LSU NCBRT/ACE 2021 Annual Report - Accessiblity Version

Letter From the Director Jeff Mayne

As we move past 2021 and into 2022, we are hopefully seeing the end of the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we must remain vigilant when facing existing threats and preparing for evolving, future threats.

In 2021, LSU NCBRT/ACE utilized innovative training methods to ensure that participants across the globe were provided high-quality, COVID-19 training content, but also balanced our focus on continuing to train on other important threats. We developed courses addressing domestic violent extremism, law enforcement violent encounters, disinformation and targeted assassinations. The rapid advancement of technological innovation and continually changing political landscape presents an uncertain and potentially dangerous future for our homeland and the world. The time of clearly delineated enemies has past. The nexus of terrorism, transnational crime, and state-sponsored aggression, as well as natural hazards, requires us to continually look to the future and not be bound to the threats of the past.

LSU NCBRT/ACE had a successful 2021 with many great accomplishments; however, we are dedicated and poised to advance innovative training to increase capacity to prevent, prepare, respond to and recover from threats to our nation and international partners. From protecting our children in schools, training responders with new and advanced approaches, or lending our expertise to foreign allies, we will grow, expand, influence and deliver the best training, skills and education for responders to maintain our values and freedoms.

Facing Challenges

Jason Krause, Associate Director of Internal Operations and Plans

LSU NCBRT/ACE's 2021 year in review.

Expanding in 2021: Growth, Outreach, Impact

LSU NCBRT/ACE continued to expand our training and course subject matter to meet current needs and threats. We continue to lead in finding innovative ways to provide expert training throughout the world, utilizing virtual and remote technologies.

Public Health

LSU NCBRT/ACE partnered with Louisiana's public health agencies to assist in the COVID-19 Vaccine roll out.

In 2021, LSU NCBRT/ACE continued to work with the Louisiana Office of Public Health to fight the COVID pandemic. NCBRT provided exercises to assist the Office of Public Health to prepare for the roll out of the COVID vaccine. Our work concluded with a successful vaccine roll out and campaign to reach people and provide protection against the disease."LSU NCBRT/ACE's dedication to service and strong work ethic combined with creative thinking was exactly what was needed for this project," said OPH Immunization Program Director Stacy Hall. "They have worked closely with OPH on the development of its initial COVID-19 Vaccination Program Interim Playbook for Jurisdiction Operations, a central document that each state put together to layout its operational, tactical and communicative vaccination plans."

Read more about LSU NCBRT/ACE's partnership with the Office of Public Health.

International Training

During 2021, LSU NCBRT/ACE continued to provide assistance to many international partners. In addition to direct funding from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN), LSU NCRT/ACE has subcontracts with multiple implementing partners such as Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, CRDF, The Critical Mass and Continental Trading Partners.

A significant amount of effort on behalf of ISN remained focused on assisting international partners with COVID-19 concerns. However, LSU NCBRT/ACE also conducted training for other threats. For example, we conducted a twelve-week remote class using Moodle and Zoom for Iraqi CBRNE teams to help them better prepare for CBRNE threats from remaining ISIS fighters. We also conducted remote events for Border Security personnel in multiple countries with the goal of increasing recipient capacity to recognize and respond to CBRNE issues at border crossings. LSU NCBRT/ACE has also provided remote training to Eastern European partners in order to assist their abilities to investigate targeted assassinations using CBR agents as the weapon.

Homeland Security MicroCert

LSU Online & Continuing Education, in collaboration with LSU NCBRT/ACE, now offers the first-of-its-kind Homeland Security Specialist program. The online program was designed for law enforcement officers as well as public and private sector safety agents involved in security.

This five-course program is also endorsed by the national law enforcement training provider, the National Sheriffs' Association. This program is a mandatory prerequisite to become a Certified Homeland Protection Professional. Classes highlight the concepts of preparedness, prevention, and response. Students also build upon the foundational concepts of domestic law enforcement and learn to apply them to the homeland security mission.

New Online Homeland Security Specialist Program at LSU

Impacting Our Own Community

LSU NCBRT/ACE has worked closely with many departments within the University to prepare for a multitude of threats. In August 2021, LSU NCBRT/ACE and LSU PD conducted an active shooter tabletop exercise for the athletics department and LSU leadership to test and prepare the school’s multi-agency coordination center for gamedays. LSU NCBRT/ACE has also assisted with crisis communication drills for the school’s Office of Communications & University Relations.

Video Production Team Expands Horizons

The LSU NCBRT/ACE Media Production Team has added more state-of-the-art technology, expertise, and equipment for creating professional quality video and audio products. The team has expanded LSU NCBRT ACE's digital outreach to include subject matter that addresses the latest threats to public safety. To see a recent example, check out the Novichok Project which provides an informational video on Fourth Generation Nerve Agents.

Department of Corrections

LSU NCBRT/ACE has received a one-year, cooperative agreement award from the U.S. Department of Justice's National Institute of Corrections (NIC). The award will allow LSU NCBRT/ACE to work in tandem with federal partners to convert the NIC's current Learning Professional curriculum to a 40-hour virtual format. Our team will also be able to create a teaching program that will train instructors on how to deliver that curriculum. NIC's Learning Professional curricula is used to train new, veteran and part time/adjunct trainers in corrections and criminal justice settings - such as jails, prisons and community services - to prepare and deliver established curricula.

LSU NCBRT/ACE Chosen for Department of Justice Cooperative Agreement Award

GSEM/LA Dept. of Ed

LSU NCBRT/ACE provides training and technical assistance to Local Education Agencies to help them develop and implement Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs) for their schools.

The Grants to States for School Emergency Management (GSEM) program is a collaborative effort from the U.S. Department of Education, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Justice for the Louisiana Department of Education in partnership with LSU NCBRT/ACE. The program goal is to provide training and technical assistance to Local Education Agencies to help them develop and implement Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs) for their schools.

Over the pandemic, GSEM converted all of its courses to a virtual format and began a new, one-hour seminar series on school emergency management topics such as risk assessment, crisis communications, and incorporating best practices into an EOP. The GSEM program also worked on incorporating lessons from LSU NCBRT/ACE's Surviving an Active Threat: Run. Hide. Fight. course into text that schools can input into their EOPs so that all campus employees can access important active threat resources.

LSU NCBRT/ACE also worked with the Louisiana Department of Education's Emergency Planning team to updated its own EOP to reflect the new and changing threats and challenges the pandemic brought to all levels of the education system.

Training in 2021: Impactful, Innovative, Accessible

LSU NCBRT/ACE faced the challenges of 2021 by rapidly transitioning to new virtual methods which allowed us to reach larger audiences that could not be reached before. LSU NCBRT/ACE delivered expert training via Zoom, Teams, webinars and other methods, giving participants from all over the country unprecedented access to information.

LAFD Sampling Class

In March of 2021, LSU NCBRT conducted the PER-222 Sampling Training in Los Angeles for members of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The department was responding to numerous incidents of letters containing white powder being sent to departments and targets around the city.

New Courses

In an effort to further expand access to our training to state, local, tribal and territorial emergency responders, LSU NCBRT/ACE offered several new courses to meet emergency response needs. Many of these were also offered in Spanish.

Homegrown and Violent Extremism

Acts of homegrown and domestic violent extremism have been on the rise over the last decade. In order to prepare state, local, tribal and territorial responders to defend their communities from these threats, Louisiana State University's National Center for Biomedical Research and Training/Academy of Counter-Terrorist Education, or LSU NCBRT/ACE's new course is specifically centered on detecting extremist threats. The new course, entitled Recognizing and Identifying Domestic and Homegrown Violent Extremism (AWR-409), is a one-day, awareness-level course that explores violent extremism in the United States and will teach participants how to identify, asses and counter the threat of different types of violent extremism.

LSU NCBRT/ACE to Offer New, DHS-Certified Course on Domestic Violent Extremism

Instructor Development

LSU NCBRT/ACE continues to enhance the skills of our experienced instructors through Instructor Development Workshops that emphasize the active, learner-centered style of delivery and student experience.

Operation Allies Welcome

LSU NCBRT/ACE is assisting with training efforts to help Afghan allies who supported the United States during conflicts and their families and family members who are U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.

New Mexico State Police

Necessity drives innovation; during the first year of COVID 19, the New Mexico State Police needed to keep their officers certified, but in person training could not occur. Working with LSU NCBRT/ACE virtual training was planned and delivered to keep these officers certified and performing their sworn duties to the citizens of New Mexico. During this time, LSU NCBRT/ACE scheduled and conducted multiple deliveries via Zoom including Site Protection through Observational Techniques (AWR-219), Prevention and Deterrence of Terrorist Acts - Customized (AWR-122-C), and Biological Incidents Awareness: COVID-19 (AWR-324). In 2021, LSU NCBRT/ACE delivered 45 classes to 1255 participants. New Mexico is very rural in areas, and this virtual training approach has forever changed how training can reach the furthermost portions of the state, and a greatly reduced cost.

Making a Difference

People are alive today because of LSU NCBRT/ACE training.

"On October 23, 2021, dispatch came over the radio and stated that they had multiple calls coming in of shots fired and people down at a massive block party. At that time, the training I received from your program told me to set up a staging point. I whole heartedly believe that if this incident would have occurred prior to me taking the class there would have been a different outcome. Our job as law enforcement is to bring stability in the midst of chaos, and the class that I attended through LSU's program (PER-340 Active Threat Integrated Response Course) gave me the tools to do so. Ultimately, I want to say thank you to the instructors and whomever else plays a role in making these classes possible. People are alive today because of it." -Timothy Theus, Deputy, Peach County Sheriff's Office, Georgia

International Impact

In addition to the work we do in the United States, LSU NCBRT/ACE has a number of programs to engage our international partners.

Tribal Outreach

In 2021, LSU NCBRT/ACE increased its outreach and engagement with our tribal partners to reach underserved communities by hosting monthly, virtual Tribal Public Safety Dialogue Sessions focusing on emergency management issues with tribal officials as guest speakers.

Strengthening: Building Towards the Future

2021 was defined by challenges as well as our successful, impactful responses to those challenges. As LSU NCBRT/ACE looks towards the future, we focus on diversity, inclusiveness and our devotion to excellence in our work towards a culture of resilience, preparedness, and response capabilities which are second to none.

NIST Compliance

The NIST Special Publication (SP) 800 series comprises guidelines, recommendations, and reports of cybersecurity activities developed to address and support the security and privacy needs of government information and information systems.

NCBRT has adopted security controls from NIST SP 800-53 and NIST SP 800-171 to strengthen the integrity of information systems and protect data being processed. NCBRT relies on NIST SP 800 guidance to continuously monitor, assess, and secure its information systems.

Flexibility

In 2021, LSU NCBRT/ACE began hosting national remote audience courses, allowing participants from different state, local, tribal and territorial areas to easily access training. These national courses allowed responders from around the country to collaborate on a variety of security topics. Together, these responders were able to connect their own experiences with the expertise of responders from different backgrounds and jurisdictions.

Accessibility

In order to ensure that all responders receive the same, high-quality training, LSU NCBRT/ACE has made several steps in expanding accessibility across its platforms. This year, Spanish translations are now available for course materials for courses like Site Protection through Observational Techniques (SPOT) and SPOT-Customized, Law Enforcement Prevention and Deterrence of Terrorist Acts (P&D) and P&D-Customized and Law Enforcement Active Shooter Emergency Response (LASER).

Many of LSU NCBRT/ACE\'s webinars and e-Learning resources are available in a variety of languages: Arabic, Bengali, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Nepali, Romanian, Russian, Sinhalese, Spanish, Thai, Ukrainian and Vietnamese.

Additionally, LSU NCBRT/ACE now offers captioned versions of its courses that are on the Zoom platform and offers simultaneous American Sign Language interpretation when needed.

Participants Trained in FY 2021

Total: 37,224

• Indirect: 2,304
• Mobile Instructor Led: 5,988
• Web-Based: 3,543
• Virtual Instructor Led: 6,140
• Just-In-Time Training: 19,249

Just-In-Time Training

In 2021, LSU NCBRT/ACE expanded its just-in-time training with more webinars, videos and podcasts. These trainings ranged beyond COVID-19 and included topics like behavioral intervention teams, hurricane preparedness, building emergency action plans, extremism in the US, law enforcement mental health, and more.

• Podcast Audibles: 2,712
• Webinar Downloads: 8,727
• ideo Views: 7,810

Individuals Trained in 2021