Contributor:
Chris Battle
The Coast Guard Adapts — but will CNN?
The Coast Guard adopts new policies after scare on the Potomac. Don’t expect the same from CNN.
Is DHS being left behind in the public affairs space?
DoD has recently launched a new website — Defense.gov — that integrates all of the latest social media tools into DoD’s website and communications strategies. DoD is perhaps the most traditional and operational-security-conscious department in the federal government; nonetheless, it is moving aggressively to join the online debate already taking place — and inadvertently highlighting just how far behind the Department of Homeland Security is when it comes to engaging the public via the crucial social media environment.
Coast Guard's Confusion on the Potomac had plenty of blame to go around
In truth the Fiasco on the Potomac was the sloppy result of various parties, all of whom deny having engaged in any sloppiness whatsoever except for the Coast Guard. So kudos to them.
Cash In Clunkers – smuggling guns, drugs and money across the border
As more drugs and illegal aliens are being smuggled northbound, there has been a similar spike in guns and cash heading south. The same false dashboard compartments and hollowed suitcases that carry contraband into the United States are used to move the cash back into Mexico. With the flood of drugs heading north, and the flood of guns traveling south – and the illicit revenues flowing in both directions – it is disconcerting to realize that, nearly a year into the Obama Administration, there is still no nominee to lead the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. No nominee to take charge of the ATF – the law enforcement bureau responsible for enforcing gun and explosives laws. That the man nominated to head of Customs and Border Protection still waits idly to be confirmed.
TSA's Certified Cargo Screening Program: The White Horse of Air Cargo Security
Brad Elrod, the manager of global supply chains for Pfizer, one of the world’s leading drug producers, says that any company shipping valuable cargo — especially cargo that requires climate controls — should participate in TSA’s Certified Cargo Screening Program. It’s the only sure way to control the integrity of your product, he said.
Terror on the Border: Ciudad Juarez Has an Image Problem
I am told, almost as if by way of explanation, that the people doing the shooting in Juarez are very good at what they do. They kill well. They don’t often miss. This is not collateral damage. The executed can usually be tied to the drug trade. Gang-related, as they say in the United States. Small-time dealers who owe money. The double-crossed. The nasty business of achieving dominance over rivals. Still, that doesn’t account for the judges killed. The law enforcement agents and soldiers. The reporters who cover the killings and who end up resented and dead for the effort. It doesn’t account, exactly, for the 18 murdered in cold blood at the rehab center on September 3rd.
The Other Side of El Paso: Drugs, violence and social media in Juarez City (Part I)
There were many things that surprised me during a State Department-sponsored trip to Mexico this week, where we took a tour of U.S. border security operations before heading into Ciudad Juarez and Mexico City to meet with groups organizing against the spiraling violence in that country. I was surprised, for instance, that a representative from one of the Juarez drug cartels did not meet me at the airport, a block-typed sign with my name on it in one hand and a diamond-handled .45 in the other. I was surprised by the Border Patrol video with shrieking death metal background music. I was surprised by the mixture of courage and nonchalance of the college students living in Juarez who have grown sick of the murders and extortions and kidnappings in their city and who want desperately for the world to know that these cartels do not define them. I was surprised that traffic lights in Mexico City are optional …
DHS: How many terrorist did you catch today?
I am still a bit surprised when I hear this question: How many terrorists has the Department of Homeland Security caught? Probably for most employees at DHS, it’s an odd question. Which is why it’s a critical public relations matter. Most Americans still don’t understand the mission of DHS.
Unregulated small boats pose greatest vulnerability to U.S. maritime security, says Coast Guard Commandant
Admiral Thad Allen, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, has been on a mission for going on three years now: To raise awareness of the security vulnerabilities presented by small boats on America’s largely unregulated and unrestricted waterways.
