The University currently is doing its part in the war on terrorby hosting anti-terrorism programs sponsored by the Department forHomeland Security.
The University established the first of the National Center forSecurity Research and Training programs in the early 1960s tocoordinate efforts in security research and training.
According to the NCSRT Web site, the organization’s purpose isto establish a coordinated, university-based system to promoteinteraction and collaboration toward the common objectives ofsafety and security.
NCSRT also was established to coordinate the activities ofexisting units that focus on security and emergency preparednessand partner with public and private entities.
There are five programs under NCSRT: Law Enforcement Online,Fire Training Institute, Law Enforcement Training Program, theAnti-Terrorism Assistance Program and the National Center forBiomedical Research and Training, said Greg Johnson, assistantdirector of ATAP.
ATAP and NCBRT are the two programs under the security researchand training center, which directly address terrorism and theeffort to fight it.
ATAP, established in 1990, currently is providing training innorth Baton Rouge to law enforcement officials, said Jim Fernandez,vice provost of Academic Affairs and executive director for thebiomedical research training center.
Fernandez said program representatives travel to foreigncountries, assess security needs and enter into an agreement withthose countries, Fernandez said.
The representatives stay from two to eight weeks and, later,ATAP trainers are sent to those countries.
They return to the U.S. with better ideas and more knowledge ofnecessary anti-terrorist training.
Fernandez said ATAP has trained 82 countries thus far.
According to the Web site, the program teaches courses such asadvanced crisis response team training, critical incidentmanagement, explosive incident countermeasures and hostagenegotiations.
NCBRT, established in the mid-90s, trains local law enforcementand fire department officials throughout the country, said WoodyTirquit, associate director of the program.
The University manages the program but does not provide anyactual training on campus.
Fernandez said LSU is in a group with New Mexico TechnicalInstitute, Texas A&M, the Center for Domestic Preparedness inAlabama and the Nevada Test Site.
“Each institution in the group has a specialty,” Fernandez said.”If a certain state needs training in a particular area, theDepartment of Homeland Security alerts whichever institutionfocuses on that area.”
The University’s specialty is law enforcement and chemicalbioterrorism.
NCBRT teaches courses that include emergency response todomestic biological incidents, public safety weapons of massdestruction response, sampling techniques and guidelines,healthcare leadership and administrative decision-making inresponse to WMD incidents.