Secretary Janet Napolitano to Keynote Symposium

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U.S. Department of Homeland Security

35+ partnering Federal, State, Local, and Tribal agencies of the “Interagency Council for Applied Homeland Security Technology” (ICAHST) are hosting the Counter-IED Symposium taking place December 1-3, 2009 at the Gaylord National located in National Harbor, MD. This 2 ½ day forum on Improvised Explosive Device (IED) defeat and prevention is open to all Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of Defense, federal, state and local government employees and industry, academia and laboratories sponsored by the Government. The Symposium will include a technology exposition showcasing the latest technology to defeat IED attacks.

Advancing research and technology to prevent IEDs and collaboration - ranging from protection of critical infrastructure to sharing information with DoD, federal, state, and local partners - have become the key focus areas anticipated to play the most significant role in our counter-IED effort. The four main focus areas are Threat Environments: Domestic and Military Response; Applications of Social & Behavioral Science to Threat Analysis and Prevention: Research & Technology; Incident Response and Training; and Information Sharing. In addition, the Symposium will focus on the unique nature of domestic response and military response; C-IED training; forensics; human factors and social analysis.

No issue is more pressing than homeland security. IEDs have been used by terrorists in numerous attacks over the years and remain as a weapon of strategic influence and a formidable threat to homeland security. They are easy to make, difficult to defeat, and can cause large-scale death and destruction. A terrorist threat or incident may occur in the United States at any time and without warning and many experts believe these types of incidents can and will involve improvised explosive devices. This Symposium will emphasize the use of technology products and services as a means of combating and countering IED’s in the United States. It will bring together members of those communities engaged in this nation’s counter terrorism effort, namely the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office for Bombing Prevention (OBP) and the Science and Technology Directorate; the Department of Justice (DOJ), including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives (ATF), and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the Department of Defense including the “Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office” (CTTSO) / Technical Support Working Group (TSWG); the Department of Energy (Remote Sensing Laboratory); the U.S. Army National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC); the US Navy; the US Intelligence Community; the Department of Defense and various state/local law enforcement agencies to address key issues and critical mission needs in support of IED defeat and prevention.

Defeating IED attacks in the United States is a joint effort. This Symposium, with its extensive attendee interaction and technology exposition, will provide an unprecedented experience that will help federal lead agencies and other interagency partners to work together to better understand the significant challenges and strategies that face counter-IED efforts.