US Emergency Personnel in Need of Warfare Training

More than a year after the September 11, 2001, attacks, US emergency response personnel still lack the training needed to meet an attack by weapons of mass destruction (WMD), according to a study conducted by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS, Washington, DC, USA).

The study found that federal planners are not taking advantage of new information technologies to train more five million emergency responders in the country. The study also found that millions of civilian and military medical personnel need to be trained quickly to respond to events involving WMD and to have continuous refresher courses. Meanwhile, doctors, nurses, emergency medical workers, and police and fire officials feel unprepared for a WMD emergency, particularly at the level of cities and counties.

New information and training technologies can build a training system that will reach this audience quickly with timely information, allow training tailored to unique local situations, and provide simulated experiences, say the scientists. However, a coordinated interagency plan is essential to build and operate the kinds of new training systems that have become essential.

"We will expect our first responders and emergency medical personnel to perform heroically in the event of a terrorist attack that may involve conditions where none of them have personal experience,” said Dr. William Wilkerson, M.D., director of medical student education, department of emergency medicine, University of Michigan Medical School (Ann Arbor, USA). "Providing the needed training is an urgent national priority and we simply cannot do the job without skillful use of advanced instructional technology.”

The Federation of American Scientists, formed in 1945 as the Federation of Atomic Scientists, is a nonprofit agency that counts many Nobel laureates among its members.





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Federation of American Scientists
Univ. Michigan