News Release: DHS Selects GWU to Pilot New COE in Security Technology Transition

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced today the selection of The George Washington University to lead a new Center of Excellence (COE) that will deliver a pilot Master of Business Administration program focused on security technology transition (STT) from federal research and development to operational use. S&T will provide upwards of $5.8 million through a Firm-Fixed-Price contract to fund three cadres of 25 students.  “Transition of security technologies from applied research and development of prototypes into operationally beneficial tools has always been a challenge,” said William N. Bryan, DHS Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology. “By developing an educational program tailored to address the Department’s security technology needs, the MBA STT pilot program will produce a pipeline of high-quality professionals prepared to apply invaluable knowledge to the Department’s operational components and the broader homeland security enterprise.” George Washington University will leverage their already existing MBA program’s core management curriculum and supplement the core curriculum with security technology-focused courses and real-world case-study learning applicable to private- and public-sector research and development programs, including DHS S&T.   Working closely with DHS Components and private industry, the new COE will enhance the acumen of DHS personnel by providing education and practical experience in the legal, technical, and business aspects of research, development, and transition to public and private-sector security agencies. This will include developing and administering courses on topics such as navigating established federal acquisition programs and utilizing more flexible alternative approaches to get technologies into operational use.   The DHS COEs were established by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to be a “…coordinated, university-based system to enhance the Nation’s homeland security.” S&T COEs are a well-integrated network of researchers and educators focused on specific high-priority DHS challenges. The COEs work directly with the Department’s operational agencies to solve complex and difficult problems across the homeland security enterprise. For more information about S&T’s COE program, visit www.dhs.gov/st-oup. ### Topics: Academic Engagement, Science and Technology Keywords: Academic Program, Education, Funding, Research, Science and Technology, Security, Student, Student Resource, Technology

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

July 4, 2020

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The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Freedom's Sentinel.

Spc. Vincent Sebastian Ibarria, 21, from San Antonio, Texas, died as the result of a vehicle rollover accident, July 3, 2020, in Farah, Afghanistan. The incident is under investigation.

Ibarria was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York.

For more information regarding Spc. Vincent Sebastian Ibarria, members of the media may contact Maj. Harold Huff, Deputy Public Affairs Officer, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York, at 315-836-6594 or by email at harold.huff16.mil@mail.mil.

Homeland Security Chief: To Attack Our Monuments Is To Attack America

ICYMI: Acting  Secretary Chad Wolf Op-Ed

The Federalist- Homeland Security Chief: To Attack Our Monuments Is To Attack America This weekend, we celebrate the birth of the greatest enterprise in the history of mankind, the United States of America, and our ancestors’ brave decision to fight for their freedom from British oppression. That fight was led by George Washington, but sadly, the mobs of violent protestors who recently debased statues of our first president and founding father despise him and the nation he built. The Fourth of July observes one of the most seismic shifts in human history. Before the Declaration of Independence, mankind was divided into nations by ethnicities and tribes. The Founding Fathers gave birth to a new type of nation. As G.K. Chesterton wrote, “America is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed… It enunciates that all men are equal in their claim to justice, that governments exist to give them that justice, and that their authority is for that reason just.” The miracle of the American experiment was not the result of a natural sequence of events. An exceptionally virtuous and educated cadre of statesmen broke away from the politics of millennia and created something new. Only by this political miracle do Americans enjoy our freedoms. It is on the virtue and sacrifice of the founding fathers and the numerous men and women who carry on their legacy that America is still free today. It should be no surprise that George Washington receives such a special vitriol from the lawless mobs, as he was the paradigm of our founding fathers. Under Washington, the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were realized. He mobilized volunteers to enforce our rights against the world’s preeminent superpower. His soldiers and ragtag militiamen routed a king’s army and navy. Yet, when Washington’s power reached its maximum, he gifted it away. By the time Washington became president, this was the least impressive item on his résumé. But even in that endeavor, he set the gold standard for statesmanship. Washington again voluntarily relinquished his power after two terms in office, inaugurating a foundational democratic principle that has lasted centuries. To this day, American citizenship remains the most valuable privilege anyone can possess. American citizens enjoy protection under the rule of law and the right to live in a society where anyone can pursue the American Dream—brought to you in part by Washington himself. As just a small tribute to his immeasurable contribution to the nation and the world, our capital and the tallest structure in it are named for him. However, his role in shaping this country is precisely the reason so many hate him and want to expunge our cities of this champion of liberty. In Portland, Oregon, a violent mob recently draped an American flag over the face of a George Washington statue, toppled it, and set it on fire. No American should loathe the man who ended monarchy. No “de-colonizer” should diminish the first—and most successful—revolution against colonialism. The violent mob is not worthy of even polishing Washington’s statue, let alone desecrating it. But they don’t stop there. In a bizarre turn of events, they have also vandalized statues memorializing abolitionists, Union soldiers, and Ulysses S. Grant. They even threaten a 19th-century statue of Abraham Lincoln that was dedicated by abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass and financed by donations from freed slaves. These heroes ended slavery and knew racial oppression more intimately than modern-day rioters do. Their only crime is not submitting to the standards of the woke mob sometimes more than 100 years after their time. In contrast to peaceful protestors exercising their First Amendment rights, violent protestors defiling statues are no better than the looters and rioters who ransacked hundreds of small businesses, many of which are owned by minorities, across the country under the guise of racial justice protests. But the symbolic destruction of monuments benefits nobody and only robs future generations of Americans of the ability to pay their respects to our country’s great leaders. When we wash away history, we wash away inquiry, and we wash away the truth. But it is truth, transparency, and debate that increase our understanding of what is right. Good people must not stoop to the mob. Some in the mob worship a statue of Vladimir Lenin in Seattle. Lenin represents untold repression, ethnic cleansing, and the mass killings of millions of his countrymen. Let it stand as a testament to their self-contradictions and a memorial to the historical evil that Lenin and his modern-day successors represent. And when someone tries to desecrate a statue of the guardians of America’s foundational principles, make no mistake: they attack America itself. Police must protect public property. Prosecutors must punish perpetrators. Politicians must neither placate nor patronize these pillagers. President Trump has led a firm response to the lawlessness sweeping our nation. The Department of Homeland Security is following his lead in deploying special units to defend our national treasures from rioters. Rest assured, we will leverage every tool and authority in our arsenal to make sure these landmarks remain intact for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren to learn from so they can carry on America’s great legacy. Chad F. Wolf is the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

DHS Announces New Task Force to Protect American Monuments, Memorials, and Statues

WASHINGTON— Today, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Chad F. Wolf, announced the establishment of the DHS Protecting American Communities Task Force (PACT), a special task force to coordinate Departmental law enforcement agency assets in protecting our nation’s historic monuments, memorials, statues, and federal facilities.   “DHS is answering the President’s call to use our law enforcement personnel across the country to protect our historic landmarks,” said Acting Secretary Wolf. “We won’t stand idly by while violent anarchists and rioters seek not only to vandalize and destroy the symbols of our nation, but to disrupt law and order and sow chaos in our communities.”   On June 26th, President Trump issued an Executive Order to ensure that our historic monuments and statues will be protected. The Order, “Protecting American Monuments, Memorials, and Statues and Combating Recent Criminal Activity,” directs DHS, within its statutory authority, to provide personnel to assist with the protection of federal monuments, memorials, statues, or property.   As a result, DHS created the PACT, which will conduct ongoing assessments of potential civil unrest or destruction and allocate resources to protect people and property. This may involve potential surge activity to ensure the continuing protection of critical locations. DHS’s Office of Operations Coordination will also partner closely with the Departments of Justice and Interior to establish information and intelligence sharing.   “As we approach the July 4th holiday, I have directed the deployment and pre-positioning of Rapid Deployment Teams (RDT) across the country to respond to potential threats to facilities and property,” said Acting Secretary Wolf. “While the Department respects every American’s right to protest peacefully, violence and civil unrest will not be tolerated.”