DoD USD "all hands": Under Secretary Aldridge asks, "what's on your mind?" - AT&L

Program Manager, Sept-Oct, 2002

Ron Sega [Director of Defense Research and Engineering] has put together a counter-terrorism technology task force that's working to look for ways that we can use our technology to counter terrorism. I think some of those ideas might be applicable to homeland defense from a civil point of view I think there's a lot of areas like that around that we aren't directly involved in but [we] are indirectly involved in. For example, we went out with a broad-area announcement last year, with a suspense of December 2001, asking for ideas from individuals, from companies, from universities--ideas on how to counter terrorism. I think we got 13,500 inputs.

Those kinds of things are valuable from a civilian counter-terrorism point of view I think those are the kind of things we can work on. I think there's a lot of areas that we do that are useful and can be applied. It doesn't have to mean that we send people over. Our input is good. I know several people in the audience participate with the homeland defense, Governor [Tom] Ridge's office now. I've given him advice on things to do.

Thank you very much for coming. Have a good next fiscal year.

Aldridge is the Under Secretary a Defense (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics), The Pentagon, Washington, D.C