This has been an amazing year for LECMgt. We have been involved in a variety of interesting projects helping our clients. We traveled from Hawaii to central Europe. Here are some of the high points for the year.
Emergency Planning
LECMgt is busy with emergency planning for several clients with many different challenges. We are helping the town of Mammoth Lakes, California develop an emergency plan which includes the use of one the first all hazards incident management teams in California. Mammoth Lakes has major seasonal issues such as snow removal and avalanche threats. In the Pacific we are working on a comprehensive emergency management plan for the University of Hawaii where dealing with natural hazards such as hurricanes is major issue. We finished the City of Cudahy, California’s emergency operations plan. We were involved with The Master’s University in Santa Clarita, California on major incident management planning and designed an exercise for their executives.
Wargaming
We were busier than ever wargaming with our clients. LECMgt designed five wargames in 2016. These were used by clients to evaluate courses of action, train their staff, and examine their emergency plans. Topics included active shooters and earthquake response. Dr. Roger Mason participated in numerous playtests for commercial wargame developers. These tests are designed to evaluate new commercial games before they are introduced to the public. LECMgt was involved in the design of a commercial wargame which we are hoping will be published later this year.
Threat Assessment
Threat assessments provide our clients a better understanding of their natural and human made hazards. By understanding these hazards the client can actively prepare to mitigate the possible impacts of these threats. We conducted a threat assessment for the Child Care Resource Center (CCRC) in Chatsworth, California. CCRC has hundreds of employees, a headquarters and three regional offices, is involved in wide a variety of programs, and is one of the largest Head Start providers in California. We also provided their employees target violence awareness training. One of the most interesting threat assessment projects was an assessment and training LECMgt provided for a faith organization in Berlin, Germany.
Conference Appearances
Conferences have several benefits for LECMgt. We are able to share our expertise on a national and international scale and learn from colleagues around the world. This keeps us on the cutting edge of our profession. Dr. Mason spoke at the International Conference for Competitive Intelligence in Bad Nauheim, Germany. He was a keynote speaker at the National Association for College Auxiliary Services conference at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the UK Connections conference at King’s College, London.
Writing
Dr. Mason has been asked to contribute a chapter to Volume II of The Art of Intelligence: Simulations, exercises, and games published by Rowman and Littlefield. This is a text book designed to “offer in one volume original simulations, exercises, and games designed by academics and intelligence professionals from several countries.” These innovative methods are meant to enhance the learning experience and provide an international perspective to the topics and approaches discussed in class.
Organizations
LECMgt is involved with the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA). Dr. Mason frequently answers questions from IACLEA members by publishing articles on their blog. Topics included sworn peace officers on higher education campuses, disasters and public information, and facilities departments and disaster planning. We are proud to be part of the International Association of Emergency Managers. IAEM is the heart of the emergency management profession. In 2016 Dr. Mason became involved with Military Operations Research Society. We are looking forward to participating in their outstanding programs. LECMgt participated in the Threat Assessment Regional Evaluation Team (TARGET) Working Group sponsored by the LA Field Office of the FBI.
Community Involvement
Community involvement keeps LECMgt connected locally to the people and society around us. Dr. Mason serves as a volunteer with the Los Angeles Police Department. His favorite assignment in 2016 was evaluating the current volunteer programs and developing new ideas for volunteer support of the LAPD. Roger was partnered with Mr. Joseph Zelenis who is also our LECMgt Special Access and Functional Needs advisor. Joe serves as electronic surveillance team specialist with the LAPD.
Highlights
With such a busy year there were many highlights. Visiting the US Embassy in Berlin Germany was amazing. Having the opportunity to collaborate with some of the top wargame experts in London was challenging and exhilarating. Driving along the Rocky Mountains in Colorado was breathtaking. Probably the greatest highlight was the talented people we worked with this year. Barbara Mason handled a multitude of details managing the business operations as we traveled and consulted around the world. Working with world class professionals like war game designer Joseph Miranda and war game developer and simulation graphic specialist Eric Harvey was stimulating and an important part of our 2016 success.
On the Horizon for 2017
We are already off and running in the first days of 2017. We have planning projects with the University of Hawaii, Penn State University and Mammoth Lakes, California. Dr. Mason is firming up his conference speaking requests for the year and working on his book chapter. We have our commercial wargame in development. We are doing the preliminary planning for several wargames. This is just day five of the New Year. We look forward to these exciting projects and others that may be on the horizon.