Embry-Riddle Prescott Campus a Hub of Activity for Security and Intelligence Training
Global Studies Students Get First-Hand Experience with Real-Life Terror Scenarios
Prescott, AZ, May 5, 2011
Students in the Global Security and Intelligence Studies (GSIS) program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, AZ, are learning how to handle terror scenarios, such as those surrounding the elimination of targets like Usama bin-Laden, in an intelligence-simulation capstone course.
The capstone course is led by Dr. Philip E. Jones, a former CIA analyst. Dr. Jones is fluent in Urdu and grew up in South Asia. He has followed Pakistan as a nationally-known regional expert throughout his professional life.
Started by Dr. Jones in 2003, the GSIS program is one of only a handful of undergraduate degree programs in the nation that specializes in security and intelligence studies. The GSIS program is the third largest degree program on campus and also includes a Chinese Language track. Courses teach professional level skills and ensure that its students gain knowledge about real world situations, as well as basic competence in one foreign language. Graduates of the program work in all agencies of the Federal Intelligence Community, in military intelligence, and in corporate security positions.
"The scene that unfolded last week in Abbottabad is the type of mission that our students, especially those in the ROTC programs, are learning to plan and execute. It's a very intense training, based on real-world scenarios and information, that requires them to think and respond like a fully-engaged member of a team responsible for critical actions, such as the elimination of threats like bin-Laden," said Dr. Jones.
Students enact scenarios in the Eagle Operations Center, opened last year, which is command central for training exercises. The center trains students in emergency response, mission readiness, and operational planning at many levels, including global, state and local. The facility features a situation room with eight wall-mounted flat screen televisions for monitoring news and information channels, and multiple computer and laptop stations.
GSIS students also produce a monthly international intelligence bulletin, Eagle Eye, which is distributed throughout the intelligence community.
Dr. Jones, chair of the Department of Global Studies, and Professor Bob Baker, GSIS degree program director, are currently planning the 7th Annual Global Security and Intelligence Symposium for September. This year's symposium focuses on International Security issues and developing a new workforce to fill a burgeoning need for trained professionals in corporate, state, national and international fields. Subject matter experts from around the country will participate in the symposium, held over two days on the Prescott campus.
Additionally, Professor Baker is leading the development of a new track in Security Operations for GSIS, after the university received a $222,000 grant from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to develop a Security Operations track with the goal of educating entry-level security professionals ready to assume positions in the Intelligence Community upon graduation.
Professor Baker is a subject matter expert in aviation security with over 40 years of combined law enforcement and security experience. The GSIS program and faculty also includes Dr. Richard Bloom, the Associate Vice President for Academics. Dr. Bloom's professional experience includes service with the U.S. government as an intelligence operations manager, politic-military planner, and military clinical psychologist.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, is a nonprofit, independent institution offering more than 40 baccalaureate, master's and Ph.D. degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business and Engineering. Embry-Riddle educates students at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., and through the Worldwide Campus with more than 150 locations in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada and the Middle East. The university is a major research center, seeking solutions to real-world problems in partnership with the aerospace industry, other universities and government agencies. For more information, visit http://www.embryriddle.edu, follow us on Twitter (@EmbryRiddle) and facebook.com/EmbryRiddleUniversity, and find expert videos at YouTube.com/EmbryRiddleUniv.
