On Monday, May 16, 2011, thousands of players across the United States received notification of a simulated catastrophic earthquake in the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ), officially kicking off the National Level Exercise 2011 (NLE 11) functional exercise. From May 16–19, 2011, Federal, state, regional, local, international, nongovernmental, and private sector partners participated in the exercise, the capstone event of a White House-directed, congressionally mandated cycle of planning and preparedness events. Notably, exercise activities were carefully balanced with ongoing efforts to respond to and recover from real-world flooding and tornado-related disasters in the Southern and Central United States. Although some partners, including the four states in FEMA Region IV (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee), had to reduce their participation in NLE 11 due to these events, their actions, requests, and decisions were simulated to allow for robust and realistic exercise play. Simultaneously conducting NLE 11 and managing real-world disasters resulted in a realistic “worst-case scenario.” Consequently, players were able to test the Nation’s ability to respond to several devastating events, strengthening the country’s preparedness through their efforts.
Author Archive for Public Intelligence
Archistrategos.
Afghanistan
Afghan Uniformed Police Smartbook
Task Force Phoenix has been working in partnership with other nations in training the Afghan Uniformed Police. Civilian Mentor Teams are mentoring senior police leadership at the Kabul police academy. The U.S. is providing basic training courses at a central training facility in Kabul and eight Regional Training Centers in other provinces. More than 62,000 members of the Afghan Uniformed Police, Afghan National Auxiliary Police, and Border Police have completed Police Academy Training programs at U.S. facilities. Over 12,000 have also completed more advanced training courses in specialized areas such as firearms, crowd control, investigative techniques, and domestic violence. In the past year, the Task Force Phoenix has enhanced the Afghan National Police training program with over 200 Mobile training teams and advisors around the country.
National Security Agency
NSA Possible Domestic Interception/Collection Points Map
A map and list of possible locations of NSA domestic interception points inside the United States. The list was presented by computer security researcher Jacob Appelbaum at a recent event held at the Whitney Museum in New York along with filmmaker Laura Poitras and ex-NSA employee William Binney. One of the addresses, an AT&T building on Folsom Street in San Francisco, is the location of Room 641A which was the subject of multiple lawsuits regarding warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens. A recent article in Wired quoted Binney as estimating that there are likely ten to twenty of these locations around the country.
U.S. Marine Corps
(U//FOUO) U.S. Marine Corps Tentative Manual for Partnering Operations
In warfighting and counterinsurgency operations, partnering is a command arrangement between a US security force and a host nation (HN) security force in which both forces operate together to achieve mission success and to build the capacity and capability of the HN force. Partnering is not an end, but a deliberate process, a means to an end. A near-term goal might be the standup and development of a HN force increasingly capable of independent operations and decreasingly dependent upon US partnered support. An intermediate objective might be the transition of lead security responsibility from US to HN force. But the ultimate goal is to become “un”-partnered, to enable the HN force to assume full responsibility for security and stability. In warfighting and counterinsurgency partnering, divorce is not a bad ending, it is the desired outcome.
U.S. Army
(U//FOUO) U.S. Army Regulation 190-56 Civilian Police and Security Guard Program
This regulation establishes the Department of the Army Civilian Police and Security Guard (DACP/SG) Program. It assigns responsibilities and establishes policy, standards, and procedures for the effective implementation of the DACP/SG Program. This regulation applies to all Department of the Army civilian personnel in career series 0083 and 0085 and contract security personnel employed by the U.S. Army and involved in the safeguarding and protection of personnel and property.
U.S. Army
(U//FOUO) U.S. Army Regulation 525–13 Antiterrorism
This regulation establishes the Army Antiterrorism (AT) Program to protect personnel (Soldiers, members of other Services, Department of the Army (DA) civilian employees, Department of Defense (DOD) contractors and Family members of DOD employees), information, property, and facilities (including civil work and like projects) in all locations and situations against terrorism.
Department of Defense
(U//FOUO) DoD Stability Operations Capabilities Assessment 2012
This report provides an assessment of Department of Defense (DoD) efforts over the past two years to implement requirements set forth in the 2009 DoD Instruction 3000.05, Stability Operations. It highlights significant initiatives currently underway or planned throughout DoD and provides recommendations and key findings to achieve further progress.
Headline
Boston Police Patrolman Vaden Scantlebury Occupy Protester Choker Photos
The following series of photos was taken by Paul Weiskel at the Boston Commons on April 15, 2012. The photos depict a Boston Police Department patrolman identified as Vaden Scantlebury who grabs a protester by the neck and then becomes…
News
Lost-Links and Mid-Air Collisions: The Problems With Domestic Drones
Most of the public discussion surrounding the use of drones both internationally and domestically has focused on issues of privacy or civilian casualties. Due to the technical complexity of drone operations, there has been little media examination of the practical feasibility of widespread domestic drone deployment. In February, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2012 was signed into law clearing the way for more than 30,000 domestic drones by 2020. The law requires the FAA to create procedures for commercially-operated drones by 2015 and enables law enforcement agencies to operate small-scale drones at low altitudes. While this has a number of negative implications for the right to privacy, such as the lack of any laws governing the usage of data collected via drones, the thought of a future where U.S. skies are filled with an array of drones has a much larger, more practical problem: is it even logistically possible to operate thousands of pilot-less aircraft in the domestic airspace?
Federal Bureau of Investigation
(U//LES) FBI Motorcycle Gang Trademarks Logo to Prevent Undercover Infiltration
As of 2 May 2011, the International Chapter of the Vagos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (Vagos) trademarked their “cuts” – the patches which identify their OMG affiliation – in an effort to prevent law enforcement agencies from inserting undercover officers into their organization. The Vagos added the ® symbol to the bottom center of the large back patch as shown in photo 1. There are only about 20 of these new patches which are currently being worn by members. It is believed that the new patches will be given out to new members as they are vetted by the Vagos leadership. By doing this, the Vagos believe they will have exclusive rights to the Vagos patch and no one, including undercover officers, would be able to wear the patch without the consent of the International Vagos OMG leadership.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
FBI High Value Detainee Interrogation Group “Advance the Science of Interrogation” Contract Announcement
This is the Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) Laboratory Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) BAA-202200 for the High Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG) under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2)(i) to provide for the competitive selection of research proposals for behavioral science research to advance the science and practice of intelligence interviewing and interrogation. This is an unrestricted solicitation. The NAICS Code for this acquisition is 541720 and small business size standard is $19 million.
News
Public-Private Partnerships Expand Amidst Cybersecurity Fears
A fascinating article in the San Jose Mercury News discusses the recent expansion of public-private partnerships in the growing effort to combat cyber threats from foreign governments and criminals. These partnerships occur through formal agreements between major corporations and government-backed organizations, such as law enforcement, the military or research institutions. The agreements usually involve sharing of intelligence between the government and corporate representatives, as well as participation in threat reporting programs and security exercises. In some cases, the partnerships relate directly to research and development regarding ways to mitigate security threats.
FEMA
FEMA Research Report: How to Improve Public’s Suspicious Activity Reporting
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Individual and Community Preparedness Division partnered with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) on a project to research and develop a strategy to improve the public’s awareness and reporting of suspicious activity. In early 2010, IACP conducted research of contemporary and historical practices intended to improve the public’s reporting of suspicious activity. The literature review showed that little research existed on the motivations and barriers that affect whether or not individuals report information to law enforcement. To close this gap in data, IACP developed a three phase primary research strategy. This report provides an overview of key research findings and provides insights and recommendations that support national and local campaigns.
Canada
Canada Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre (ITAC) Occupy Wall Street Bulletins
Several Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre (ITAC) bulletins were obtained via an information request from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) by Paroxysms. Most of the documents were also simultaneously released to the Globe and Mail, though the collection released to Paroxysms is more complete and contains several additional bulletins that are not included in the other collection.
U.S. Air Force
(U//FOUO) U.S. Air Force Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) Airpower Lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan
“Enduring Airpower Lessons from Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF) and Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF)” is one of three lessons learned (L2) focus areas directed by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CSAF) at CORONA Top 2008. This report is the third and last in a series of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) L2 reports produced for fiscal year 2009 and focuses on Small UAS (SUAS) capabilities and issues.
Department of Defense
DoD Joint Spectrum Center Predator Drone Frequency Analysis Reports
Several reports from the Department of Defense’s Joint Spectrum Center were originally published in April 2010 by a small blog called DoD Leaks. The blog published less than a dozen documents over a two month span and then ceased all activity. The blog’s description states that it was created in response to Cryptome’s call for more publication of “for official use only” documents that are available in the public sphere. These documents relate to frequency allocation and electromagnetic interference tests conducted in relation to datalinks used by Predator drones.
U.S. Army
(U//FOUO) U.S. Army Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SUAV) Airspace Command and Control (A2C2) Handbook
The purpose of this handbook is to enhance understanding of Army airspace command and control (A2C2) to mitigate risks between small unit unmanned aerial vehicles (SUAVs) and rotary wing operations below the coordinating altitude. This handbook provides leaders at the brigade and below with guidelines in the form of airspace coordination techniques and procedures regarding SUAV mission planning and airspace deconfliction.
California
U.C. Davis Pepper Spray Incident Reynoso Task Force Report
Our overriding conclusion can be stated briefly and explicitly. The pepper spraying incident that took place on November 18, 2011 should and could have been prevented. On November 18, 2011, University of California, Davis, police officers used pepper spray on students sitting in a line in the midst of a protest and “occupation” on the campus quad. Viral images of the incident triggered immediate and widespread condemnation of the police action. The UC Davis protest focused on and drew strength from widespread discontent among students about the increase in tuition and fees at the University of California. The incident also took place against the backdrop of worldwide student protests, including demonstrations by the Occupy Wall Street movement, which triggered similar events across the nation. These protests presented challenges for all affected universities and municipalities in attempting to balance the goals of respecting freedom of speech, maintaining the safety of both protesters and non-protesters, and protecting the legitimate interests of government and the non-protesting public.
Department of Defense
DoD SERE Pre-Academic Laboratory (PREAL) Enhanced Interrogation Techniques Manual
A manual produced by the DoD’s Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA) and used by instructors in the JPRA’s Survival Evasion Resistance Escape (SERE) courses to train participants for the potential experience of detention. According to Jason Leopold and Jeffrey Kaye of Truthout, the manual was reportedly consulted during high-level discussions in the Bush administration regarding potential “enhanced interrogation techniques.” Several techniques described in the manual are mentioned in a series of controversial memos commonly referred to as the “Torture memos” authored by Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel attorney John Yoo.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
(U//LES) FBI International Expansion and Influence of US-Based Gangs
The purpose of this assessment is to explore the expansion and influence of US-based gangs abroad and their illicit operations and associations with foreign criminal organizations. For the purpose of this assessment, the term “gang” encompasses both street gangs and outlaw motorcycle gangs. In addition to FBI and open source reporting, the following law enforcement agencies from the United States, Canada, Central America, the Netherlands, and United Kingdom were surveyed to obtain data for the assessment.
News
National Level Exercise 2012 Will Focus on Cyber Attacks Against Critical Infrastructure
Rather than combating natural disasters or a nuclear detonation in a major U.S. city, this year’s National Level Exercise will focus on cyber threats to critical infrastructure and the “real world” implications for government and law enforcement of large-scale cyber attacks. National Level Exercise 2012 (NLE 2012) is scheduled to take place in June and will involve emergency response personnel from at least thirteen states, four countries, nearly every major governmental department as well as a number of private companies, non-governmental organizations, institutions of higher education and local fusion centers. The exercise will span four FEMA regions and will include scenarios affecting the National Capital Region.
FEMA
(U//FOUO) FEMA National Level Exercise 2012 Overview Presentation
National Level Exercise (NLE) 2012 Overview for Northeast Disaster Recovery Information X-Change (NEDRIX) from March 14, 2012.
FEMA
FEMA National Level Exercise 2012 Private Sector Participant Guide
This document is intended to provide private sector stakeholders with an overview of NLE 2012, to include a discussion of the exercise timeline, a snapshot of the exercise scenario, and a review of the various potential exercise participation opportunities.
Headline
Bahrain Protest Photos April 2012
The following photos were taken in late March and early April 2012.
Maryland
(U//FOUO/LES) Baltimore Police Officer Safety Warning: Fighting Bandanas
Baltimore Police Department Officer Safety Warning on “Fighting Bandanas” from December 7, 2011.