Rep. Gillard offered the following concurrent resolution:
House Concurrent Resolution No. 30.
A concurrent resolution to urge the Department of Defense to select National Guard facilities at Alpena and Grayling as sites for the training of first responders to terrorist emergencies.
Whereas, Among the many lessons learned on and after September 11, 2001, is the critical importance of the initial response to an emergency created by a terrorist attack. As was demonstrated in New York and at the Pentagon, civilian emergency personnel must work smoothly with local and national authorities to ensure the best response in a crisis; and
Whereas, In an effort to enhance significantly our ability to cope with large-scale emergencies, the Department of Defense is expected to establish a series of centers to provide intensive training to first responders. Approaches used in the past need to be modified to prepare for a range of threats that were difficult to imagine only a short time ago. A key part in the new approach is training civilian and military responders together; and
Whereas, Michigan's National Guard facilities at Grayling and Alpena offer comprehensive resources for this type of training. The Grayling locale's 147,000 acres and Alpena's experience in training first responders would be perfect for a limitless range of exercises and conditions. A joint site combining both of these advantages could prove to be very worthwhile to our national effort to do all we can to safeguard our citizens and resources in the face of terrorist threats; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That we urge the Department of Defense to select National Guard facilities at Alpena and Grayling as sites for the training of first responders to terrorist emergencies; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Department of Defense.