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Note from publisher: Special thanks to Jim Fernandez, LSU Provost and Executive Director of NCSRT, and to Kathleen Wylie, Director of LEO, for their assistance with, and permission for, this article. LSU's participation in anti-terrorism training and research continues to grow and to receive the Federal support it richly deserves.

Whenever terrorist attacks occur throughout the world today, the emergency personnel responding to the crises are likely to have been trained in the Baton Rouge area. Since Louisiana State University established the National Center for Security Research and Training (NCSRT) in February 2003, the center has instructed thousands of people from 81 countries in anti-terrorism and counter-terrorism techniques.

Jim Fernandez, LSU Vice Provost and Executive Director of the NCSRT, says the center combines the resources of five separate units: the Anti-terrorism Assistance Program (ATAP); the National Center for Biomedical Research and Training (NCBRT); the Law Enforcement Training Program (LETP); the Fire and Emergency Training Institute (FETI); and Law Enforcement Online (LEO). LSU received $48.3 million in federal funding last year to support its NCSRT operations. The center has 153 full time staff members and employs approximately 400 part time faculty instructors and student workers.

LSU's NCSRT is an integral part of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium which includes Texas A&M, New Mexico Tech, the U.S. Department of Energy's Nevada Test Site and the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anderson, AL. "We do training for the U.S. Office of Domestic Preparedness which is part of the Department of Homeland Security in all the areas they require," says Fernandez. "LSU was involved with fireman training and many homeland security related programs long before 911. There were many smart people before me here who saw the need and developed these programs for safety, security and emergency preparedness. "Each program reported to a different person in the past. I created the NCSRT to provide an infrastructure for all of the units to report to the same people. Working on funding and different projects, we were able to bring all those assets together instead of recreating the wheel. We just took it to the next level."

The Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program provides training in anti-terrorism subjects to international delegations in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security. ATAP courses include hostage negotiations, crisis response team training, post blast investigation, and rural border patrol operations. Fernandez says State Department representatives visit foreign countries to make an assessment of their special training needs.

"Based on the assessment, they will schedule classes that we conduct in Baton Rouge," Fernandez says. "The State Department flies the foreign delegation in and they are housed at the Louisiana State Police Academy. Our training manuals are translated into the native languages. Half of what they learn is cultural. They also learn about how Americans live and about our justice system."

Each delegation is welcomed to Baton Rouge by the mayor or his representative and there is a welcoming reception at the LSU faculty club. The NCSRT also invites LSU students or faculty from that country to address the delegation. The state police hold a barbecue for the trainees and a field trip to New Orleans is included as part of the training.

"They see how Americans live and how we really are," says Fernandez. "They learn a lot. When we watch the world news on television, we often see the people that we train here. They are actually on the front line in their countries."

The Law Enforcement Training Program is a residential training program located at the National Guard facility in Carville, LA. Law enforcement agencies and private security firms from throughout the state send personnel to the LETP for professional education in at least 15 areas of police science.

Located on Nicholson Drive near LSU, the Fire and Emergency Training Institute was created by the state Legislature in 1963. Courses there include industrial and marine fire fighting, emergency medical care and a hazardous materials program. FETI also has eight instructors strategically located around Louisiana to train volunteer fire departments in the field.

Fernandez worked on a project for the Federal Bureau of Investigation for four years as the director of Law Enforcement Online which was created to further law enforcement communications capabilities. LEO was developed by LSU and the Science Application International Corporation (SAIC). Fernandez says LSU worked with the U.S. Department of Justice and lobbied Congress to get the initial funding for the program. "We received $350,000 in the first year of funding; this year it is in the $20 million range," says Fernandez.

In 1995, LEO started with 20 members and grew to 1,000 members within a year. As of May 2005, LEO currently serves more than 46,000 members and is growing at a rate of more than 1,200 a month. In the post 9/11 world, LEO has seen information sharing triple each year. In fiscal year 2004 the LEO Support Center posted nearly 25,000 requests to share information. Fernandez expects this number of requests to double this fiscal year. The membership has the benefit of 24/7 services provided by the LEO Support Center. "Because LEO is an anytime, anywhere system, the 24/7 schedule has allowed real-time support for all time zones as well as immediate turnaround for all requests," says Kathleen Wylie, director of the LEO Support Center."

"It is an information sharing infrastructure and it is very user friendly," Fernandez adds. "As long as you have an internet connection, the proper security software and a password, you can access LEO. Applications are vetted by the FBI before accounts are approved for membership.

"In the past, there was not an easy way for law enforcement people to get their email and other alerts. For example, if Homeland Security is raising the alert level, the FBI sends it out to all local law enforcement agencies on the system. If someone is sending you information on LEO, you know that it is real and official. You don't have to verify it as if you were looking at a random site on the internet. If it is on LEO, it has been vetted by the FBI."

Fernandez says LEO provides great jobs for LSU students as technical operators for the national help desk. The students pass FBI background security checks. They also have the experience of working for the government when they graduate.

"LEO allows you to share information," says Fernandez. "Early on in LEO, and this happens everyday, there was a case where police were investigating a crime in which somebody was shot. There was a certain bullet, but they did not know what kind it was. They took a picture of the bullet and asked the question on LEO,`Does anybody recognize what this is?'

"Another cop responded, `Yes, I know.' It was very specific to a certain kind of weapon. They were able to get information from the manufacturer about the places in the area that sold the bullet. Based on that information exchange, they were able to find out who purchased the bullet and solve the crime."

Fernandez says the NCSRT may keep a low profile in Baton Rouge but the center has a large economic impact on the community.

"Homeland security is a growing industry that will be around for a long time," he says. "We bring in lots of federal funding, create many great jobs, and have trained many people. It's good for LSU and Baton Rouge. It's good for the state, the country and the world."

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