Will Focus On The Hot Topic Of Border Security

Aero-News has learned the second annual National Security and Intelligence Symposium to be held Monday, April 10, 2006, in the Davis Learning Center Auditorium at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Prescott, AZ campus. The topic will be border security.

"We have assembled a panel of highly knowledgeable security and intelligence experts who will provide insight, interesting and lively discourse, and, no doubt, share their own experiences concerning border security," said Dr. Richard Bloom, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and director of Terrorism, Intelligence, and Security Studies at Embry-Riddle.

A panel of experts will provide commentary on national and Arizona state border security issues, followed by a question-and-answer period with the audience.

Rep. Rick Renzi, First Congressional District of Arizona, will serve as honorary chairman and keynote speaker of the symposium for the second time.

Renzi, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, has declared the current situation at the southern border of Arizona "one of the most urgent threats to our national effort to provide protection for our citizens." Renzi’s congressional district encompasses 58,000 square miles, including most of the northern and eastern portions of Arizona.

California congressman Duncan Hunter, another key participant on the panel, has made border enforcement a priority during his time in office. Hunter represents California’s 52nd Congressional District, which includes eastern and northern San Diego County.

As chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Hunter is responsible for a defense budget totaling more than $445 billion.

Frank Navarette, director of the Arizona Office of Homeland Security and the Division of Emergency Management, will also be a key participant.

Navarette works closely with Gov. Janet Napolitano on many high-level issues, including border security. He manages the state’s homeland security plan and is responsible for ensuring Arizona is safe from terrorism and that protocols are established with federal, state, and local agencies in the event of terrorist activity or other emergency situations.

Representatives from federal homeland security agencies and faculty members from Embry-Riddle’s Global Security and Intelligence Studies degree program will serve as panelists.

FMI: www.erau.edu/pr/index.html