Aug 03, 2017
08:30 am
The Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) helped facilitate the security of over 30,000 attendees at the 2017 National Scout Jamboree (NSJ), held July 19 to 28 near Glen Jean, West Virginia. President Trump, joined by several members of his cabinet, spoke at the event on July 24.
The NSJ brings together federal, state, local and private sector partners to prepare for, secure and support the event. Other participating DHS components included I&A, NPPD and TSA.
Weekly meetings and “dry run” exercises were held leading up to the event. Over 300 members of the West Virginia National Guard and other partners were trained in preparation for it, according to HSIN Mission Advocate Christine Wisniewski.
During the event, HSIN provided an information sharing platform and capabilities needed to support interagency collaboration. “The ability to use the suite of tools available on HSIN—from the HSIN Connect rooms for information sharing to the main site for situational awareness and planning—allowed the broad group of responders from the military and local emergency management staff to quickly share information,” Jimmy Gianato, Director and Homeland Security Advisor of the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said.
President Donald J. Trump addresses a crowd at the Boy Scouts of America’s 2017 National Scout Jamboree near Glen Jean, WV, July 24, 2017. He is the eighth president to attend the event. (Photo by U.S. Army Spc. Dustin D. Biven / 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)
The team also used mapping tools created with the assistance of NPPD. The infrastructure visualization platform provided data that was integrated into HSIN, enabling analysts to zoom in to view video and other data on the venue. HSIN’s trusted network enabled the operations team to share intelligence and risk-mitigation strategies as well as preemptively stop adverse actions from occurring.
HSIN has been designated as the primary system for operational information sharing and collaboration within DHS and all of its partners since 2006. Over 85,000 users trust HSIN’s secure, reliable and fast access to share sensitive but unclassified information with Federal, state, local, territorial, tribal and private sector homeland security partners.
“HSIN is the only platform out there that permits interagency relationship building and further enhances communications across many sectors of government and non-government entities,” Major General James Hoyer, Adjutant General, West Virginia, said, “What we established for the NSJ will be the model for how we all communicate and work together in the future.”
Last Updated: 08/04/2021