Homeland Security Official Confers With Houston Leaders
HOUSTON—(Oct. 18, 2001)—U.S. Secretary of the Army Thomas E. White will confer with Houston-area medical and public health officials about local anti-terrorism readiness at a briefing today led by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld appointed White, a retired U.S. Army brigadier general, as interim executive agent for Homeland Security for the U.S. Department of Defense earlier this month. In that role, White will work with Assistant to the President for Homeland Security Tom Ridge.
At the time of his appointment, White said in a government press release that, with the exception of combat air patrols, the military will primarily be supporting other agencies involved in the homeland security mission. "We're not the lead agency for the homeland security task. So we follow and support principally the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but also Health and Human Services and others as well, depending on what the nature of the problem is. And, there are 11 million first responders in this country that have the primary duty to deal with emergencies, and we are backup to them."
As Secretary of the Army, White is responsible for all matters relating to Army manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, installations, environmental issues, weapons systems and equipment acquisition, communications, and financial management. Accompanying White Friday will be U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John S. Parker, commanding general of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and Fort Detrick in Fort Detrick, Maryland.
"Houston's medical community, political leadership and front-line emergency agencies have mobilized since Sept. 11 to build an emergency response program that will meet the new challenges posed by terrorist attacks," said event organizer S. Ward Casscells, M.D., interim vice president of biotechnology at UT-Houston. "We need to share what we've already accomplished in this counter-terrorism effort with Secretary White and learn how our plans complement nationwide preparations. We expect to get some valuable feedback from him and from Gen. Parker."
Studies show that one obstacle to efficient disaster response is lack of communication among the many agencies and communities involved. "Houston has come together in a rather unprecedented way since Sept 11," Casscells said. "We hope to demonstrate the progress that can be made with a cooperative approach. By working together and tapping the expertise on biological warfare that already exists at the Texas Medical Center, Houston can lead the way nationally in the crucial area of defending Americans at home."
Additional speakers at the briefing include U.S. Rep. Ken Bentsen, Harris County Judge Robert Eckels, and Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian, director of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, and Ralph Feigin, M.D., president and CEO of Baylor College of Medicine.
"It is incumbent upon UT-Houston to share its expertise, its resources and its leadership in the vital role of protecting all citizens against terrorist attack," said UT-Houston President James T. Willerson, M.D. "We will continue to work intensively with our colleagues in the medical community, with Houston's outstanding police, fire and emergency medical services, and with governmental leaders at all levels in this important endeavor."
Casscells and renowned trauma surgeon James "Red" Duke, M.D., are co-directors of the U.S. Army Disaster Relief and Emergency Medical Services (DREAMS) Program, a project sponsored by the Army and led by UT-Houston and three other Texas institutions. DREAMS conducts innovative research in the areas of digital emergency medical services, chemical warfare defense, and science triage and treatment.
Willerson praised Casscells, Duke and UT-Houston Vice President Carlos Hamilton, M.D., for their leadership roles in Houston's preparedness efforts. The trio and Willerson are members of the executive steering committee of the Houston Medical Strike Team, which was organized to respond to incidents involving casualties or injuries resulting from nuclear, biological or chemical agents. Feigin is committee chairman. The strike team is a component of the Houston Task Force on Terrorism appointed by Mayor Lee Brown.
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