Hello everyone! It's been a long time, but well, I'm back!
I was gone for a long time partially due to schoolwork and I had some private battles.
I will continue to post blogs and/or posts but I cannot promise its frequency. I enabled Google AdSense to help compensate my work.
This entry is actually a discussion I submitted for my occupation health class at University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). I feel it could also be beneficial for the posting to be part of this blog. I wrote the posting in short order.
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Since September 11, 2001, most Americans realized the possibility
of a new type of warfare, that done by terror groups to terrorize people. There are many reasons why these people
commit these atrocities. They might
perform these acts due to ideological reasons, to attract attention, or because
they are mentally unstable. The El Paso
area has many targets that might be attractive to terrorists. First, El Paso has high-profile targets such
as the newly-built stadium that hosts the El Paso Chihuahuas, museums in
downtown El Paso, and landmark educational facilities such as UTEP. Speaking of UTEP, there was a bomb threat
last year in March, making this threat very real in our community. Second, financial targets in El Paso such as
banks are also likely terrorist targets.
They are lucrative to the terrorist and many terrorist groups want to destabilize
America’s financial infrastructure, such as the attacks on the World Trade
Center in 1993 and 2001. Third,
population-dense targets are a target for terrorists. Possible targets in this domain include major
shopping places like malls and Wal-Mart, popular restaurants, and movie
theaters. The Colorado shooting at a
movie theater in 2012 highlights this possibility.
With these threats a real possibility, many of these places
mentioned have established measures and counter-measures to face it. Fort Bliss, for example, has the Force
Protection Condition (FPCON) measures to counter terrorist actions. Each increasing level, from alpha to delta,
introduces more stringent security measures such as id checks, patrols, closed
entrance point(s), and base lockdown.
Many buildings in Fort Bliss also have placards on the walls informing
personnel on what to do when there is an active shooter or a bomb threat. Our university, UTEP also has measures to
protect itself against terrorist threats.
The school has regular campus police patrols on campus. They offer security escorts for students for
their safety. There are blue phone boxes
scattered around the campus for students to report an emergency. They also have an emergency management plan
that details what to do when there is an active shooter, bomb threat, or an NBC
attack. Appendix V of the emergency
management plan details actions to be taken in case of a terrorist attack.
I believe I am somewhat prepared for a terrorist
attack. My lifestyle is accommodating to
being mobile and accustomed to rapid changes since I’m single and I live
alone. I’m also a do-it-yourself type of
guy. I do prepare for emergencies. I have spare supplies of necessities such as
batteries, food, and water. I even have
some MRE’s left over from my time in the Army.
: ) I have another form of transportation
besides my car, which is my bicycle. In
case of a terrorist attack where the streets are jammed, I can still move
around with my bike. I have camping gear
in my room. Last but not least, I also
have a defensive weapon to protect myself.
I can be more prepared if I can live in a less populated
area with my own property to perhaps have a vegetable garden or plant fruit
trees to sustain myself.
An underestimated part of emergency or terrorist preparedness
is in the mental and spiritual realm. My
belief in God gives me a mindset to prepare for the end times. I try to make peace with God on a regular basis
which can give me calmness when the world is falling apart. To quote a well-known Christian hymn, “When
all around my soul gives way / He then is all my hope and stay.”
