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All commanders, starting at company level, are ordered to assess the command climate in their units within six months. The Army wants specific emphasis on handling sexual assaults. Army Directive 2013-29, issued Dec. 23, tells commanders to conduct command climate assessments using the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute Organizational Climate Survey. The DEOCS survey measures organizational, equal opportunity, equal employment opportunity and sexual harassment/assault response and prevention issues.

Firefighters who work at San Francisco International Airport are receiving additional training on how to respond to airplane crashes following the Asiana Airlines accident in which a teenage girl was run over and killed by two emergency vehicles while lying wounded on the runway. Commanding officers from the San Francisco Fire Department's airport division will receive 40 to 80 hours of advanced instruction next year at the Fire Training Research Center at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday. Instructors from the center already have provided basic disaster response training in San Francisco to 80 of the department's firefighters and paramedics.

A revamped Navy facility is making waves to see how ships fare in the unpredictable conditions out on the ocean. Officials unveiled the new maneuvering and seakeeping, or MASK, facility at Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock, Md., on Dec. 19, which simulates the kinds of waves sailors might encounter underway and tests how ships would handle them. "The engineers in this facility for the past 50 years have evaluated the maneuverability, stability and control of virtually all of our surface ships and submarines in the fleet today," NSWC Carderock division commander Capt. Rich Blank said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Army released its "Training for Full Spectrum Operations" field manual in December 2008. A few short months later, work had already begun on revisions. The increasingly complex battlefield is prompting the service to rethink the way it trains for war. Troops can find themselves conducting offensive operations, defending against an attack or carrying out stability operations - building schools, meeting with local tribal leaders to help improve citizens' conditions - all in the course of one day. "It's not specifically that you conduct offense, you conduct defense, then you conduct stability operations," said Lt. Gen. Thomas Miller, commanding general of the First Army, Fort Gillem, Ga. "The approach is that those are always intermingled together … It's just the dynamic nature of the fight."

Military leaders, government workers and industry professionals recognize that cybersecurity cannot be understated. Last month, many of these minds-including leaders from the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR)-gathered in San Diego at the C4ISR Symposium to discuss how to improve cybersecurity for the fleet. Personnel on board U.S. Navy ships must work hard to overcome technical limitations. With a significant number of older vessels failing cybersecurity checks due to outdated software, onboard systems are susceptible to a data breach-an event that could put lives and military operations at risk.

Envisage Technologies, a Bloomington, Indiana-based software company, announced today that it is a member of the Capstone Corporation Team that was one of seven companies presented an award of the Joint Force Development Services (JFDSS) indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract valued at $877 million. This contract allows Team Capstone to compete for task orders requiring training, education and exercise solutions and services in support of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, Combatant Commanders, the Military Services, U.S. Government Federal agencies, and multinational partners.

Typically the work of science fiction, a zombie apocalypse has proven an effective way to engage citizens in disaster preparedness. Dispersing instructions within entertaining stories about the living dead, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention runs successful campaigns with this theme in order to share insights about how to brace for natural disasters. Getting residents prepared for emergencies helps trained first responders to become more effective in their own response within a community.

Over the past few months, numerous media outlets propagated the image of U.S. law enforcement officers in military-grade armor, inferring a formidable police presence and sparking national debate. Many departments cite the increasing sophistication of weapons and threats of terrorism as motivation to strengthen their resources. While U.S. lawmakers and local police departments evaluate the efficacy and appropriateness of police militarization, researchers are looking for ways to improve the communication and judgment of officers who face stressful encounters with potentially lethal threats. - See more at: http://www.envisagenow.com/clear-communication-has-more-impact-than-military-equipment/#sthash.hJkyCIaU.dpuf

In emergency services, cooperation is not negotiable. In order to be successful, members of a team must work together, including collaborators outside of an organization and across federal, state, and local levels. Unwillingness to collaborate can have serious consequences. Joint effort results in more streamlined resolutions and strengthens the foundation for future collaboration. By refusing to work together, emergency agencies waste crucial time and information. Technology can play a significant role in building that foundation, by providing agents with accurate locations of incidents, optimized performance, and real-time updates of criminal appearance descriptions.