 21 on Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience on the same day. These two policies called for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop a framework of core cybersecurity practices to reduce cyber risks to critical infrastructure, and for DHS to create a voluntary program to help critical infrastructure entities implement that framework. These programs recognize that cyber incidents can have cascading effects across the nation’s physical infrastructure, and that only a holistic approach can help us become truly resilient. Q: How important is it to have a close relationship with the private sector in staying in step as technologies bound forward? 18 | CGF 6.3
Q: What are the challenges of enhancing biometric capabilities and improving results from the capture of data? What are the most promising developments on the biometrics horizon?
Q: The current Infrastructure Protection Strategic Plan runs from 2012 to 2016. Is this a plan that is in a constant state of modification as technologies and threats evolve or is it formatted to take a very top level view of the issues? What are the major initiatives as part of this plan? A: The strategic plan builds upon our Office of Infrastructure Protection’s history of collaboration and promoting critical infrastructure risk management, and provides everyone with a common mission and vision that guides the work being www.CGF-kmi.com
done every day in securing the nation’s critical infrastructure. The plan puts forth four goals that all serve to improve risk management across the critical infrastructure community. Measuring the impact of programs and policies in both a quantitative and qualitative manner is an essential element in the strategic planning process. The IP strategic plan, like all our initiatives at NPPD, promotes ongoing feedback on the progress. This feedback is instrumental to our making internal resource adjustments. Additionally, progress measurements will be integrated with other ongoing performance measurement and reporting efforts, which will help us all improve in our efforts to accomplish our mission.
(NCCIC) and U.S. Coast Guard National Command Center, and interact with DHS senior cyber leaders. There’s no question that when it comes to a growing field like cybersecurity, it’s difficult to compete with the salaries offered in the private sector. But DHS’s mission and the opportunity to play a role in the security of your country attracts candidates as well. In order to keep some of the best and brightest, we’re developing strong cybersecurity career paths within the department, and in partnership with other government agencies. We are also creating training and development opportunities to retain our most talented employees and ensure their professional development.
Q: Are there challenges attracting and keeping skilled IT/ cybersecurity people within DHS when there are opportunities in the commercial world?
Q: Any closing thoughts on the people of your directorate and their mission?
A: We’re committed to building a world-class cybersecurity workforce. That starts with developing the pipeline of talent that will enter the profession. The Secretary’s Honors Program Cyber Student Volunteer Initiative provides 100 unpaid student volunteer assignments to support DHS’s cyber mission at local DHS field offices in over 60 locations across the country. We’ve launched a program of regular outreach briefings through which students receive tours of DHS facilities, including the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center
A: The men and women of NPPD are some of the most talented and dedicated professionals I’ve had the opportunity to work with. Often, they’re behind the scenes, working to ensure that the systems and networks Americans rely on are there when we need them. In the homeland security world, as DHS Secretary Johnson has said, “no news is good news.” For NPPD, no news is the result of hard work, vigilance, and dedication by people working to prevent bad things you never hear about, or help the public protect itself and recover from the storm we cannot prevent. O
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Aggressive corrosion control from the start is the best course of action in the harsh maritime environment. Rust may not pose the same fatal dangers to ships that it does to aircraft, but it’s still a costly problem on Coast Guard vessels. Preventing and dealing with rust at sea is getting more careful attention. Tight budgets force tough choices, in rust control as in other areas. But rust specialists are learning and teaching others how to reap maximum benefits at moderate costs. The Surface Forces Logistics Center’s Engineering Services Division sets maintenance policies for 250 cutters and 1,800 boats, explained Division Chief John Kaplan. The Division’s Corrosion Prevention and Control (CPAC) Program Process Guide goes out to the field to guide anti-rust efforts. The division also issues a coatings and color manual, since painting is the chief method for preventing corrosion, along with Specification 6310 for authorized coatings and contractual requirements and Technical Standard 631, giving general guidance for preventing corrosion. Each cutter and each sector of boats has a unit corrosion prevention advocate who, among other duties, helps implement CPAC procedures. Budget pressures have limited the training that can be given to these advocates, noted SFLC corrosion expert Mark Dust. “There are a number of good anti-corrosion courses we would love to send them to, but these courses are not inexpensive.” The division has adapted from Navy versions of the Corrosion Maintenance Procedure Cards to help advocates and others do inspections and take the right corrective actions against corrosion on a daily basis. Modified Navy procedures are also used in tank and void inspections, whenever a tank is entered, to give precise measurements of 20 | CGF 6.3
By Henry Canaday CGF Correspondent
corrosion damage. This helps plan smarter major maintenance. And the division is starting to use corrosion data in its 3-D modeling system for new cutters to assess the strength of existing cutters in as-is condition and thus decide on when dry-dock visits are necessary. Dust said the Coast Guard and the Navy work together more closely on corrosion now than they formerly did, and the Coast Guard tries to use military specifications developed by the Navy. The Office of Naval Research is funding research on new coatings for icebreakers, a common need of both the Navy and the Coast Guard. Dust sees the highest returns not from new anti-corrosion materials, but from improved anti-corrosion processes and methods. “We have to change the organization to make corrosion a greater priority. We don’t have the luxury of painting every three months. We have to paint it right the first time.” Still, some of the toughest corrosion lies hidden behind insulation or bulkheads. The division would like to see a device that could detect that damage without expensive removal of major structures or components. The sheer age of many Coast Guard vessels also poses challenges, because the service must make tough choices between, for example, dealing with major corrosion problems or re-engining a boat. Nevertheless, progress has been made. For example, port engineers are now given a one-week course in corrosion inspection. Private firms are also critical to rust control at sea. Now director of engineering at the McHenry Management Group (TMMG), Larry Wilkerson is a former chief of SFLC’s Engineering Services Division. “We looked at how the Coast Guard’s aircraft support www.CGF-kmi.com
community addressed corrosion issues and found that they track and map corrosion, so that when an aircraft shows up for a scheduled depot industrial availability, the techs already know where to look,” Wilkerson remembered. “By tracking and mapping corrosion, not only does the technician on the repair line know ahead of time where to focus corrosion repair Larry Wilkerson energies, but the collected tracking lwilkerson@tmmg.us.com and mapping data can also be used by the engineers in the product line to target and remedy those class-wide high-concentration areas of corrosion and for assessing the effectiveness of any particular corrosion control method or new technology employed, all to the desired end-state of minimizing maintenance costs.” SFLC’s five product lines are charged with the responsibility to maintain the cutters and boats of the Coast Guard fleet, making tough decisions daily on how to make best use of limited maintenance dollars to maximize operational availability. “They decide and implement to what extent possible corrosion control programs are executed, being ever mindful of their affordable readiness goals,” Wilkerson stressed. TMMG is a systems engineering company that advises the Coast Guard and other organizations on reliability-centered maintenance and condition-based maintenance opportunities, including but not limited to corrosion assessment and control. TMMG is fully capable and experienced at developing, fielding and sustaining maintenance management programs and is considered an expert in “identifying and solving problems that drives maintenance costs,” Wilkerson explained. Another important resource for corrosion control is the annual U.S. Navy Corrosion Conference, Mega Rust. “The Coast Guard participates in these conferences,” Wilkerson noted. Corrosion Technologies provides corrosion-control products to several commands of the Coast Guard and believes it could usefully provide more, explained J.D. Hill, vice president of marketing. The company makes three products, but the flagship offering is CorrosionX. This was originally developed for aviation but has been used for other assets, including Navy and Coast Guard ships, since 2006 and meets Navy requirements in MIL-PRF-81309F. Corrosion X uses a unique technology. Each molecule has a positively and negatively charged side, as do metal molecules on ships or other surfaces. “So they are drawn to each other by a force analogous to the way magnets are drawn together,” Hill explained. “The metal would like to bond with oxygen to form rust, but it bonds instead with CorrosionX.” Most corrosion control works, like paint, by isolating metal from the environment. One problem is that moisture may already be present when paint is applied. Or later the paint may crack or chip and the paint will bubble, revealing corrosion that was not prevented by the paint barrier. “We kill corrosion, not just put up a barrier to it,” Hill said. If moisture or corrosion is already present, CorrosionX removes it. The treatment is self-curing and spreads and penetrates. For example, if sprayed on a rivet, CorrosionX will creep up the rivet www.CGF-kmi.com
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shank in 30 seconds, removing rust and coating the entire rivet. “If a bolt rusts on a ship, don’t get a cutter, get CorrosionX,” Hill advised. “In 15 minutes the bolt will come out.” CorrosionX is also dielectric up to 36,000 volts, thus preventing galvanic corrosion. It forms a thin film, four ten-thousandths of an inch thick, a big distance for an electron to leap. “Our engineers say it makes metal more noble, like gold,” Hill noted. “It is self-curing, a very good lubricant and won’t wash off.” Helpful to the environment, “CorrosionX is only 4 to 7 percent solvent, while other anticorrosion treatments can be 70 to 80 percent solvent.” It is nontoxic and non-carcinogenic and does not leave a buildup like wax or asphalt cor- Densyl Tape applied to hydraulic fittings. [Photo courtesy of Denso North America] rosion inhibitors. An entire helicopter can be prospecialty coatings that protect against corrosion. The tected by spraying less than a gallon of CorrosionX company also offers 24-hour technical response to inside. Hill recommended application once every analyze problems and recommend solutions. two years. Vargas said Belzona anti-corrosion solutions With a 25 percent military discount, CorrosionX have long been applied for hull pit filling with the costs less than $75 per gallon, which will cover up to company’s rebuilding grade epoxies and barge hulls 2,000 square feet. Corrosion Technologies also makes with their Immersion Grade coating, fuel tanks, wet a long-term corrosion and mildew inhibitor, based spaces, bilges, elevators, hydrofoils, water jets, stern on the barrier principle, but not as heavy as asphalttubes, sanitary tanks, propellers, rudders, water based inhibitors. pumps, heat exchangers, machinery and equipment, Paint and liquid anti-corrosion protection structures and non-skid systems for decks. Years of does not work well on some marine components, Lucian Williams experience allow the firm to provide written, stepexplained Lucian Williams, president of Denso North by-step instruction on how the repairs and solutions America. For example, on hydraulic fittings, where should be carried out. metal clamps fit over rubber hoses, it is hard to preBelzona started serving the Navy in the 1960s pare surfaces by sanding and cleaning. And paints do and learned to be versatile as the Navy required not adhere well to the threads in these fittings. In salt everything from protection against chemical attacks water, such conventional anti-corrosion coatings can to cavitation resistance. fail quickly, in a matter of months, on these kinds of For example, Belzona’s Super UW-Metal 1831 is surfaces. surface-tolerant and adheres to oily surfaces under So Denso offers its petrolatum wax tape for these water. applications. The Coast Guard has been using this Belzona’s ST Barrier 5831 protects both metal tape for four decades and orders more cases of it freand non-metal surfaces and cures under sea water or quently to have handy when a new hydraulic fitting Andrew Margarit fresh water. It is solvent-free, adheres to wet surfaces is installed. The tape provides anti-corrosion protecandy@mascoat.com and bonds to concrete and brick. 5831 prevents galtion for up to 20 years, but new fittings are frequent vanic corrosion and is compatible with cathodic protection. occurrences. Belzona 1111 Super Metal is a repair composite based on a Williams stressed that the tapes can be effectively applied withceramic-steel reinforced polymer system that can be applied to out preparation to cold, wet surfaces in any weather. Using the almost any surface with no specialized tools. Denso tape enables the Coast Guard to use the less expensive carVargas said Belzona continues to research new ways to fight bon steel for hydraulic fittings, rather than stainless steel, Williams corrosion and do so with environment-friendly raw materials. It noted. He believes Denso tape might be profitably extended to other has already developed products like Belzona 1331 and 1381 that kinds of under-deck piping. can be applied by both brush and spray. Notably, these are the The Denso tape is also part of SeaShield Marine, a Denso system first sprayable products with equivalent or better resistance to for protecting the steel pilings in Coast Guard dock facilities from erosion than standard ceramic filled epoxy that do not damage corrosion in the splash zone. It has been used in this application spray equipment. for about 40 years. In addition, the company makes a full range of Mascoat provides two products relevant to corrosion challenges liquid anti-corrosion coatings for applications where this approach at the Coast Guard, explained Senior Project Specialist Andrew is suitable. Margarit. Mascoat Marine-DTM is a spray-applied marine thermal Belzona offers a wide range of anti-corrosion solutions, said insulation coating that is typically sprayed on bulkheads, overMarket Development Manager Richard Vargas. These include multi-purpose, machinable repair-and-rebuild composites that heads, on pilot houses or anywhere else condensation is an issue. It works by stopping the formation of condensation, therefore keeps will not corrode; solutions compatible with cathodic protecareas dry and thus does not allow corrosion to form. tion that bond to any metal and cure without external heat; and 22 | CGF 6.3
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Mascoat Sound Control-dB’s primary purpose is sound insulation on bulkheads, but a secondary effect is preventing corrosion with a film about 2 to 4 millimeters thick. Distinctively, Mascoat coatings accomplish other important objectives while preventing corrosion. Margarit noted that temperatures on outside surfaces of a ship can reach 140 to 150 degrees, which Mascoat thermal insulation can reduce to 80 to 90 degrees. In addition, “Lots of other products deal with corrosion after it sets in,” Margarit explained. “We prevent moisture from forming in the first place.” The Coast Guard now uses Mascoat coatings in spot applications. Margarit believes the coatings could be applied more broadly to the side shells of vessels, to pilot houses and to exposed portions of decks. “It’s a no-brainer on the pilot house. It keeps pilot houses dry, and lots of them are dripping from ceilings. There is also some bad solar loading on decks and the ship’s side shell as well. Coatings could benefit the Coast Guard instead of using fiber insulation in some areas.” Av-DEC offers conductive and non-conductive gaskets, tapes, and sealants, according to Maritime Program Manager Matt Panfil. These products generally suit any equipment bolted to the top side of a ship, especially antenna and communication mounting interfaces. Matt Panfil Av-DEC uses a unique tacky matt.panfil@avdec.com polyurethane-gel chemistry that combines conductivity and corrosion protection. The pre-cured polyurethane gel stays in a tacky gel state and does not allow moisture, electrolytes, sand and salt to penetrate and begin corrosion. Av-DEC anti-corrosion technology has been extensively and beneficially used on aircraft but not yet in the maritime market. “We are all over aircraft on the back of the Larry Mudd ships, but not on the ships themlmudd@cortecvci.com selves,” Panfil said. This is particularly true of antenna gaskets and is highly relevant to Coast Guard ships. “Ships are typically worse off than aircraft because they mount aluminum antennas on a steel deck. Legacy gaskets have performed poorly, and zinc-rich pastes and primers don’t last very long.” In contrast, Av-DEC gaskets can eliminate isolation gaskets and bonding straps for dissimilar metal interfaces. Many other pieces of equipment on topsides of ships have to be grounded, including boxes, enclosures, cables, lights, ladders and combat systems. “The last thing they want is a ladder interfering with radiating or receiving equipment because it is not properly grounded,” Panfil said. And most antennas need a low-impedance electrical bond to the ship deck, because the ship is essentially half of the antenna. “Av-DEC products can free up valuable crew time by helping to extend maintenance cycles,” Panfil said. Av-DEC products have a long history of extending maintenance cycles on many platforms for favorable returns. For example, the Defense Logistics Agency www.CGF-kmi.com
Smarter maintenance programs and anti-corrosion processes and methods are showing results.
found Av-DEC gaskets performed brilliantly on EA-6B Prowlers, and Av-DEC technology is now used on 95 percent of U.S. military aircraft. Cortec offers more than 450 different products, according to Larry Mudd, senior project manager for preservation and field services. Mudd called Cortec’s Vapor phase Corrosion Inhibitor (VpCI) a breakthrough solution in corrosion prevention. “VpCI products protect metals with a chemically adsorbed molecular layer that provides multi-metal corrosion protection. Coverage is complete. All surfaces, crevices, cavities and other inaccessible void areas receive total protection.” Moreover, the VpCI barrier is self-replenishing, even for packaging that’s repeatedly opened, and typically protects for up to 24 months. VpCI-415 is a heavy-duty, biodegradable water-based alkaline cleaner and degreaser that can be sprayed on equipment and leaves behind corrosion inhibitor. The Navy uses VcPI-415 to clean and degrease equipment, and the product has been approved and used by the Coast Guard. Cortec has on-site teams that can train service staffs in using Cortec products, or Cortec teams can actually perform the work themselves. Many Cortec coatings also have ultraviolet ray stabilizers so they maintain excellent gloss and last longer. Mudd said the company is always developing new coatings and films. For example, “We are now getting into nanotechnologies.” O
For more information, contact Editor-In-Chief Jeff McKaughan at jeffm@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.cgf-kmi.com.
CGF 6.3 | 23
DHS and
Big Data
Maximizing technology and system
services to match capacity demands. By Karen E. Thuermer, CGF Correspondent
world. A new Big data abounds in our everyday lives. “Home entertainment is data extensive. Medical imaging, the movie industry, gaming, live broadcast television, even weather data is all labor intensive and difficult to send to millions of users,” commented Gina Lundy, vice president, government relations and corporate communications, Gina Lundy Pixia Corp. lundyg@pixia.com Consequently, everyone is talking about big data, particularly how to accumulate useful data and preserve privacy and introduce technologies that analyze encrypted data while not revealing facts about individuals. The consumer industry, in its efforts to keep tabs on buying habits and opinions, demonstrates Bruce Kornfeld every day how easy it is to brucek@spectralogic.com capture data about people. “Big data is a movement that basically says we have all of this information,” said Bruce Kornfeld, interim chief marketing officer, Spectra Logic Corp. “It’s now an issue of how we can make this useful to help us.” The issue of whether or not the U.S. government should be in the big data Glenn O. Veach business abounds, particugveach@gtri.com larly in the post-Snowden 24 | CGF 6.3
presidential report is examining how data collection and analysis affect everyday privacy. Kornfeld attributes the explosion of big data to smartphones. “For example, today we see TV news reporters taking video live off their smartphones,” he remarked.
A New Normal The fact is, today everyone is in the big data business. Big data is the new normal for everyone. The Department of Homeland Security is no exception. DHS components such as the Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Transportation Security Administration, and U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) all have large volumes of intelligence and sensor data, ranging from cybersecurity to watch lists, video surveillance, cargo shipping, container tracking, etc. “In my opinion, the added challenge for DHS is how to network a federation of different agencies with different missions, tons of data in different formats and
on different systems, in real time to ensure everyone has the data they need to enable full situational awareness and get everyone on the same page in time to make critical decisions,” said Lundy. DHS Network and Infrastructure Security alone has a major big data issue in coordinating the management of the TICs (trusted Internet connection) as mandated by the Office of Management and Budget. “Providing TIC security is in and of itself a big data analytics concern in order to guard against the attacks and threats to U.S. government networks,” reported Glenn O. Veach, business development practice manager, Global Technology Resources Inc. (GTRI)-Capital Region. Likewise, CERT amasses huge volumes of data from worldwide CERT partners to provide timely alerts and remediation reports on cybersecurity to the government, private sector and public at large. “All of these initiatives continue to generate more data every day and will continue to demand new technologies, policies and practices to mitigate physical, as well as cyber, security issues to the U.S. homeland and our international community,” Veach added. Big data is not an issue that will get smaller. “Trying to identify who should and should not be in the big data business will be tough to do, because the data explosion is here,” Lundy said. “DHS and others have two choices ... destroy the data or learn how to make it relevant so users can apply it to operational missions.” Clearly, those working outside of DHS or the government are not privy to what data the feds might have. “But it is a lot www.CGF-kmi.com
and in all different forms,” remarked Kornfeld. “It seems that it would be important for such an agency to pull knowledge in new ways that have not been done before.”
Contributing Factors The big contributors to the big data explosion are massive IT systems that can now be built to look at trends and do analysis that might protect the country more than in the past. Helping the effort is the lower cost of technology and the fact that technology can offer many benefits. “For example, open source software is available that can build massively scalable systems,” Kornfeld said. While in the past, organizations and agencies spent millions of dollars building proprietary systems to store massive data to do data analysis, today it costs only thousands of dollars. “This is making big data more economical for companies to look at and use to analyze data. DHS is no different,” Kornfeld said. The timing couldn’t be better, with government agencies facing tighter budgets and spending constraints. “Today, many are looking at ways to lower costs,” he added. But besides the need to be cost-conscious, DHS also needs to build capacity. One area that addresses both factors is use of tape versus disc drives to store data. “For one, disc drives only have a limited shelf life,” Kornfeld said. “That’s because they are complicated with highly engineered platters spinning fast around inside. They are not designed to store data for a long period of time.” And unlike disc drives, tape is very inexpensive. “It can be one-fiftieth the cost,” he said. For example, a disc drive enterprise costs about $3-5 per gigabyte, whereas tape costs about 5 cents per gigabyte. Plus, tapes are designed to last 30 years or more. Disc drives have a shelf life of around five years. Kornfeld’s company, Spectra Logic, writes software that helps customers make sure tapes stay healthy. “Our software will automatically make sure the tape is still working with no errors. This translates to very easy, very low costs and tapes that can last forever,” he said. Storing that data is also becoming more affordable. Spectra Logic Corp. builds www.CGF-kmi.com
systems stored on tape instead of discs, making it possible for massive amounts of data to be stored at very low prices. “Tapes are one-tenth the cost,” he stated. “This is especially important since, for example, emails from all employees at DHS might not be interesting today, but they might be in five years.” Pixia also is familiar with large data platforms and the DHS information sharing framework. “We’re actively working with DHS and system integrators in various agencies to help them understand how to better manage massive volumes of data,” Lundy said. “Some of the platforms DHS has now and some they may receive in the future may be coming from the Department of Defense as military operations scale down overseas. Pixia has supported many of these platforms in theater, so integrating them and managing the data is something we’re very familiar with and we’ve been sharing these experiences with DHS.” Pixia is also very familiar with the DHS information sharing framework called NIEM. This is operated out of the DHS Information Sharing office and is becoming a model for other government sectors too. “We believe NIEM is an absolute musthave for DHS to enable the various agencies and their federated community at the federal, state, local, tribal levels to have a means for sharing critical data during routine and emergency operations missions,” Lundy remarked. “As NIEM is more widely adopted, the potential for expanding this into other sharing frameworks across government is very exciting. The core of Pixia products and our business models are similar to NIEM, except we enable the data access for users, we don’t set the sharing standards.” Pixia products adhere to open standards. “Everything it builds needs to be the anti-stovepipe that will integrate legacy, current and future data into government or commercial architectures,” she added. “In other words, we advise customers to connect the various datasets they have and work to connect to other data repositories across their community before buying something new, then make a more informed decision on what data collection tools they need later. Also, when using open standards, if they can access data in other architectures (the Pixia part), imagine the force multiplier of information and
rapid dissemination in a NIEM framework. It’s a huge return on government data investments.” Pixia is also helping NIEM (and other standards bodies) by enabling data access and sharing its success stories around the world in an open standards environment so they can add these vignettes to show that open standards work and are critical to overcoming technical hurdles to make it shareable. “Adding a company like Pixia to an open standards environment accelerates fast data access to large datasets that works on existing hardware and software architectures, compatible with common software tools and viewable on devices already deployed,” Lundy added. “This fast access in a NIEM-like information sharing environment will improve situational awareness, promote faster and better informed decision-making, help inform purchase decisions for future data collectors and provide huge savings in future data architectures.”
Multi Programs DHS components have many programs that they are working to build out on a number of defense fronts, including TICs, Critical Infrastructure Cyber Community Voluntary Program, Cyber Defense for Maritime, Over the Horizon Border Enforcement, and National Protection Situational Awareness and Incident Response. According to Veach, GTRI and the government contracting community are working to provide the government with the most advanced solutions available in a timely manner, so that DHS can meet the mission of protecting the U.S. homeland. While GTRI employees are not at liberty to discuss the details, Veach explained that GTRI is currently working on law enforcement covert video surveillance collection and analytics systems, including a solution for one DHS component to be awarded in late April. “We also are actively working prerequest for proposal projects, but again, since these are not projects of record we are not free to discuss them,” he said. O
For more information, contact Editor-In-Chief Jeff McKaughan at jeffm@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www. cgf-kmi.com.
CGF 6.3 | 25
INDUSTRY INTERVIEW
U.S. Coast Guard & Border Security Guy Miasnik CEO AtHoc
Guy Miasnik is a co-founder of AtHoc and has served as CEO since its inception. Miasnik leads the overall vision and strategy of AtHoc, driving its rapid growth and emergence as a global leader for next-generation interactive crisis communications technology for governments, industry, health care, homeland defense and the public safety sectors. Today, more than 1,500 organizations rely on AtHoc for their safety and security needs, including DoD, DHS, Microsoft, Kaiser Permanente, UCLA, Texas A&M University, Eastman Chemical and others. Q: What are your primary business areas with the Homeland Security community? A: For the past four years, AtHoc has been working with various components of DHS. Today, we support the U.S. Coast Guard to protect 80,000 of their members, 50,000 employees with the Transportation Safety Administration (which is hosted by the U.S. Coast Guard), and 65,000 officers and staff with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Furthermore, we serve the Office of the Chief Security Officer at the DHS Nebraska Avenue Complex. In all instances, AtHoc supports the various missions of various DHS component organizations, including emergency preparedness teams, first responder teams, human resources offices, and IT and security groups. The primary applications are twofold: emergency alerting to all employees and accountability of all DHS staff members in times of crisis.
examples of the proficiency of AtHoc’s communications solutions. The challenge that AtHoc meets head on is ensuring the very latest technology is leveraged to provide optimal crisis communications on mobile devices such as smartphones. The new AtHoc Mobile Notifier Suite meets these needs, enabling the highest rate of alerting, response, awareness and accountability. autonomous component operations while decreasing infrastructure, maintenance and support expenditures. In particular, the U.S. Coast Guard is actually hosting the AtHoc application for TSA, allowing both components to share resources and consolidate two separate infrastructures into one, generating significant savings and creating more efficiency. Additionally, AtHoc enables customers to streamline communications during a crisis by fostering interoperability between agency personnel. Q: How do you coordinate your business development efforts to make sure they match what agencies within the Department of Homeland Security are looking for? A: The AtHoc Account team works every day with various DHS customers and component organizations. Specifically, AtHoc contributes to and takes part in many DHS forums and groups to ensure our solutions match and exceed DHS requirements. AtHoc is a fully registered Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program vendor and is also certified for DHS Integrated Public Alert and Warning System.
Q: How have you adjusted your Department of Homeland Security related business to maximize efficiencies and help keep costs down?
Q: What do you see as major challenges over the next 12 months and how are you addressing them?
A: AtHoc provides optimal and fully secure mass notification and accountability systems for DHS. The widespread use of AtHoc within these agencies enables enterprise level economies now available to all DHS components as well as the ability to “share” resources and achieve
A: As many have seen and are aware, there have been a number of high profile incidents recently regarding physical safety in the workplace. These events, such as the Navy Yard shootings last year, the incident at Los Angeles airport earlier this year, and Fort Hood last month, are all real world
26 | CGF 6.3
Q: Is partnering with other companies an important part of your business strategy? A: AtHoc leverages its Open application programming interface, which allows integration with other systems where applicable. This gives customers the flexibility to protect existing investments while experiencing optimal state of the art solutions from AtHoc. AtHoc also partners with vendors of physical safety devices in buildings to adhere to the Common Alerting Protocol standard, which provides the basis for the use of integration technologies needed for fire alarms, indoor PA systems, sirens, digital displays and radios. Q: How do you measure success? A: Our mission is to make the world safer by empowering organizations and individuals with trusted communication during critical situations. Success is measured in the real world effectiveness of our solutions for helping our customers protect the life safety of their colleagues and families. An example might be the case of the Washington Navy Yard shooting at the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C. As General Martin Dempsey, chairman, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said after the fact: “In terms of what we changed after earlier incidents, factors that contributed to a less horrific outcome were alert notices, coordination in advance of crises with other agencies of government, and training for employees and law enforcement on active shooter scenarios.” O www.CGF-kmi.com
This index is provided as a service to our readers. KMI cannot be held responsible for discrepancies due to last-minute changes or alterations.
USCGF RESOURCE CENTER Advertisers index AgustaWestland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4 www.agustawestand.com
Thomas Edison State College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 www.tesc.edu/mshs
Denso North America Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 www.densona.com
Trijion Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 www.trijicon.com
Calendar May 12-15, 2014 AUVSI Orlando, Fla. www.auvsishow.org
May 19-20, 2014 Border Management Southwest 2014 San Diego, Calif. www.bordersouthwest.com
May 20-22, 2014 National Homeland Security Conference Philadelphia, Pa. http://nationaluasi.com/dru
May 22, 2014 Defense Intelligence Information Enterprise Plugfest Fairfax, Va. www.afei.org
NEVER STOP LEARNING Considering a new degree? Advising your troops on their education options? You need Military Advanced Education’s 2014 Guide to Military-Friendly Colleges & Universities! Check out the searchable database at www.mae-kmi.com for the details prospective students and commanders are looking for! • Access all the survey answers from the hundreds of schools that participated in MAE’s 2014 Guide to Military-Friendly Colleges & Universities • New and improved design makes it easier than ever to find what you’re looking for • Search the database by school name, state, online or brick-and-mortar schools • Compare and contrast institutions with all the info MAE used to score and designate our top schools
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CGF 6.3 | 27
INDUSTRY INTERVIEW
U.S. Coast Guard & Border Security
William F. “Bill” Harris President and CEO W.F. Harris Lighting Inc. North Carolina native William F. “Bill” Harris started his company in 1970 with the goal of creating lighting fixtures that weathered extreme coastal environments. After observing fundamental flaws in an existing lighting product, his extensive experience testing man-made fibers and knowledge of plastics allowed him to identify a better way. An idea, and an entire company, was born. This eye for ideas has fueled additional success and numerous innovative lighting products. His leadership in the lighting industry and the community subsequently earned him an invitation to Wingate University’s Board of Trustees, where he has served for the past nine years in addition to being the president and CEO of W.F. Harris Lighting Inc. Subsequently he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters. He attended Brevard College and North Carolina State University. Q: Who is W.F. Harris Lighting? A: Defined as a small business concern, W.F. Harris Lighting is proud to be an American manufacturer of high quality lighting products. We strive to keep our operation in a manner that we can utilize the most local materials and components as possible while delivering to our customers high performance and overall value with a low total cost of ownership. We select materials and components that reinforce and enable this goal—from polycarbonate for our housings to electronics with industry-leading warranties—and combine them with designs which maximize effectiveness and manufacturability, all enabling us to deliver to our customers what they need, when they need it. Q: What are your primary business areas with the U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security? A: W.F. Harris Lighting provides rustproof, vandal-resistant, rugged and reliable/dependable lighting products in two primary areas. One is heavy-duty portable worklights, which can serve in the maintenance areas for both the U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security vessel and vehicle repair 28 | CGF 6.3
and maintenance. In addition, our family of new LED products is well suited for the support facilities throughout both agencies. Q: How is your company positioned for supplying the U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security with lighting products? A: W.F. Harris Lighting has a 44-year history of product and design innovation and owns numerous industry firsts. This heritage drives our relentless search and pursuit of technology and design that time after time drives forward improvement in the available solution base for the lighting industry. Our very first product was transformative to the industry and subsequently led to many other products with a similar impact. Most notable is our line of non-metallic, impact/vandal resistant luminaires, which have had tremendous success in areas requiring high quality corrosion-resistant lighting. We further advanced this product line by introducing LED versions, which are energy efficient and have long operating life. Our Applications Engineering Department assists customers in employing standard designs to their applications, and when necessary, identifies the customer’s requirements so that we can design a solution that meets the unique needs for that customer. These traits and capabilities enable W.F. Harris Lighting to serve the ordinary and unique lighting needs of the U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security. Q: What are some examples of problems you have solved that might be of interest to the U.S. Coast Guard and DHS? A: In the shipbuilding, maintenance and conversion industry, our heavy-duty portable
worklight is an excellent example. Constructed of polycarbonate, this product withstands the intense use and abuse characteristic of this work and will be very much at home in any maintenance area, whether for marine vessels or overland vehicles. We have continually upgraded our LED offering in our worklights to provide the maximum available light for maximum workplace safety. Further, we have developed LED lighting systems which allow for convenient switching from full-spectrum white light to monochromatic red for onmission action to avoid night blindness for those times when visibility is critical. Q; Why is WFHL the best source for lighting products? A: W.F. Harris Lighting is structured to respond quickly to customer requests. Our Quick Ship program allows us to ship our standard products with short lead times, making us a strong supplier. When selecting our products, customers don’t have to contend with large-company manufacturing schedules. This program is important because our products are available in a wide variety of configurations to meet a wide range of lighting requirements, so what is needed doesn’t have to be ‘in stock’; rather, it is quickly made to order. This ensures that the lighting products needed by U.S. Coast Guard and DHS are always available once a project commences. Q: You mentioned LEDs a number of times; do you feel LEDs are the future of lighting for the Coast Guard and DHS use? A: Because of their numerous advantages, such as high efficiency with reduced power usage, vibration and concussion resistance, and service life, LEDs will continue to be the technology driver for lighting products. The advantages of LED-based lighting products are perfectly aligned with many of the objectives of the U.S. Coast Guard and DHS with regard to energy, quality, maintenance and reliability, all contributing to the lowest cost of ownership. LEDs are truly the answer for their lighting needs. O
wfharris@wfharris.com www.CGF-kmi.com
NextIssue
August 2014 Volume 6, Issue 4
Cover and In-Depth Interview with:
Rear Adm. Bruce D. Baffer Director of Acquisition Programs U.S. Coast Guard
Who’s Who at TSA U.S. Coast Guard & Border Security looks at the organization and leadership of the Transportation Security Administration.
special section Arctic Strategy
The international spotlight is on the Arctic, and the competition for jurisdiction and sovereignty requires the right tools and implementation plan.
Features Covert Surveillance
Shock Mitigating Seats
Letting everyone know they are under surveillance is one form of deterrent, but surveillance systems that don’t announce they’re watching are real assets.
A better ride on the water is not just a comfort issue, but a health concern as well. New technologies in boat and seat design are helping.
Shelters
Crowd Control/Non-lethal Weapons
Shelters to protect against the CBRN threat can also be used as the containment system during a decontamination process.
Altering behavior is the most effective way to control a situation. A measured response in relation to the threat or requirement is both more appropriate and effective than raising the level of violence with lethal action.
Insertion Order Deadline: July 21, 2014 • Ad Materials Deadline: July 28, 2014
Help is on the Horizon
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