Newswise — As we approach the five-year anniversary of our nation's worst terrorist attack, the question that most people have is: How prepared are we today, at all levels of government, to respond to another terrorist attack or major emergency incident?
That is a question that has been posed to Dr. Robert S. Fleming frequently in recent months. Fleming, professor in and chairman of the Management and Management Information Systems Department at Rowan University, is a nationally recognized expert in emergency and terrorism preparedness.
Unlike most of us, he has been actively engaged in assessing levels of preparedness and assisting governmental entities and emergency responders in enhancing their "response readiness" for all types of emergency incidents including terrorist attacks years before the tragic events of September 11, 2001.
Fleming has been an advocate of ensuring the "battle readiness" of the local emergency responders who each and every day serve as our nation's "domestic defenders."
"The importance of ensuring readiness of local first responders cannot be overemphasized in that they will be on the scene long before regional, state and federal resources arrive, and the operational and command decisions that they make will significantly influence the incident outcomes," said Fleming.
Fleming has an extensive record of service at the local, county, regional, state and federal levels. Representative related professional activities include:
"¢ Conducted research on terrorism preparedness and developed a model for assessing organizational vulnerability to acts of terrorism.
"¢ Served on the U.S. Department of Justice Stakeholders Group, which presented a comprehensive set of recommendations for addressing domestic terrorism to the Department of Justice and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"¢ Served on U.S. Department of Justice Panel that recommended awarding of terrorism preparedness equipment grants to the nation's 120 largest cities and counties.
"¢ Chairs the National Fire Academy Board of Visitors, the federal advisory committee under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that reviewed and recommended to the Secretary of Homeland Security the credentialing system that will be implemented for credentialing first responders for purposes of response to major incidents.
"¢ Chairs the Pennsylvania Fire Service Certification Advisory Committee, which is responsible for providing advice and counsel as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania implements processes for certifying and credentialing response personnel.
"¢ Chairs the Chester County Local Emergency Planning Committee, which addresses issues of emergency preparedness within the County of Chester and coordinates with other counties within the region.
Fleming has worked extensively with the media since September 11, 2001. He is available to discuss an array of pertinent issues including:
"¢ Terrorism Preparedness Today"¢ Rethinking Vulnerability to Terrorism"¢ Preparing First Responders: Post 9/11"¢ Lessons Learned on 9/11"¢ First Responders as Our Nation's "Domestic Defenders" "¢ Assessing Organizational Vulnerability to Acts of Terrorism"¢ Assessing Community and Regional Vulnerability to Acts of Terrorism"¢ Impact of 9/11 on Fire and Emergency Service Recruitment and Retention"¢ Business Impact of 9/11"¢ Changing Business Practices: Post 9/11"¢ Responder Health and Wellness Issues: Post 9/11"¢ Establishment and Operation of the Department of Homeland Security
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