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Fayette resident gets is one of the nation’s first to earn his degree in homeland security

Georgia Emergency Management Agency Operations Director Charley English, a Fayette County resident, is one of the nation’s first recipients of a masters degree in homeland security. English graduated in June from the inaugural program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP), and conducted by the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, California.

English was also selected to receive the NPS’ Zimbardo Award, which is presented to the student “whose outstanding analyses and keen insights exemplify the best in academic scholarship as applied to the solution of emergency national challenges.”

“I want to express my appreciation for the contributions you will make to securing freedom around the globe, and my gratitude to your families for their shared sacrifices in making your services possible. You have worked hard to earn the right to receive your degree,” said ODP Director Sue Mencer, in remarks to the NPS’ 208th graduating class, which included the homeland security graduates.

The masters program is designed to help the United States develop a generation of leadership needed to defeat terrorism. The accredited curriculum provides students with the knowledge and skills to:

• Develop strategies, plans and programs to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, and reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism.

• Build the organization arrangements needed to strengthen homeland security, including local, state, federal, civil-military and interagency cooperation.

• Help local officials and governors to make immediate, and long-term improvements in homeland security preparedness.

ODP officials selected English and his 12 colleagues on the basis of their proven expertise in homeland security-related fields, objectively measured leadership potential, and academic skills essential for the rigorous coursework.

English joined GEMA in February 1996, as a part of the Olympic planning team. He has coordinated the state’s response to five presidentially declared disasters and numerous states of emergency issued by the Governor, and has been GEMA’s director of operations since 1999.

A veteran of two decades in public safety, he was responsible or the management of Georgia’s ten regional police academies during his tenure as director of training for regional police academy operations for the Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Council. Prior to that, he worked with a Clayton County law enforcement agency for eight years, and served as a regional police academy director.

English noted that the graduation coincided with the annual G-8 Conference that was held at Sea Island this year, creating a valuable link between the academic and the practical.

“The coursework provided a good framework for the conference planning, while the conference preparations offered a context for the classes I was taking,” said English.

The comprehensive 18-month curriculum is structured around key policy and organization design problems that future homeland security leaders are likely to confront, and the analytic skills they will need to meet those challenges.

Courses included: Policy Analysis and Research Methods, Comparative Government and Homeland Security; Critical Infrastructure Ð Vulnerability Analysis and Protection, Civil-Military Relations for Homeland Defense and Security, and Strategic Planning and Budgeting for Homeland Security.

Among the electives were: Fear Management, Public Health for Homeland Security, and Agroterrorism.