Empact Radio

Ambassador Henry F. CooperAmbassador Henry F. Cooper is Chairman of the Board of Directors of High Frontier and Chairman Emeritus of Applied Research Associates. Since 1979, he has been appointed by the President to serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force with oversight responsibility for Air Force strategic and space systems; Assistant Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, backstopping all bilateral negotiations with the Soviet Union; Ambassador and Chief U.S. Negotiator at the Geneva Defense and Space Talks with the Soviet Union; and Director of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). In the private sector, he taught Engineering Mechanics at Clemson University, and worked at Bell Telephone Laboratories, R&D Associates, JAYCOR and Applied Research Associates. He served in the U.S. Air Force and as Scientific Advisor to the Air Force Weapons Laboratory. Throughout his career, he served on numerous technical and policy working groups and advisory boards—including the Defense Science Board, the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, U.S. Strategic Command's Strategic Advisory Group, the Defense Nuclear Agency's Scientific Advisory Group on Effects, and a Congressional Commission to assess the U.S. government's organization and programs to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. He holds BS and MS degrees from Clemson University and a PhD from New York University, all in Mechanical Engineering.

Congressman Trent Franks and Fritz Ermarth A member of EMPact America's Board of Advisors, Congressman Trent Franks is serving his fourth term in the United States Congress, representing the Second District of Arizona. He's been a strong supporter of EMPact America's efforts, and was a great presenter at our EMP conference. You can view his bio on our web site: EMPactAmerica.org. Click here to watch a video of Congressman Franks's conference speech. Fritz Ermarth, former Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, joins Ross and Dr. Pry for the second part of this episode. You can watch a video clip from Fritz Ermarth's presentation at the EMPact America conference on our web site: www.EMPactAmerica.org.

Jim Hanson is a popular blogger, focusing on our national security policies on the ground. He served as a Weapons Sergeant in 1st Special Forces Group in the Pacific Rim and also served in the Army in Germany and much of Europe. You can read Jim's blog at www.BlackFive.net, where he writes under the name "Uncle Jimbo."

Jim RawlesJim Rawles knows that it would only take one unthinkable event to disrupt our way of life –- whether an EMP, terrorist attack, a global pandemic, or sharp currency devaluation--you and your family may be forced to fend for yourself in ways you've never imagined. Where would you get water? How would you communicate with relatives who live in other states? What would you use for fuel? Survivalist expert James Wesley, Rawles, author of How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times, the novel Patriots and editor of SurvivalBlog.com, is coming onto the EMPact Radio’s Peter Vincent Pry show for a 2-hour special to answer questions and share some insights about the essential tools and skills you might need to survive in a “grid-down” environment.

Lt. Colonel Tony Shaffer In this episode, Dr. Pry will talk with Lt. Colonel Tony Shaffer, a highly experienced intelligence officer and a recipient of the Bronze Star with 25 years of field experience. He has commanded and directed several key operational intelligence organizations including STRATUS IVY, a Special Mission Task Force that provided direct support to DoD compartmented activities (OSD, SOCOM, JSOC, Army) focused on offensive information operations. Directly following the attacks of September 11th he was in charge of Field Operating Base (FOB) Alpha, a joint DIA/CIA unit conducting classified collection and special operations support on terrorists. Join us on Wednesday, November 17 at 12:00 Noon to discuss issues related to national security and infrastructure protection.

Dr. George H. Baker, Ph.D.Dr. George H. Baker, Ph.D., served on the staff of technical experts for the EMP Commission, served in the Defense Nuclear Agency as director of programs for protecting military systems from EMP, and is currently Technical Director for Infrastructure Assurance at the Institute for Infrastructure and Information Assurance at James Madison University. His research interests include: Infrastructure Assurance, High Power Electromagnetics, Nuclear and Directed Energy Weapon Effects, and Risk Assessment. Dr. Baker's publications attest to his expert status in this field, and include "EMP: A National-Scale Threat to the U.S. Infrastructure" (The Critical Infrastructure Protection Report) and Cascading Infrastructure Failures: Avoidance and Response (with Cheryl J. Elliott, 2008). You may click on these titles and read these publications for yourself. Dr. Baker will be available to take your calls and answer your questions, Wednesday, November 10 at 12:00 Noon, so tune in!

U.S. Representative Curt Weldon and Election Night Recap A member of EMPact America's Advisory Board, Congressman Curt Weldon served for 20 years in the United States Congress retiring as both Vice Chair of the House Armed Services Committee, as well as Vice Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee. He also served on the Energy Committee of the House Science Committee. Notably, together with Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, Congressman Curt Weldon founded the Congressional EMP Commission. He was also the co-chair of the Duma-Congress Study Group, the official inter-parliamentary relationship between the United States and Russia, through which the United States learned a lot about Russia's nuclear-EMP tests, capabilities, and strategic posture. Rep. Weldon is also widely regarded as the father of missile defense in Congress. In 2005, Congressman Weldon famously gave a speech introducing the American public to a controversial military intelligence operation called Able Danger. Able Danger was a classified military planning effort led by the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). It was claimed by several of those involved with Able Danger that the program identified two of the three cells responsible for 9/11 at least a year before the attacks. Able Danger and the possibility of a government coverup continues to be a controversial subject. We also feature a video of his appearance at our EMP conference on our web site: www.empactamerica.org/video_conference18.php. Rep. Weldon will recap Tuesday’s 2010 mid-term elections and take your calls live!

Dr. Peter Huessy and Brigadier General Kenneth Chrosniak   Dr. Pry and Ross are joined by Mr. Peter Huessy and Brigadier General Kenneth Chrosniak of the US Army War College and our EMPact Pennsylvania Chapter.   Mr. Huessy will be coming on the show to discuss electromagnetic pulse (EMP), the New START treaty, state-sponsored terrorism, terror-masters and their accomplices, and other national security topics. Read Mr. Huessy's bio on our web site: www.empactamerica.org.   General Chrosniak, a primary organizer of the "First Responder Community Planning for a Catastrophic Electric Grid Failure Event" table-top exercise happening October 26 in Carlisle, PA, will be coming on the show to talk about the event and the start of our PA Chapter of EMPact America.  

Vice Admiral (Ret) Robert Monroe Dr. Pry and Ross are REJOINED by Retired Vice Admiral Robert Monroe. Admiral Monroe enlisted in the Navy during World War II. He served in destroyers, minesweepers, cruisers, and amphibious assault ships, including three commands at sea. He subsequently served in flag rank for eleven years. As a Rear Admiral he commanded the South Atlantic Force; U.S. Atlantic Fleet; directed Navy Systems Analysis; and commanded the Navy's Operational Test and Evaluation Force. From 1977 until 1980 Vice Admiral Monroe was Director of the Defense Nuclear Agency, responsible for many of DOD's nuclear weapons activities, including stockpile management, safety, security, and survivability. He managed the U.S. national program for research into the effects of nuclear weapons, determining the vulnerabilities, "hardness," and survivability of U.S. weapons and C3 systems by means of underground nuclear tests, kiloton-level high-explosive tests, advanced simulators, and other means. He played a major role in directing DOD's four-year response to President Carter's proposed Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. From 1980 until 1983 Vice Admiral Monroe was Director of Navy Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E). In this position he had planning and oversight responsibility for all major Navy RDT&E programs for weapons and C3 systems, strategic and tactical. He also was responsible for establishing, allocating, and managing the Navy's RDT&E budget. Robert now serves as a member of numerous advisory boards for the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of State, NASA, and other government and private organizations. He will take your calls and answer email chat questions. Tune in!

John Kappenman John Kappenman is one of the principle investigators under contract with the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP Commission). Mr. Kappenman has presented testimony before the US House Science Committee in October 2003 on the importance of geomagnetic storm forecasting for the electric power industry. He also was a principal investigator examining the “Vulnerability of the Electric Power Grid for Severe Geomagnetic Storms” for FEMA under US Presidential Executive Order 13407. He was also one of the Principal Contributors to the 2008 US National Academy of Sciences Report on “Severe Space Weather Events—Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts Workshop Report Committee on the Societal and Economic Impacts of Severe Space Weather Events” He is a member of the IEC Standards Development Committee for all EMP and High Energy Electomagnetic Compatibility Requirements.

Fred Celec The Honorable Fred S. Celec was confirmed by the Senate as the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Chemical and Biological Defense Programs (ATSD(NCB)) on July 24, 2008. In this position, he was the principal staff assistant and advisor to the Secretary of Defense and Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics for all matters concerning the formulation of policy and plans for nuclear, chemical, and biological defense programs. As ATSD(NCB), Celec was also directly responsible to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense for matters associated with nuclear weapons safety and security, chemical weapons demilitarization, chemical and biological defense programs, and smoke and obscurants. Prior to his appointment by then President Bush, Mr. Celec was part of the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) staff working for the congressionally mandated Electro-Magnetic Pulse Commission. While at IDA he worked on a variety of tasks including the U.S. capability to exercise treaty monitoring rights under the Threshold Test Ban Treaty, the DOD’s Nuclear Weapons Physical Security Program to protect our nation’s nuclear weapons, and development of an Interagency Program to secure radiological and nuclear materials of potential threat to the U.S. worldwide.

David J. Trachtenberg LIVE from the US Army War College This week, Dr. Pry welcomes David Trachtenburg. Mr. David J. Trachtenberg is an independent consultant in national security affairs and serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Shortwaver Consulting, LLC. He has more than 25 years of public policy experience in the private sector and the Executive and Legislative branches of government. From 2005-2007 he was Vice President of ACI International and Division Manager of the Strategic Analysis Division at CACI-NSR, Inc. From 2003-2005 he was Senior Vice President for Homeland Security and Senior Vice President for Corporate Support at National Security Research, Inc.

Dr. William RadaskyDr. Peter Vincent Pry was the Director of the United States Nuclear Strategy Forum, he sat on the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack (also commonly known as the EMP Commission), as Professional Staff on the House Armed Services Committee of the U.S. Congress, with portfolios in nuclear strategy, WMD, Russia and servedc in the CIA for over ten years. This week, Dr. Pry welcomes Lord Kelvin Medal Recipient William Radasky to the show. William Radasky started his career as a research engineer at the Air Force Weapons Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1968 working on the theory of the electromagnetic pulse (EMP). From 1972 to 1984, he worked for Mission Research Corporation and Jaycor in Santa Barbara, California performing research into the effects of EMP on electronic systems. In 1984 he founded Metatech Corporation in Goleta, California where he is currently President and Managing Engineer. During his 42-year career, he has published over 400 technical papers and reports dealing with electromagnetic interference (EMI) and protection.

Dr. Peter Vincent Pry was the Director of the United States Nuclear Strategy Forum, he sat on the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack (also commonly known as the EMP Commission), as Professional Staff on the House Armed Services Committee of the U.S. Congress, with portfolios in nuclear strategy, WMD, Russia and servedc in the CIA for over ten years. This week, Dr. Pry welcomes Bronius Cikotas. Bronius Cikotas has over 38 years of government leadership experience, and served as a member of the Senior Executive Service at the U.S. Department of Defense. From 1963 through 1981 he was responsible for the Air Force EMP ground-based and missile test assessment and hardening programs. From 1982 through 1992, he was a regular Armed Forces Staff College guest lecturer on EMP threat and survivability issues. He briefed selected members of Congress on the implications of EMP attack and testified on electromagnetic threat implications to infrastructures to the House Terrorism Panel. Mr. Cikotas was a featured speaker at the 2009 EMPact America conference. You can watch part of his presentation on our web site: Click here for video.

Dr. Peter Vincent Pry was the Director of the United States Nuclear Strategy Forum, he sat on the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack (also commonly known as the EMP Commission), as Professional Staff on the House Armed Services Committee of the U.S. Congress, with portfolios in nuclear strategy, WMD, Russia and served in the CIA for over ten years. This week, Dr. Pry welcomes author and professor William Forstchen, author of One Second After. William R. Forstchen has a Ph.D. from Purdue University with specializations in Military History and the History of Technology. He is a Faculty Fellow and Professor of History at Montreat College. He is the author of over forty books, including the New York Times bestselling series Gettysburg and Pearl Harbor (coauthored with Newt Gingrich), as well as the award-winning young adult novel We Look Like Men of War. He has also authored numerous short stories and articles about military history and military technology.