| 
               Congressman to Introduce Webinar
              on Protecting GPS 
               
              The Honorable John Garamendi (D-CA) will provide opening remarks
              for a 17 November webinar co-sponsored by the Domestic
              Preparedness Journal and the Resilient Navigation and Timing
              Foundation. Garamendi is the chair of the House Armed Services
              Readiness Subcommittee and has long been concerned about the
              vulnerability of America’s Global Positioning System (GPS). 
              The
              webinar will focus on ways to deter attacks on and interference
              with GPS satellites and signals. 
               
              “America’s over-reliance on GPS makes it a high priority target
              for a wide range of bad actors,” said Dana A. Goward, President
              of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation, and one of the
              webinar moderators. “And, since other nations, such as China,
              Russia, and Iran, have terrestrial systems they can use when
              space is not available, the U.S. is at a strategic disadvantage.” 
               
              This “technology resilience gap” is one of several dangers that
              could lead to armed conflict that webinar panelist George Beebe
              discusses in his book “The Russia Trap.” His concern is that,
              having such a pronounced relative weakness can invite meddling
              and exploitation by adversaries. Even if done on a small scale,
              this could lead to a series of escalating responses ending in an
              unintended, much more serious conflict that neither party wants. 
               
              Beebe is Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for
              the National Interest. He spent more than two decades in
              government service as an intelligence analyst, diplomat, and policy
              advisor, including service as director of CIA’s Russia analysis,
              and as Special Advisor to Vice President Chaney for
              Russia/Eurasia and Intelligence Programs. 
               
              Eliminating the gap between the U.S. and its adversaries is key
              to protecting GPS and the nation, according to webinar panelist
              Greg Winfree, Director of the Texas Transportation Institute.
              Winfree previously served as an Assistant Secretary for the U.S.
              Department of Transportation. While acknowledging there is no
              single answer, he has asserted that providing at least one
              alternative system will go a long way toward “getting the
              bullseye off GPS.” 
               
              The third webinar panelist, Scott Pace, has supported Winfree’s
              approach. Pace is the Director of George Washington University’s
              Space Policy Institute and former Executive Director of the
              National Space Council. He has commented that having an
              alternative to GPS will contribute to national security and
              improve global stability. It will “lower the pressure on us to
              escalate and respond” should GPS satellites be damaged, or
              services disrupted. 
               
              The webinar will be held on Wednesday the 17th of
              November from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM EST. More information is
              available at DomesticPreparedness.com. 
              Attendance is free but attendees must register in advance HERE. 
               | 
             
            
No comments:
Post a Comment