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Article Archive by Year

The Current State of the Opioid Crisis & Other Emerging Threats

January 22, 2025
Opioid deaths have surged dramatically since the pandemic. Manufacturers exploit legal loopholes and use precursor chemicals that often evade detection and regulation. These new and growing threats present challenges to public safety that demand innovative solutions and a proactive approach.

Advisory Board Spotlight: Interview with Major Rhonda Lawson

January 22, 2025
Rhonda Lawson is a major in the chief’s office of the Texas Highway Patrol (THP) Division. She began her 27-year career with the Texas Department of Public Safety in 1997 as a trooper. In 2012, Lawson transferred to the Texas Division of Emergency Management as captain and deputy Operations Section

Preparing for the Next Biothreat: Lessons Not to Forget

January 15, 2025
In 2024, senior officials from hospitals, healthcare organizations, public health, emergency management, and other responder communities convened at two workshops to share the lessons they learned as leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their lessons learned can help communities better prepare for the next biothreat.
Lumen Field, Seattle

Mission Ready Packages: New Possibilities

January 15, 2025
In 2005, the Superdome in New Orleans served as a mass shelter and accommodated over 25,000 people during Hurricane Katrina. Those accommodations, though, were inadequate, with limited power, plumbing, and other resources. To avoid a similar scenario, the Mission Ready Venue Initiative enables stadiums to be a resource for immediate

Evolution of a Critical Emergency Response Tool

January 8, 2025
During a derecho in May 2024, Texas agencies contacted and conducted wellness checks on residents with disabilities or with functional and access needs. One tool facilitated the process, sharing critical information about registrants to the emergency responders and planners who needed to know.

Why Public Works Needs a Seat at the Planning Table

January 8, 2025
Despite their critical role in disaster response, public works agencies are not always included in the emergency planning process. To bridge planning gaps, public works should be integrated into emergency response efforts. Key steps can help ensure that these and other agencies can more effectively respond to the next disaster.

A Data-Driven Approach to Police Recruitment and Retention

December 26, 2024
From the rise of advanced criminal networks and borderless crimes to the persistent hurdles of limited resources, inadequate training, and outdated tools, law enforcement departments navigate an increasingly demanding landscape. Big data and artificial intelligence can help build and maintain this critical public safety workforce.
A close-up of a hand gently holding a glowing sphere with the letters AI prominently displayed in the center. The sphere emits a bright blue light, symbolizing the power and potential of artificial intelligence. This image conveys a futuristic vision of AI technology being carefully controlled and harnessed by human innovation.

Editor’s Note: Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence

December 25, 2024
The December 2024 edition of the Domestic Preparedness Journal provides insight into the intersection of AI and emergency preparedness. With their exponentially increasing speed of development, existing, emerging, and not-yet-created technologies must all be part of the planning process in 2025 and beyond.

The Current State of the Opioid Crisis & Other Emerging Threats

January 22, 2025
Opioid deaths have surged dramatically since the pandemic. Manufacturers exploit legal loopholes and use precursor chemicals that often evade detection and regulation. These new and growing threats present challenges to public safety that demand innovative solutions and a proactive approach.

Advisory Board Spotlight: Interview with Major Rhonda Lawson

January 22, 2025
Rhonda Lawson is a major in the chief’s office of the Texas Highway Patrol (THP) Division. She began her 27-year career with the Texas Department of Public Safety in 1997 as a trooper. In 2012, Lawson transferred to the Texas Division of Emergency Management as captain and deputy Operations Section

Preparing for the Next Biothreat: Lessons Not to Forget

January 15, 2025
In 2024, senior officials from hospitals, healthcare organizations, public health, emergency management, and other responder communities convened at two workshops to share the lessons they learned as leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their lessons learned can help communities better prepare for the next biothreat.

Mission Ready Packages: New Possibilities

January 15, 2025
In 2005, the Superdome in New Orleans served as a mass shelter and accommodated over 25,000 people during Hurricane Katrina. Those accommodations, though, were inadequate, with limited power, plumbing, and other resources. To avoid a similar scenario, the Mission Ready Venue Initiative enables stadiums to be a resource for immediate

Evolution of a Critical Emergency Response Tool

January 8, 2025
During a derecho in May 2024, Texas agencies contacted and conducted wellness checks on residents with disabilities or with functional and access needs. One tool facilitated the process, sharing critical information about registrants to the emergency responders and planners who needed to know.

Why Public Works Needs a Seat at the Planning Table

January 8, 2025
Despite their critical role in disaster response, public works agencies are not always included in the emergency planning process. To bridge planning gaps, public works should be integrated into emergency response efforts. Key steps can help ensure that these and other agencies can more effectively respond to the next disaster.

A Data-Driven Approach to Police Recruitment and Retention

December 26, 2024
From the rise of advanced criminal networks and borderless crimes to the persistent hurdles of limited resources, inadequate training, and outdated tools, law enforcement departments navigate an increasingly demanding landscape. Big data and artificial intelligence can help build and maintain this critical public safety workforce.

Editor’s Note: Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence

December 25, 2024
The December 2024 edition of the Domestic Preparedness Journal provides insight into the intersection of AI and emergency preparedness. With their exponentially increasing speed of development, existing, emerging, and not-yet-created technologies must all be part of the planning process in 2025 and beyond.

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Article Out Loud – Opportunities for Artificial Intelligence in Emergency Management

December 18, 2024
This is an article by Alex Hagen and Jon Barr, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, December 18, 2024. Recent research into the relationship between AI and emergency management uncovered an environment prepared for AI-based solutions. While AI must overcome some infrastructure hurdles, technologies to prevent, mitigate, and recover

ARTICLE OUT LOUD – Introducing AI to the Emergency Management Workforce: A Case Study

December 18, 2024
This is an article by Lenora G. Borchardt, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, December 18, 2024. AI can contribute to professional competency and learners’ success while efficiently training emergency management professionals and managing the bottom line. Learn how AI can create competency and outcomes-based learning tailored to each

ARTICLE OUT LOUD – Protecting Critical Infrastructure From Weaponized Drones

December 4, 2024
Electricity substations are traditionally only protected by chain-link fences and signage warning of the dangers of high voltage. However, this still leaves property vulnerable, especially to weaponized drones attacking from above, a mode of terrorism being used more extensively across the world and at home. Learn about the vulnerability of

ARTICLE OUT LOUD – Why Messaging Matters: A Regionalized Approach to Alerts and Warnings

November 27, 2024
Full article by Soraya Sutherlin, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness. Effective, timely, and unified communication across jurisdictions is essential for saving lives. The 2015 ExxonMobil refinery explosion highlighted the urgent need for coordinated, cross-jurisdictional alerting. Emergency managers, public safety officials, and policymakers must come together to prioritize a

ARTICLE OUT LOUD – The Nexus Between Major Events and Human Trafficking

November 27, 2024
Full article by Madeline Mann and Lindsey Lane, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, November 27, 2024. Most available data do not support the misconception that large-scale events lead to increased human trafficking. Rather, available evidence underscores a harsh truth: Human trafficking is a pervasive problem every day, not

ARTICLE OUT LOUD – A Violent Surge: Sovereign Citizens vs. Government Authority

November 20, 2024
Full article by Anthony “Tony” Mottola and Richard Schoeberl, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness.The Federal Bureau of Investigation has classified the Sovereign Citizen movement as a domestic terrorist threat. To prepare law enforcement officials and other public safety agencies for the risks associated with this movement, agencies need
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Domestic Preparedness

2883 Highway 71 E
P.O. Box 285
Del Valle, TX 78617-9998

Editorial Statement

Founded in 1998, Domestic Preparedness continues to be a pioneering thought leader in the emergency preparedness, response, and recovery space. The multidisciplinary editorial focus helps professionals acquire critical information to develop collaborative, real-world solutions. With relevant, multidisciplinary, whole-community intelligence from the front lines, practitioners can learn from diverse perspectives. The authoritative, practitioner-centered, multimedia information platform disseminates intelligence the way busy management-level public- and private-sector professionals want to learn. This is the trusted source for content written by practitioners, for practitioners, with relevant, real-world best practices.

DomesticPreparedness.com, the Domestic Preparedness Journal and the Weekly Brief include facts, views, opinions, and recommendations of individuals and organizations deemed of interest. The Texas Division of Emergency Management and the Texas A&M University System do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of, or otherwise endorse, these views, facts, opinions or recommendations.
©2025 Texas Division of Emergency Management

Domestic Preparedness

2883 Highway 71E

P.O. Box 285

Del Valle, TX 78617-9998

Editorial Statement

Founded in 1998, Domestic Preparedness continues to be a pioneering thought leader in the emergency preparedness, response, and recovery space. The multidisciplinary editorial focus helps professionals acquire critical information to develop collaborative, real-world solutions. With relevant, multidisciplinary, whole-community intelligence from the front lines, practitioners can learn from diverse perspectives. The authoritative, practitioner-centered, multimedia information platform disseminates intelligence the way busy management-level public- and private-sector professionals want to learn. This is the trusted source for content written by practitioners, for practitioners, with relevant, real-world best practices.

DomesticPreparedness.com, the Domestic Preparedness Journal and the Weekly Brief include facts, views, opinions, and recommendations of individuals and organizations deemed of interest. The Texas Division of Emergency Management and the Texas A&M University System do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of, or otherwise endorse, these views, facts, opinions or recommendations.
©2025 Texas Division of Emergency Management
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