A quick search through articles on DomesticPreparedness.com for the word “resilience” reveals a
possible shift in focus for preparedness professionals over the years. In 2005, the Domestic
Preparedness Journal published many resilience articles that focused on creating standards and plans in
order to more rapidly return to normalcy. By 2010, there seemed to be a greater focus on funding,
grants, and other resources needed to be able to sustain operations when disasters occur. By 2015,
education, communication, and collaboration were key buzz words in articles on resilience. Then 2020
arrived along with much reflection on what could have been done better to be resilient in the face of an
unprecedented event and how to endure the consequences of past decisions.
This year marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Many events were held to commemorate the
lives that were lost and to honor those who survived yet still ran into the danger zones to save lives
in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC. However, one special event hosted in Washington, DC on 30
September 2021 was particularly impactful as it recounted that fateful day through firsthand accounts.
Some presenters have told their stories many times over the years while others shared their heroic
actions publicly for the first time in two decades. The District of Columbia’s 2021 Interoperability
Summit “20 Year Anniversary of the September 11, 2001 Attack on America: Never Forget,” was organized by
the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency’s (HSEMA) Office of the
Statewide Interoperability Coordinator (SWIC), in conjunction with the Metropolitan Washington Council
of Governments (MWCOG) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency’s (CISA) Emergency Communications Division (ECD).
On 27 June 2017, the Urban Assembly School for Emergency Management (UASEM), the first high school in the United States dedicated to the field, graduated its first cohort of students. Over the past four years, UASEM has engaged students in exploring careers in first response through trips to the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) training headquarters, logistics at the New York City Emergency Management Emergency Operations Center, and internships in emergency management organizations across the region.
Neither human nor robot, a digital police officer (D-PO) is a vision in machine teammates: an
artificial intelligence-based partner that can be reached through multiple devices including the patrol
car’s on-board computer and officers’ mobile devices. A D-PO has access to multiple data sources
including live security camera feeds and criminal databases as well as other D-POs assigned to officers.
Scientists and engineers, like those at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), are working in the
field of human-machine teaming to bridge the gap between today’s tools and the machine teammates of the
future.
Whether constructing a home, creating community programs, or developing multijurisdictional plans
and procedures, it is not enough to just construct, create, or develop. A home that collapses, a program
that is not sustainable, and plans and procedures that lack continuity are examples that should motivate
emergency preparedness professionals to build resilience into every planning process.
As a result of the changing climate, natural hazards like hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires are
expected to continue to increase in both intensity and frequency. Therefore, it is critical that
communities around the globe prioritize increasing their overall resiliency.
Publisher note: Rob Schnepp was one of DomPrep’s first writers and has provided council and
guidance to me over the past two decades. I asked him to provide his personal account of the 9/11
attacks as well as the subsequent anthrax attacks. They serve as a reminder of how many felt following
those attacks: uncertainty about when and where another threat would emerge, an urgent need to prepare
for another terrorist attack, and unity of effort. Today, there is still uncertainty about what
potential threats are looming. However, it is time to bring back the urgency to prepare and the unity
required to move preparedness efforts forward.
Devastating events can open windows of opportunity. In emergency management, focusing events like
9/11 create opportunities for change. Tragedies like 9/11 or devastating hurricanes create a flurry of
activity in the short period that follows. This activity typically involves conversations about how to
make things better or make change. However, windows for these conversations always close.
Lest We Forget! The nation continues to confront questions presented by the 9/11 Commission Report. The report’s preface states, “September 11, 2001, was a day of unprecedented shock and suffering in […]
Disaster support often conjures the image of boots-on-the-ground responders providing aid to
survivors on scene. However, disaster support involves so much more that is accomplished at each phase
of the disaster management cycle. These efforts include creating codes and standards, building a
workforce, providing financial aid, and offering psychological support.
A quick search through articles on DomesticPreparedness.com for the word “resilience” reveals a
possible shift in focus for preparedness professionals over the years. In 2005, the Domestic
Preparedness Journal published many resilience articles that focused on creating standards and plans in
order to more rapidly return to normalcy. By 2010, there seemed to be a greater focus on funding,
grants, and other resources needed to be able to sustain operations when disasters occur. By 2015,
education, communication, and collaboration were key buzz words in articles on resilience. Then 2020
arrived along with much reflection on what could have been done better to be resilient in the face of an
unprecedented event and how to endure the consequences of past decisions. 
This year marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Many events were held to commemorate the
lives that were lost and to honor those who survived yet still ran into the danger zones to save lives
in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC. However, one special event hosted in Washington, DC on 30
September 2021 was particularly impactful as it recounted that fateful day through firsthand accounts.
Some presenters have told their stories many times over the years while others shared their heroic
actions publicly for the first time in two decades. The District of Columbia’s 2021 Interoperability
Summit “20 Year Anniversary of the September 11, 2001 Attack on America: Never Forget,” was organized by
the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency’s (HSEMA) Office of the
Statewide Interoperability Coordinator (SWIC), in conjunction with the Metropolitan Washington Council
of Governments (MWCOG) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency’s (CISA) Emergency Communications Division (ECD). 
Neither human nor robot, a digital police officer (D-PO) is a vision in machine teammates: an
artificial intelligence-based partner that can be reached through multiple devices including the patrol
car’s on-board computer and officers’ mobile devices. A D-PO has access to multiple data sources
including live security camera feeds and criminal databases as well as other D-POs assigned to officers.
Scientists and engineers, like those at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), are working in the
field of human-machine teaming to bridge the gap between today’s tools and the machine teammates of the
future. 
As a result of the changing climate, natural hazards like hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires are
expected to continue to increase in both intensity and frequency. Therefore, it is critical that
communities around the globe prioritize increasing their overall resiliency. 
Publisher note: Rob Schnepp was one of DomPrep’s first writers and has provided council and
guidance to me over the past two decades. I asked him to provide his personal account of the 9/11
attacks as well as the subsequent anthrax attacks. They serve as a reminder of how many felt following
those attacks: uncertainty about when and where another threat would emerge, an urgent need to prepare
for another terrorist attack, and unity of effort. Today, there is still uncertainty about what
potential threats are looming. However, it is time to bring back the urgency to prepare and the unity
required to move preparedness efforts forward. 
Devastating events can open windows of opportunity. In emergency management, focusing events like
9/11 create opportunities for change. Tragedies like 9/11 or devastating hurricanes create a flurry of
activity in the short period that follows. This activity typically involves conversations about how to
make things better or make change. However, windows for these conversations always close. 