September 11, 2022 – In Breaking News – The Times

If I told you that there’s a group of people who, for generation after generation, were devoted to being experts in:

Lifesaving in crises, medical detection, law enforcement, finding hidden weapons, drugs, cash, and more, military operations, conservation efforts, and protecting our homes by finding termites and bed bugs — not to mention water sources.

And then, if I told you these expert people did all this for free, just for the love of their fellow humans, you would probably not believe me.

But now, let me tell you that this group of remarkable, compassionate lifesavers isn’t even human. It is canine.

(Bretagne, the last 9/11 search dog from Ground Zero, in June of 2016 died at age 16 with her longtime handler and best friend Denise Corliss by her side. To Learn More about Bretagne (pronounced Brittany), see this touching article from TODAY at Here. Video courtesy of TODAY and YouTube.)

It is our dogs, the only other species that is truly a member of the human family and has been for thousands of years.

Dogs do all these critical things for us and so much more.

I don’t have room in this piece to list all the expert capabilities they perform for their human companions out of nothing more than love and devotion.

On Sept. 12, 2001, the day after the attack on the World Trade Center, I and some other New York City vets organized the veterinary MASH unit for Ground Zero.

(Learn More about Riley and the canine heroes of 9/11. Music credit: Hero (instrumental) by Matthew Anniss. Courtesy of American September and YouTube.)

The “pile” as it was known — the enormous mountain of red hot, burning debris from the Towers and other buildings that were destroyed the day before — was just two blocks from our medical unit.

Dogs were true heroes on ‘the pile‘

Everyone’s goal was to find survivors, and the fire department — which had lost hundreds that day — along with the NYPD and fire and policemen and women from services throughout the tri-state region, were doing their valiant utmost.

But the conditions were horrific. Staggering heat, thick, contaminated air, science-fiction-like debris. It was a scene from Dante’s Inferno.

(On the eve of the 20th anniversary of America’s darkest day, a new museum exhibit was opened to pay tribute to the unsung heroes of 9/11, the search and rescue dogs who combed through the rubble of the World Trade Center searching for survivors. Retired NYPD K9 Officer Steve Smaldon and his dog Hanson spent 150 days on the pile. Courtesy of Inside Edition and YouTube.)

The rescue workers were severely challenged.

Continue reading… Heroes worth remembering: the Ground Zero dogs who served after 9/11

9/11 First Responders Honored in 2021 ‘ASTORS’ Excellence and Government Awards

American Security Today’s Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards is the preeminent U.S. Homeland Security Awards Program, and now in its Seventh Year, recognizes industry leaders of Physical and Border Security, Cybersecurity, Emergency Preparedness – Management and Response, Law Enforcement, First Responders, as well as federal, state and municipal government agencies in the acknowledgment of their outstanding efforts to Keep our Nation Secure.

Thomas Richardson

• Excellence in Public Safety

  • • FDNY Chief of Department

    • Chief Richardson is a 40-year veteran and true servant leader who served tirelessly as a Battalion Chief in the aftermath of 9/11 – after having lost 343 of his colleagues, Chief Richardson never sounding retreat or surrender to those who tried to harm our Country.

Richard Blatus

• Excellence in Public Safety

  • • FDNY Assistant Chief of Operations

    • Assistant Chief of Operations Blatus, also a 40-year Department veteran who also served as a Battalion Chief in the aftermath of 9/11 attacks,  Chief Blatus continues to lead, to inspire, and to mentor firefighters.

James Albrecht

• Excellence in Public Safety

• A retired NYPD Captain, First Responder, and  Incident Command Management Member at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and many other major events across New York City.

• Captain Albrecht is also a Retired Police Chief who served as the Chief of Criminal Investigations for the United Nations and European Union police agencies in Kosovo, and is presently a Professor of Criminal Justice and Homeland Security at Pace University in New York City.

Derrick Driscoll

• Excellence in Homeland Security

  • • United States Marshals Service Deputy Director COO & Chief Risk Officer (Ret)

• Deputy Director Driscoll is a 27-year veteran of federal law enforcement recognized for his relentless and global pursuit of criminals and criminal organizations.

• Derrick now uses that same drive to build strategic alliances in the private sector, serving as the Principle of Strategic Alliances for Peraton’s Civil & Health Sector, where he leads the sector’s federal government strategy and engagement.

(Derrick Driscoll, United States Marshals Service. Courtesy of WMAR-2 News and YouTube.)

Frank Larkin

• Excellence in Public Safety

  • • National Advocate Veteran Suicide Prevention & Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

• In honor of Mr. Larkin’s career service to our Nation as a United States Secret Service Special Agent and First Responder to the World Trade Center; as a Navy SEAL and extraordinary leader who now leads a global effort to recognize early signs of TBI in our service members to prevent generations of grief to families and to society in the absence of these future leaders.  His efforts result from the loss of his beloved son Ryan, a Navy SEAL to suicide following repeated undiagnosed percussive injuries.

• Navy SEAL Special Warfare Operator First Class (SO1) Ryan F. Larkin, a decorated Navy SEAL operator and explosives breacher, Ryan was regularly exposed to high-impact blast waves throughout his 10 years of service. Ryan was a decorated U.S. Navy SEAL that had served his country honorably, including four combat deployments. 

• Ryan started experiencing headaches and other health issues and was diagnosed with PTSD. From research of him and his family it seems that his frustrations with his PTSD diagnosis, continued medication changes, and no improvement were beginning to wear thin on him.

• Ryan was honorably discharged from the Navy and sought out continued treatment at the VA. It seems as though his frustrations with his deteriorating health continued. He suffered nightmares, insomnia, and daily headaches.

• Ryan was vocal about his concerns and expressed that there was more going on within his brain. He also voiced that if something were to happen to him then he would like his brain to be donated to science for further research. After Ryan passed his family did just that. They had Ryan’s brain tissue donated for research.

• It was found that the “invisible wounds of war” that are so frequently discussed were a very real part of Ryan. His brain showed Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and lesions called astroglial scarring, which are lesions closely related to blast exposures. These microscopic tears are undetectable via standard MRI or PET scan.

(Listen to surviving dad Frank Larkin share lessons learned on the lookback in an effort to save lives in honor of his son, Ryan. At TAPS they say that “postvention is a critical component of any comprehensive suicide prevention strategy.” Learn about suicide risks and protective factors as well as our field-leading TAPS Suicide Postvention Model at https://www.taps.org/suicide. Courtesy of Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and YouTube. Posted on Oct 8, 2020.)

Are you a Veteran in crisis or concerned about one?

If you have been thinking about suicide, it is important to get help right away. If you need to talk with someone right now, resources are available 24/7.

Please call the Veterans Crisis Line to reach caring, qualified responders with the Department of Veterans Affairs, (many of them are Veterans themselves), at 1-800-959-8277.

For survivors in need of immediate suicide postvention support, please contact us at 800-959-8277 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

To Learn More about Mr. Larkin’s personal story, please go to https://americansecuritytoday.com/a-personal-reflection-on-the-impact-of-9-11/. Courtesy of PWPORG.org.

Last Weeks to Enter Nominations in 2022 ‘ASTORS Homeland Security Awards

Final Nominations are being accepted for the 2022 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards at https://americansecuritytoday.com/ast-awards/.

Comprehensive List of Categories Include:

Don’t see a Direct Hit for your Product, Agency or Organization?

Submit your category recommendation for consideration to Michael Madsen, AST Publisher, at: mmadsen@americansecuritytoday.com.

Homeland Security remains at the forefront of our national conversation as we experience an immigration crisis along our southern border, and crime rates that are dramatically higher than before the Pandemic across the United States.

These challenges have become a national priority with an influx of investments in innovative new technologies and systems.

The pinnacle of the Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program is the Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards Presentation Luncheon, an exclusive, affordable, gourmet, full-course plated meal event, in the heart of New York City, held at the International Security Conference & Exposition (ISC East) since it’s inception in 2017.

And who better to address the aforementioned challenges, and initiatives to meet today’s threat landscape than Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner (DEAC) Diane J. Sabatino of the Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the opening keynote speaker at the much-anticipated 2022 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Presentation Luncheon, on Wednesday, November 16th, 2022.

As the DEAC of the Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Mrs. Sabatino leads more than 31,000 employees and oversees an annual operating budget of $6.5 billion.

Register for the 2022 ‘ASTORS’ Luncheon Today

(Hear a recent interview with Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner (DEAC) Diane J. Sabatino held at Identity Week Europe on leveraging biometric comparison technology in U.S. air, maritime, and land border environments for the security of passengers, enhancing the customer experience and limiting the transmission of biological pathogens while respecting personal privacies and educating the public as the CBP further expands the implementation of biometrics to keep up with threats to the aviation and other border sectors. These new technological tools are there to automate administrative functions so that the most valuable component of the process, the officers, are able to focus on critical issues as they arise. Courtesy of evie kim sing and YouTube. Posted on Jul 13, 2022.)

Enter, American Security Today, the #1 publication and media platform in the Government Security and Homeland Security fields with a circulation of over 75,000 readers and many tens of thousands more visiting our AST Website at www.americansecuritytoday.com each month.

The continually evolving ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program will emphasize the trail of Accomplished Women in Leadership in 2022, as well as the Significance and Positive Impact of Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in our Next Generation of Government and Industry Leaders. #MentorshipMatters

So be on the lookout for Special Guests, Presenters, Book Opportunities, and Attendees at the 2022 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Presentation Luncheon in November of 2022 in NYC!

The United States forever changed on September 11th, 2001, and we were fortunate to have many of those who responded to those horrific tragedies join us at our 2021 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Presentation Luncheon.

In the days that followed 9/11, the critical need to protect our country catapulted us into new and innovative ways to secure our homeland – which is how many of the agencies and enterprise organizations that are today ‘ASTORS’ Awards Champions, came into being.

Our 2021 keynote speaker featured a moving and informative address from TSA Administrator and Vice-Admiral of the United States Coast Guard (Ret), David Pekoske; to our attendees who traveled from across the United States and abroad, on the strategic priorities of the 64,000-member TSA workforce in securing the transportation system, enabling safe, and in many cases, contactless travel.

Legendary Police Commissioner William Bratton of the New York Police Department, the Boston Police Department, and former Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department  was also live at the event, meeting with attendees and signing copies of his latest work ‘The Profession: A Memoir of Community, Race, and the Arc of Policing in America,’ courtesy of the generosity of our 2021 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Premier Sponsors.

The 2022 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program is Proudly Sponsored by New PLATINUM SPONSOR: NEC National Security Systems (NSS), New Premier Sponsors Rajant Corporation, and guardDog AI, and returning Sponsors ATI Systems, Automatic Systems, RX Global, and SIMS Software!

In 2021 over 200 distinguished guests representing Federal, State, and Local Governments, and Industry Leading Corporate Firms gathered from across North America, Europe, and the Middle East to be honored among their peers in their respective fields, which included:

• The Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

• ICE Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI)

• Customs & Border Protection (CBP)

• The Federal Protective Service (FPS)

• Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)

• DHS Science & Technology (S&T)

• The National Center for Disaster Medicine & Public Health (NCDMPH)

• The American Red Cross

• The InfraGard National Alliance

• The Metropolitan Police (MPD)

• The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA)

• Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS)

• The Federal Air Marshals Service

• The San Diego Harbor Police Foundation, and Many More!

Register Today for the 2022 ‘ASTORS’ Luncheon

ISC East is the Northeast’s leading security & public safety event, hosted in collaboration with premier sponsor Security Industry Association (SIA) and in partnership with ASIS NYC.

Each year, in order to keep our communities safe and secure, security dealers, installers, integrators, and consultants, along with corporate, government and law enforcement/first responder practitioners, convene in New York City to network, learn and evaluate the latest technologies and solutions from premier exhibiting brands.

This combination of one-on-one conversations with top innovators, high-quality special events, and cutting-edge education and training, make ISC East the most comprehensive East Coast event to guide the industry in getting back to business.

Taking place November 15-17 at the Javits Center in NYC (SIA Education@ISC: November 15-17 | Exhibit Hall: November 16-17), ISC East will be co-locating again with the Natural Disaster & Emergency Management Expo (NDEM EXPO), a comprehensive trade event and online resource dedicated to the preparation, response, and recovery of physical and human assets of public and private organizations. Qualified professionals who register for ISC East will be granted access to both events.

Corporate firms, the majority of which return year to year to build upon their Legacy of Wins include:

AlertMedia, Allied Universal, AMAROK, ATI Systems, Attivo Networks, Axis Communications, Automatic Systems of America, BriefCam, Canon U.S.A., Fortior Solutions, guardDog.ai, Hanwha Techwin of America, HID Global, Mark43, IPVideo Corporation, Konica Minolta Business Solutions, Lumina Analytics, NEC National Security Systems, NICE Public Safety, OnSolve, PureTech Systems, Quantum Corporation, Rave Mobile Safety, Regroup Mass Notification, Robotic Assistance Devices, Rajant Corporation, SafeLogic, Senstar Corporation, ShotSpotter, Singlewire Software, SolarWinds Worldwide, Teledyne FLIR, Valor Systems, and Wiresecure, just to name a few!

Why American Security Today?

The traditional security marketplace has long been covered by a host of publications putting forward the old-school basics to what is Today – a fast-changing security landscape.

American Security Today is uniquely focused on the broader Homeland Security & Public Safety marketplace with over 75,000 readers at the Federal, State, and local levels of government as well as firms allied to the government.

American Security Today brings forward a fresh compelling look and read with our customized digital publications that hold readers’ eyes throughout the story with cutting-edge editorial that provides solutions to their challenges.

Harness the Power of the Web – with our 100% Mobile Friendly Publications

AST Digital Publications are distributed to over 75,000 qualified government and homeland security professionals, in federal, state, local, and private security sectors.

‘PROTECTING OUR NATION, ONE CITY AT A TIME’

AST Reaches both Private & Public Experts, essential to meeting these new challenges.

Today’s new generation of public safety and security experts need real-time knowledge to deal with domestic and international terrorism, lone wolf attacks, unprecedented urban violence, shifts in society, culture, and media bias – making it increasingly difficult for Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, First Responders, Military and Private Security Professionals to implement coordinated security measures to ensure national security and improve public safety.

These experts are from Government at the federal, state, and local levels as well as from private firms allied to the government.

AST provides a full plate of topics in our AST Monthly Magazine Editions, AST Website, and AST Daily News Alerts, covering 23 Vital Sectors such as Access Control, Perimeter Protection, Video Surveillance/Analytics, Airport Security, Border Security, CBRNE Detection, Border Security, Ports, Cybersecurity, Networking Security, Encryption, Law Enforcement, First Responders, Campus Security, Security Services, Corporate Facilities, and Emergency Response among others.

AST has Expanded readership into integral Critical Infrastructure audiences such as Protection of Nuclear Facilities, Water Plants & Dams, Bridges & Tunnels, and other potential targets of terrorism.

Other areas of concern include Transportation Hubs, Public Assemblies, Government Facilities, Sporting & Concert Stadiums, our Nation’s Schools & Universities, and Commercial Business Destinations – all enticing targets due to the large number of persons and resources clustered together.

(See just a few highlights of American Security Today’s 2021 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Presentation Luncheon at ISC East. Courtesy of My Pristine Images and Vimeo.)

To learn more about ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Award Winners solutions, please see the 2021 ‘ASTORS’ CHAMPIONS Edition Fully Interactive Magazine – the Best Products of 2021 ‘A Year in Review’.

The Annual CHAMPIONS edition includes a review of Annual ‘ASTORS’ Award Winning products and programs, highlighting key details on many of the winning firm’s products and services, including video interviews and more.

It serves as your Go-To Source throughout the year for ‘The Best of 2021 Products and Services‘ endorsed by American Security Today, and can satisfy your agency’s and/or organization’s most pressing Homeland Security and Public Safety needs.

From Physical Security (Access Control, Critical Infrastructure, Perimeter Protection, and Video Surveillance Cameras and Video Management Systems), to IT Security (Cybersecurity, Encryption, Data Storage, Anti-Malware, and Networking Security – Just to name a few), the 2021 ‘ASTORS’ CHAMPIONS EDITION has what you need to Detect, Delay, Respond to, and Mitigate today’s real-time threats in our constantly evolving security landscape.

It also includes featured guest editorial pieces from some of the security industry’s most respected leaders, and recognized firms in the 2021 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program.

• For a complete list of 2021 ‘ASTORS’ Award Winners, begin HERE.

For more information on All Things American Security Today, as well as the 2021 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program, please contact Michael Madsen, AST Publisher at mmadsen@americansecuritytoday.com.

AST strives to meet a 3 STAR trustworthiness rating, based on the following criteria:

• Provides named sources
• Reported by more than one notable outlet
• Includes supporting video, direct statements, or photos

Subscribe to the AST Daily News Alert Here.

Learn More…

Final Weeks for Nominations in 2022 ‘ASTORS Homeland Security Awards