San Diego, CA - U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Deputy Director Dan G. Blair today addressed the fourth annual OPM Countering Terrorism Symposium in San Diego, California. The symposium is open to defense, intelligence, security, and law enforcement professionals including military officers and state or local officials, and serves as a forum for learning and exchanging ideas on the very latest security challenges and solutions involving homeland security.

"No nation has ever had to face the simultaneous challenges America has had to face in the past three years," stated Blair. "We must defend our borders, our transportation infrastructure and freedom of mobility, our information technology and financial systems, our food supplies and fuel distribution networks, our culture, and our way of life. To that end, OPM under the leadership of Director Kay Coles James, took on major new national security responsibilities within the Administration. Ensuring the safety and welfare of our work force is an inherent human resource function and our most important mission.  Our task is to provide a coordinated response across the federal government and guard against inconsistencies or unintended consequences which could compromise our efforts to prepare and protect," Blair stated. "Under Director James, OPM is playing a vital role in bringing government together in these kinds of sessions for the purpose of sharing and exchanging ideas that will advance the Bush Administration's anti-terrorism goals."

The symposium brought together practitioners and policy makers responsible for the safety and security of the United States.  Guest presenters and expert facilitators worked with seminar attendees to generate innovative approaches to security, analyzed options, and discussed policy initiatives for homeland security. Three tracks of discussion that focused on critical infrastructure, international, and domestic issues on topics such as financial security, transportation, and public health were held.  Break-out sessions on chemical and biological security, critical infrastructure, and food and water security also were held.  

The speakers at this year's symposium, held in San Diego, California, with the assistance of the First Marine Expeditionary Force, included Deputy Director Blair, Brigadier General James L. Williams of the First Marine Expeditionary Force, representatives from George Washington University, the Rand Corporation, Central Intelligence Agency, Centers for Disease Control, Transportation Security Administration, Department of State, and branches of the United States Army, Navy, and Marines. 

The Countering Terrorism Symposium is the latest in OPM's efforts to assist in the safety and security of the nation and its federal work force.  OPM also has hosted seven governmentwide emergency preparedness training sessions and has trained 605 emergency professionals from 142 federal agencies and sub-agencies nationwide.  

Agencies who participated in this year's symposium include:

Department of the Air Force

Department of the Army

Transportation Security Administration

U.S. Marine Corps

Department of the Treasury

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms

Department of the Navy

Department of State

Department of Defense

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Air Force Intelligence Service

Social Security Administration

U.S. Army Forces Command

Defense Threat Reduction Agency

Office of Personnel Management

General Services Administration

Defense Logistics Agency

Central Intelligence Agency

Federal Emergency Management Agency

U.S. Coast Guard

National Geospatial Intelligence Agency

Department of Energy

Department of Veterans Affairs

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Department of Homeland Security

Food and Drug Administration