November 2011-January 2012 - Wisconsin National Guard ...

State homeland securityreport details impact ofreduced federal funds@ease1st Sgt. Vaughn R. LarsonWisconsin National GuardThough federal funding forWisconsin’s homeland security effortsdecreased roughly 60 percent in 2011 andpromises to drop even more in 2012, stateofficials said that smart planning has putWisconsin in position to move forward.“We consistently have a record of usingthose [funds] effectively and efficiently,”said Gov. Scott Walker. “Obviouslywe’re going to continue to work with ourcongressional delegation and others inthe future so at a minimum we sustainthe federal funding that we have, and thatgood programs we have will be supportedin the future. But we particularlyappreciate — at a time when the federalgovernment has reduced funds — thatwe’ve got a Homeland Security Councilthat has been so effective at taking thosedollars and spending them the right way.”Walker received the 2011 WisconsinHomeland Security Report at the endof December. The report highlightedprogram accomplishments as well asprovided an overview of homelandsecurity funding.As anticipated, federal homelandsecurity funding for Wisconsin decreased— from $10 million in fiscal year 2010to $5.8 million in fiscal year 2011. Thedecline was expected as a change in howU.S. Department of Homeland Securitycalculates funding for states and reductionsin federal program spending. In addition,the Milwaukee area was cut fromthe Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI).Last year, the Milwaukee Metropolitanarea received $4.6 million in federalhomeland security funds.“The elephant in the room when itExpresscomes to Homeland Security is funding,”said Maj. Gen. Don Dunbar, adjutantgeneral of Wisconsin and Wisconsin’sHomeland Security advisor. “We takegreat pride in trying to invest every dollaras carefully as we can.”Dunbar said that stretching equipmentrecapitalization over a longer period oftime was one way to make do with lessfunding.Gov. Scott Walker answers questionsabout the 2011 Wisconsin HomelandSecurity Report during a Dec. 21ceremony at Witmer Hall, Joint ForceHeadquarters in Madison. Maj. Gen.Don Dunbar, adjutant general ofWisconsin, presented the report, whichdetails the impact of a federal fundingdecline, cyber security improvements,intelligence sharing and the FusionCenter, and the Wisconsin NationalGuard. Members of the WisconsinHomeland Security Council were at theceremony. Wisconsin National Guardphotos by 1st Sgt. Vaughn R. Larson“As the dollars continue to drop, it’sgoing to be a collaborative decision on thepart of the state as to which [programs]we fund and which ones we don’t fund,”he continued. “I can’t answer that forfiscal year 2012 because we haven’tgotten the actual numbers from the federalgovernment. I can tell you that I’m veryproud of the effort of the team led by theOffice of Justice Assistance, as the stateadministrative agent that is responsiblefor management of the grants, becauseeverybody’s voice is heard and it’s acollaborative effort where we check theegos at the door and really try and dowhat’s right for Wisconsin.”The report also highlighted severalsuccess stories, including the WisconsinStatewide Information Center (WSIC)— the state’s intelligence “fusioncenter.” The WSIC works with local,county, state, tribal and federal agencies,along with the public and private sector,to enhance information and intelligencesharing statewide. In 2011, the WSICwas evaluated by the U.S. Departmentof Homeland Security on core operatingcapabilities and received outstandingmarks, making it one of the highest ratedcenters in the nation.Dunbar also pointed to the number ofexercises Wisconsin took part in during2011, including Vigilant Guard — a fiveday,state-based exercise sponsored bythe National Guard Bureau in conjunctionwith the U.S. Northern Command. Inaddition, the state recently released theWisconsin Emergency Response Plan thatincludes an annex on cyber threats.Walker praised Dunbar, the WisconsinNational Guard and the HomelandSecurity Council for their efforts.“Part of the reason why you’re notlikely to see a noticeable change [inWisconsin’s homeland security program],essentially in Wisconsin it was forwardthinking, making investments andupgrades and improvements that are nowin place,” he said. “This was building asystem, putting things in place, continuingto ride the investments that were alreadymade. That’s a credit to the forwardthinking of the members of this counciland others who served on it before aboutmaking those types of prudent, long-termdecisions.”The Homeland Security Council wasformed in 2003 to advise the governor andto coordinate the state’s homeland securityefforts, including collaborating on how tobest use federal funding. The 13-membercouncil is made up of representatives fromvarious state agencies and first respondersgroups. In addition, there are five workinggroups, each focused on key objectives —cyber, critical infrastructure, informationsharing, military support to civil authorities,and interagency coordination.38 November 2011-January 2012