Free Republic

The 20-foot-long All-Hazard Special Response Vehicle, also known as the TK-4, was used by Gardens police on a trial basis for about three weeks in July. Several other South Florida communities considering buying a TK-4 also used the vehicle, said Chris Light, president of Armored Solutions Inc., the Pittsfield, Mass.-based company that manufactures the vehicles. Up to 10 people can fit inside the vehicle. That will give Gardens flexibility in using the TK-4 to handle different emergencies from SWAT team emergencies to lifting fallen trees, Light said.

Numerous Minneapolis-Saint Paul area EMS agencies, headed by the U.S. Secret Service, undertook special preparations to handle EMS operations during the Republican National Convention held Sept 1-4, 2008. Following is an inside account of the experience along with some lessons to take away for future events. Fake Ambulance Spotted On Tuesday, the second day of the RNC, a Twin Cities Paramedic spotted an "ambulance" with unusual generic markings in the city of St. Paul. The medic had attended RNC briefings on the need for heightened awareness, and as an Iraq War Veteran, he was well-educated and possessed a keen eye...

Pentagon Makes Fighting Extremism Top Priority Seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Pentagon on Thursday officially named "the long war" against global extremism as its top priority and pledged to avert any conventional military threat from China or Russia through dialogue. The Defense Department, in a new national defense strategy, also emphasized the need to subordinate military operations to "soft power" initiatives to undermine Islamist militancy by promoting economic, political and social development in vulnerable corners of the world. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he hoped the change would help establish permanent institutional support for counterinsurgency skills...