A delegation from the Republic of Tajikistan in Eastern Europe recently attended a seminar hosted by the Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Asymmetic Warfare (CAW) to learn the best techniques law enforcement and civilian agencies have developed to work together during emergencies. Representatives from the Port Hueneme Police Department, Port Hueneme City Hall and the Oxnard Harbor District also attended the June 28 seminar, which included a tour of the Port of Hueneme, unique in its dual use by military and civilian personnel.

Personnel from Naval Postgraduate School-Center for Asymmetric Warfare (CAW) met with representatives from the Royal Thai Naval Special Warfare and from Ventura County and Los Angeles County regional response agencies to examine offshore oil platform safety and security. The approach of the exchange was to review and discuss previous efforts at establishing a security and emergency response plan in the event of an offshore platform emergency. The meeting started with an overview of the experience and awareness that CAW has gained since 2007...

A full-scale anti-terrorism exercise began Tuesday in Hampton Roads. The exercise will test local, state, and federal response efforts in maritime, hostage, and mass casualty scenarios. The exercise wil run through Thursday at different locations in Hampton Roads and involve more than 400 participants and actors, a news release from the governor's office said. The three-day exercises will simulate a maritime terrorist threat, a building barricaded by a hostile group that has taken hostages, and a mass casualty event that requires conduct of victim extraction...

Coastal Trident is an annual exercise that is planned and conducted by the Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Asymmetric Warfare, in partnership with the Oxnard Harbor District, as part of a multi-phased approach to increase the capabilities of Oxnard Harbor District and adjacent local, state and federal response agencies to respond to a large-scale disaster at the Port of Hueneme. This year's Coastal Trident exercise, which took place on March 23, involved a simulated plot to smuggle radiological material into the country for use in a weapon of mass destruction.

A dirty bomb explodes in Los Angeles, an oil well bursts in the Gulf of Mexico, a wildfire erupts in Colorado. Government agencies, emergency responders, non-governmental organizations, commercial enterprises and the general public scramble to react and respond. How can everyone coordinate the real data from the real event in real time to provide all of these parties the information they need to take action? During the Los Angeles based Operation Golden Phoenix exercise and the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems...

The Oxnard Harbor District, in partnership with the Naval Post Graduate School Center for Asymmetric Warfare (CAW) (www.cawnps.org) hosted the annual Coastal Trident Port Security and Response Exercise, "Coastal Trident 2011" on Wednesday March 23rd. The exercise involved more than 38 agencies partnering with the Port Security Committee including the Ventura County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad, California Highway Patrol, the Coast Guard, TSA and CBP. The CT-11 exercise represented a continuation of the lessons...

A wildfire’s thick black smoke blots out the sun, cloaking the area in a premature dusk. Glowing embers spiral up through the haze. A small camera-equipped aircraft skirts a wall of flames on a dangerous mission to record hot spots and track the fire’s progression. That is, it would be dangerous if an actual pilot was on board. But this is an unmanned aircraft, capable of venturing into areas too remote or deadly to risk human life. The pilotless plane, also known as an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) or unmanned aerial vehicle...

In a nondescript office at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu, a small group of civil servants tries to predict vulnerabilities in the nation's homeland defense, then research, develop and test new ways to protect against terrorism. The little-known Center for Asymmetric Warfare is a civil agency of the U.S. Navy that conducts research, training and exercises to better prepare federal, state and local authorities against new and emerging threats. A staff of about 20 full-time employees, 20 part-timers and associated...

The plotters decided to trigger their bomb in Los Angeles during the morning rush, at a metro station a stone's throw from Universal Studios and the set where Steven Spielberg filmed scenes from "War of the Worlds." This was no ordinary explosive. It was a 10-kiloton nuclear device packing roughly the destructive force of the Hiroshima bomb. A blast of that magnitude could engulf 50,000 to 150,000 people and reduce parts of L.A., Hollywood and Studio City — the historical heart of the movie industry — to radioactive rubble...

Representatives from the largest operational area in the nation’s third largest state gathered Wednesday, July 28, to participate in the mock detonation of a 10-kiloton improvised nuclear device. As part of the drill dubbed Operation Golden Phoenix, Los Angeles County and its operational area — which includes 88 cities, 137 unincorporated areas and 288 special districts — promoted collaboration and relationship building while integrating sensor technology that supports interoperable data sharing. Emergency operations...

A disastrous fire was burning aboard a ship at a local harbor, and the blaze turned out to be more sinister than it first appeared. That was the scenario played out today by more than two dozen local and federal agencies during a drill at the Port of Hueneme. Meant to ensure the Oxnard Harbor District is prepared for a disaster or terrorist attack at the port, the exercise was part of a two-day effort set up and monitored by the Navy Post Graduate School’s Center for Asymmetric Warfare. The center specializes in organizing and...

During its 50th annual meeting, held in Corpus Christi, Texas, Sept. 26-30, 2009, the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) presented Dr. Carol Evans, from the Center for Asymmetric Warfare (CAW), with its esteemed President's Award. The Center for Asymmetric Warfare is located at Pt.Mugu on Naval Base Ventura County. It is affilaited with the Naval Postgraduate School. The CAW is a federal government organization that was established in 1999 in recognition of the need to support US military forces...

As this edition of Small Craft Advisory hits the street, NASBLA is set to convene its 50th annual conference in Corpus Christi, Texas, and kick off a yearlong celebration of the association’s 50th anniversary. We couldn’t have picked a better destination to begin this commemorative year, and we are eagerly anticipating the hospitality Texas Boating Law Administrator Alfonso Campos and his staff have planned. Working cooperatively, NASBLA staff and the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife have assembled a strong and engaging program...

In May of 2009, CAW partnered with the InfraGard Los Angeles Chapter and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to develop and conduct the School Terrorism Awareness and Response Exercise (STAR). STAR Focused on a school takeover and hostage scenario perpetrated by a little known, but well equipped terrorist group that infiltrated a school while it was in session. During the training portion of STAR, seminars on terrorism and school violence were conducted by recognized subject matter experts for law enforcement...

Local and federal law enforcement agents will respond to a mock terrorist attack at a high school in Pico Rivera on Saturday. The daylong School Terrorism Awareness and Response Exercise will be held at El Rancho High School at 6501 Passons Blvd. Sheriff's deputies, the city of Pico Rivera and the FBI will be among the participants. The exercise will include an "officer-down" rescue, featuring simulated weapons fire...

Given our nation’s current budget situations, many agencies are feeling economic pressure at the federal, state and local levels. Work time has become more valuable, making it critical for businesses of all types to operate in the most effi cient manner. The Maine Marine Patrol recently participated in a pilot program to maximize the agency’s efficiency and effectiveness. As a law enforcement agency, it is imperative that Maine Marine Patrol receives information that is correct and timely. Speedy access to necessary information assists law enforcement...

Vigilance, balance and preparedness were the key words at a discussion Tuesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley about security in a post-9/11 world. The morning event was the first in the 2008-09 series of the Corporate Leaders Breakfasts hosted by California Lutheran University. It was the first time the Thousand Oaks private university has held the breakfast series off campus, and about 200 business and community leaders were on hand for the panel discussion.

Guarding the nation's borders and airports is hard enough, but security experts are brainstorming how to watch over the country's 12,000 miles of coastline during a two-day conference this week at Point Mugu. When the 200-nautical-mile buffer zone that makes up U.S. territorial waters is included, that amounts to almost 2.5 million square miles of open water to patrol. It's the kind of problem that keeps some officials up at night, said Craig Powell, a former Navy SEAL and now manager of the Littoral Dominance Center. The facility...

Audio Recording.

The Center for Asymmetric Warfare based at Pt. Mugu, CA, convened key participants in a roundtable discussion designed to determine how ready the nation's capitol is for a natural disaster or a man-made emergency. The Washington Headquarters Services, within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and CAW conducted the exercise at Georgetown University, hosted by the School of Foreign Service and the Government Department. The CAW is a federal government...