Why NMLEA?

The National Maritime Law Enforcement Academy and Port Security

The President's Call

In the wake of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, President Bush issued a summons to the nation. While many are still talking about what needs to be done about port security, our organization has had more than nine years’ experience assisting agencies with maritime security. The National Maritime Law Enforcement Academy (NMLEA), a nonprofit organization founded in 2000, promotes and produces maritime security training programs designed to provide the law enforcement officers and agents the training and experience necessary to conduct professional, safe, and effective operations. The NMLEA, along with the hundreds of volunteers who have supported its training activities, and the hundreds who have participated, has answered the President's call – to give back to the nation.

NMLEA's Record

According to many testimonials, in the years since the events of September 11, 2001, there has been no more cost-efficient, beneficial training for Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies with port and harbor security responsibilities than those training activities conducted by the NMLEA.  The NMLEA has been singularly successful in incorporating port and harbor security and counter-terrorist operations into its program of maritime critical incident response exercises. Beginning early in 2002, counter-terrorism training exercises planned and administered by the NMLEA have been consistently rated by the law enforcement agencies as superior and critically necessary to the accomplishment of their mission.

Our Approach

Using a core group of instructors entirely composed of retired Coast Guard, Law Enforcement and Military Personnel, the counterterrorism exercises conducted by the NMLEA have expanded on a training model of proven success and are unique in several ways:

• All NMLEA training is done on-site. Law enforcement officers and agents train in their home environment, using their agency's assets and resources, in scenarios tailored to suit their operational mission requirements.

• Training is, to the maximum extent, hands-on and realistic. NMLEA's reliance on experiential training methods, where coaching and mentoring are the norm, has produced a learning experience that far exceeds that achieved by conventional methods.

• Lessons learned and exercise recommendations are strictly based on performance. The NMLEA, while adhering to Coast Guard and Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) training standards, does not promote a set of preferred tactics, equipment, or task organization; rather it seeks to maximize and enhance the capabilities resident within the agency being trained and evaluated.

• Maximum use of role players as opposition elements, employing a variety of target platforms (often commercial vessels), and use of tailored and realistic scenarios have consistently yielded high-value training.

• Stringent adherence to safety requirements has enabled the NMLEA to create high stress training environments that, to date, have remained incident-free.

What's at Stake

Port and transportation security is pivotal in protecting the American people from terrorist attack. Dramatic shifts have been necessary in the mission, direction, and capability of various law enforcement bodies in order to keep the nation safe after September 11, 2001. As a result, state and local law enforcement agencies have been asked to assist and provide the Coast Guard with resources needed in maritime security preparedness. There is no doubt as to how the events of September 11 changed our views and definitions of terrorism forever and demonstrated how vulnerable we can be to such attacks.

According to testimonies made by infrastructure experts to the United States General Accounting Office, ports are inherently vulnerable to terrorist attacks because of their size, generally open accessibility by water and land, location in metropolitan areas, the amount of material being transported through ports, and the ready transportation links to many locations within our borders. The nation faces a difficult task in providing effective security across the nation's port system, and while progress is being made, an effective port security environment may be many years away. Although some ports have developed in such a way that security can be tightened relatively easily, many ports are extensive in size and have dispersed enterprises intertwined with such security concerns as public roadways and bridges, large petrochemical storage facilities, unguarded access points, and a need for ready access on the part of thousands of workers and customers.

As a response to the terrorist attacks and further evaluations of the nation's security weaknesses, the Department of Homeland Security drafted the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (MTSA), signed on November 25, 2002, designed to protect the nation's ports and waterways from a terrorist attack. This law is the U.S. equivalent of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS), and was fully implemented on July 1, 2004. It requires vessels and port facilities to conduct vulnerability assessments and develop security plans that may include passenger, vehicle, and baggage screening procedures; security patrols; establishing restricted areas; personnel identification procedures; access control measures; and/or installation of surveillance equipment. By creating a consistent security program for all our nation's ports, we are better able to identify and deter threats.

Developed using risk-based methodology, the MTSA security regulations focus on the sectors of maritime industry that have a higher risk of involvement in a transportation security incident, including various tank vessels, barges, large passenger vessels, cargo vessels, towing vessels, offshore oil and gas platforms, and port facilities that handle certain kinds of dangerous cargo or service the vessels listed above. The regulations have been put in place by the government and these regulations must be “exercised” to properly assess the maritime community's and law enforcement agencies' ability to secure our ports, This legal mandate of running exercises to determine the facilities’/agency’s ability to deal with critical maritime incidents is exactly what NMLEA does.

The NMLEA's objective is to aid law enforcement agencies in acquiring the best possible assessments and training this country has to offer. The academy was formed five years ago as a nonprofit organization that provides, consulting, assessments, and mobile training units for maritime enforcement agencies. By providing the training locally, tax payers and citizens not only benefit from increased security but save the government and the taxpayers significant funds.

National Scope, Local Focus

The Academy's unique programs are specifically designed to use the agency's assets in order to increase the officer's proficiency, and to use them to the officer's and the agency's best advantage. The key to raising the level of professionalism, proficiency, and officer safety and survival is to utilize the officers’ own equipment during training. Through table-top training and ongoing assessments of training, equipment needs, and threats, the Academy can help law enforcement agencies provide the best possible security for their community.

The NMLEA's mission is to enhance our nation's maritime law enforcement capabilities, while doing so through prudent stewardship of the citizen's tax dollars.

 WILMINGTON STAR NEWS

Two articles published August 24, 2005

    Resident Takes Helm of National Organization

       Academy Trains Officers to Protect Waterways . . .

 

After a lifetime of service to his country, Woodrow "Woody" Clookie retired a year ago . . . [and is now the] executive director of the National Maritime Law Enforcement Academy (NMLEA), a nonprofit organization that trains federal, state, and local law enforcement in water-borne counter-terrorism techniques. That includes tactics to deal with drug and illegal alien smuggling, hostage situations, kidnappings, and other maritime "critical incidents."

Along with training, the Academy assesses the counter-terrorism capabilities of a law enforcement agency—or group of agencies. For example, Mr. Clookie says various local law enforcement agencies operate on different emergency communication channels, which can hinder their ability to work together.

"Effective communication requires multiple agencies to operate on inter-linked frequencies. We assess the agencies involved so that they know each other's strengths and weaknesses. In essence, we are training them . . . to play in the "same sandbox together," he said.

The training also includes an assessment of other equipment the personnel have: "Is it an appropriate helmet? Do they have flak jackets (body armor) for maximum personal safety? Or, it may be a situation where they need to carry different weapons, such as no long guns, but small weapons, because of maneuverability in a small space."

And boats, of course, are part of the equipment check: "Do they have the right boat for the job? Is there someone who can drive it properly? Is what they have in good shape, maintenance-wise, have good engines? Is the boat properly equipped with the charts for the waters they are entering, and does it have the appropriate compasses?"

[According to Mr. Clookie] "We only assess that which may alleviate the problem or show a problem that needs addressing and offer recommendations. We cannot order compliance, only make suggestions based upon experience and what we know has been successful in the field. Now that the organization has established a successful track record, it has a list of training requests Nationally. The NMLEA is a well-experienced, fresh eye designed to help people do what they do better,

 "objectively, without bias, to learn new techniques."