June 30, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

Strong Angel III: Integrated disaster response demonstration

Working together to save lives by improving information flow across boundaries

In 2006, more than 800 volunteers from a diverse group of organizations gathered in San Diego, California, to undertake Strong Angel III, a disaster response demonstration. The demonstration explored how military, humanitarian, local government, and private organizations work together during man-made or natural disasters. Strong Angel III focused on simulating those aspects of post-disaster conditions that specifically impact communication, information-sharing, and coordination. Through this intense exercise, team members from different organizations were able to work together more effectively, improve individual impact from the field, and more easily fuse data from various sources, strengthening situational awareness and creating more useful information for decision-making. Watch the video • Strong Angel III: Disaster response demonstration 5:08 Min; Windows Media file On This Page The challenge The challenge Simulating a lethal pandemic and cyber-terrorist attack, Strong Angel III addressed common communication and collaboration challenges that cross-organizational teams experience when working together during the plan, respond, and recover cycles, including: • Easily working together when systems are incompatible. • Coordinating roles and responsibilities across discrete organizations. • Providing one central place to access and share information for situational awareness. • Supporting and maintaining continuity of operations. • Remaining effective offline or in bandwidth-constrained environments. • Easily and rapidly communicating field intelligence back to the command center. Top of page The participants Participants in and sponsors of Strong Angel III came from military, humanitarian, and private organizations that included the U.S. Navy, the American Red Cross, Microsoft, and ESRI. • See a detailed list of participants and sponsors Top of page The results Using available technologies from Microsoft, the Strong Angel III team was able to: • Easily communicate and collaborate across geographic, technical, and environmental boundaries before, during, and after an event. • Improve bidirectional data flow by building bridges between applications, devices, and operating systems. • Help mobile first responders to act immediately with instant alerts and notifications. • Address issues more quickly and directly by sharing and working with dynamic information, geographically represented on detailed digital maps. • Coordinate faster and more effectively, with the right tools, people, and information available in one place. • Remain productive and effective throughout the simulation with the ability to continue working from the field when offline or in a bandwidth-constrained environment. Top of page The technologies Microsoft technologies highlighted in the Strong Angel III demonstration include: • Microsoft Office Groove 2007 • Microsoft Virtual Earth • Microsoft Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT)

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June 30, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

QinetiQ North America Technology Solutions Group announced the release of two suicide bomber detection systems. The SPO-20 and SPO-7R are non-imaging passive remote detection systems that can reveal the presence of potential suicide bombers and other anomalies, at ranges out to 30 meters, with a probability of detection exceeding 90 percent. Both systems employ passive millimeter wave technology to look beneath clothing for concealed IEDs, without running afoul of privacy issues associated with conventional imaging systems. The screening process and real-time detection requires less than three seconds.
Immigration Tracker, Mobile Armor and more

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June 30, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

According to reports on 30 June 2008, an unidentified group of militants attacked a houseboat owned by Shell in the Olama area of Rivers State. The attack, which occurred at approximately 1800 local time (1700 UTC), killed two of the houseboat’s security operatives. The boat houses Shell employees and naval personnel.
Following the initial attack, the militants proceeded to Bonny Island in Rivers State, where they engaged members of the Joint Task Force (JTF) — a security organization formed to combat the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and other militant groups — in a firefight for several hours. The firefight reportedly resulted in the deaths of three civilians and two militants; only one JTF soldier was injured. No group has claimed responsibility for this attack.

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June 30, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

On 28 June 2008 a bomb exploded in an apartment complex in Tripoli, located approximately 43 mi/70 km north of Beirut. The explosion killed one person, seriously injured more than 28 others and caused heavy damage to the building and the surrounding area. The explosive device — equipped with a timer — was reportedly placed inside an elevator in the complex, which is located on Syria Street in the Bab Tabbaneh district; it exploded at approximately 0530 local time (0230 UTC). The neighborhood is predominantly Sunni (who typically support the ruling government coalition) and has been the site of recent unrest between supporters of rival political groups. Shortly after the explosion occurred, several people were injured by sniper fire, which reportedly came from a nearby neighborhood where opposition supporters reside. An investigation into the bombing continues, but no one has claimed responsibility for it as yet.

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June 30, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

 On 30 June 2008 the separatist region of Abkhazia announced the closure of its border with Georgia effective on 1 July, following several explosions in the region. Earlier on 30 June, two bombs exploded at a minibus stop near a market in the region’s capital of Sukhumi, injuring six people. On 29 June, two explosions occurred in Gagra, a resort located approximately 45 mi/75 km northwest of Sukhumi, injuring another six people. On 27 June, a local U.N. mission was also hit by a bomb, although that incident did not result in any injuries or damage. Abkhazian officials have blamed Georgian special forces for the incidents, a claim that Georgia subsequently denied. The developments come amid increasing tensions between Georgia and its separatist regions, as well as neighboring Russia, which maintains peacekeeping forces in those locations.

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June 30, 2008 by Tim McDowell.

Allegations of a police cover-up following a young girl’s death sparked rioting in the Weng’an County region of Guizhou province on 28 June 2008. Rioters reportedly damaged vehicles and set fire to a police building after allegations emerged that police officers ignored a family’s claim that their daughter had been raped and murdered. The girl’s body was later found, prompting angry residents to take to the streets and surround the local police headquarters. The extent of the violence is unclear as official state media in China have censored most reports coming out of Weng’an County. One account from a resident in Guizhou province claims that police officers ruled the girl’s death a suicide and did not conduct a proper autopsy. No other details on the incident have emerged. Reports indicate that the situation is now calm; however, local sources indicate that the atmosphere is still tense with police officers demanding that rioters turn themselves in.

In response to the unrest, the Chinese government unveiled a campaign to defuse protests ahead of the Olympics in August. Authorities have undertaken measures to prevent petitioners from entering Beijing, stating that the goal is to have no mass petitions and no mass incidents in the capital while the Olympic Games are in progress.

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