Empowering First Responders

The terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, marked a watershed event for America. No longer can it be expected that the American military will fight our nations battles on foreign lands while America's populace is safe back in the homeland. Now, the new frontlines of this War on Terrorism are defined by where and when an attack happens; the new soldiers are America's first responders. Unfortunately, as 9-11 demonstrated, these new frontline warriors do not fully possess the tools, training, or most importantly, the interoperability that their military counterparts have perfected over the past several decades. Among these tools, communications capability represents the most important force multiplier on the battlefield. For the first responder, communications capability is absolutely essential. One emerging communications and data-sharing tool that can greatly empower first responders, and provide them with greater situational awareness and decision superiority, is Peer-to-Peer Technology (P2P). P2P technology allows two or more computers to establish direct contact without a central entity. Such technology provides a rapidly established, flexible, and dynamic architecture. Moreover, it provides a robust, reliable, and distributed information-sharing capability for homeland security applications. US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) represents the Department of Defense's operational command for Homeland Security. One of its key missions is to provide military assistance to civil authorities, including consequence management operations during terrorist attacks.