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Recent Military and World News
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Contracting: A Sure Bet For Veterans
July 10, 2009
If you are interested in working in contracting once you return to civilian life, the Federal Contractor Program can help you get a jump on your career.
Use Your Military Training to Become an Operations Manager
July 10, 2009
You can translate your supply chain know-how into a successful civilian career as an Operations Manager. All you need is a degree.
Build a Career in Engineering
July 10, 2009
Take your engineering skills to the next level with a bachelor's degree. It can help prepare you for a civilian job as an engineering manager.
A Civilian Career for Military Journalists
July 10, 2009
If you'd like to build a civilian writing career, you may want to look into a degree program in English, communications, or journalism.
Defense Department Contracts for 2,400 More MRAP Vehicles
October 19, 2007
WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2007 - The Defense Department has let contracts for an additional 2,400 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles, bringing the total number of the vehicles ordered to 8,800.
Pakistan's Bhutto Ends 8-Year Exile with Jubilant Homecoming
October 18, 2007
Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto are cheering her homecoming after eight years in self-imposed exile.
Doonesbury Creator, Military Bloggers Compile New Book
October 18, 2007
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2007 - War can inspire great writing, like a series of superlative dispatches from servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan compiled in a new book that offers an arresting glimpse of life on the front lines.
Gates Aims to Resolve Disconnect Between Military, Security Contractors
October 18, 2007
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2007 - Multinational Force Iraq and private security contractors too often are working at cross purposes, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told Pentagon reporters today.
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US Homeland Security Industry Expanding
By Mike O'Sullivan
Voice of America News
Los Angeles, September 13, 2006 -- The continuing threat of terrorism has given the U.S. security industry a boost, as new companies emerge to provide technology and training to keep people and businesses safe. The homeland security business is booming in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities.
Exact numbers are hard to come by, but analyst Jack Riley of the Rand Corporation estimates annual U.S. government spending on homeland security totals at least $40 billion, and private spending probably equals that. "And then there are the investments that state and local governments and other entities might be making as well, so we're probably talking about a total value of activity that's at least near $100 billion," he said.
The business journal Forbes counts more than 30,000 companies that contract with the U.S. government for homeland security. They range from firms that provide guards for public facilities to those that do high tech surveillance.
Aaron Cohen, managing director of IMS Counter-Terror School, is part of that growing industry. The California native joined the Israeli Defense Forces at age 18, and trained in counter-terrorism. He returned to Los Angeles to start a security company, and was soon attracting celebrity clients that included Jackie Chan. Three years ago, he brought some colleagues from his former Israeli unit to Los Angeles and opened a counter-terrorism school.
They offer training to police departments, defense contractors, military reservists, and security personnel for airports and transit agencies. He recently gave instruction at a nuclear power plant in Michigan. He says he tries to convey the lessons he learned in Israel. "What we bring to them really is a combat doctrine, or a philosophy, a certain mindset, which you can only get after having dealt with a specific type of threat, terrorism being the one that we come from," he said.
Cohen teaches techniques that he says every Israeli police officer knows. His course in tactical operations shows first-responders how to pursue a suspect through a crowd. "We're teaching them how to run through 30, 40, 50 targets that are innocents and looking for one threat. We're teaching them how to look for suspicious people, how to read body language, how to question people, how to coordinate security using undercover operatives as well as uniformed police officers at major events," he said.
The security specialist says U.S. airports and seaports are all potential targets, but with planning and proper procedures, the risks can be reduced to an acceptable level. "You've got trained personnel and manpower to be able to run and operate the system. You've got system testing to make sure that it's functional. And this applies to every security system, whether its locks and bars and alarms systems or air marshals, properly trained screeners who know how to do a light interrogation to undercover security deployed at a terminal watching the check-in," he said.
Lieutenant John Sullivan, a counter-terrorism expert for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, says private security forces have always been important in the United States. Public police agencies were only created in the 1840s and '50s.
He says Americans are again looking to private security for protection. "During the last 20 or 30 years, there has been a significant growth in private security to augment public police. Most of that has been directed toward property protection, response to burglar alarms, response to bank robberies," he said.
He says private firms now dominate areas such as computer security, and that their role in other fields is growing.
Some security contracts involve huge amounts of money. Private defense firms are now competing for a contract worth two billion dollars to create a surveillance system for U.S. borders. A multi-billion dollar high-tech system called U.S. Visit, which records biometric data from U.S. visitors, is also being expanded. Since 2004, the system has recorded the fingerprints and stored the photographs of some 40 million visitors to the country.
Analyst Jack Riley says terrorism is likely to be a long-term problem, and private industry will be part of the response. "As long as that threat is out there, and I think we have to be realistic and assume that we're looking at a generational threat in the form of this kind of terrorism, then consequently the industry is going to be there and it's going to continue to evolve and shape itself to help confront the threat," he said.
He says as potential attackers devise new approaches, public and private security must be adaptable and responsive.
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