Department of Homeland Security Experience

SAIC expertise has benefited some of the largest security operations in U.S. history: Olympic Games, presidential inaugurals, and Super Bowls. To create a safe experience for Super Bowl XL, the City of Detroit and the Detroit Police Department used a security system integrated by SAIC to coordinate more than 100 local, state and federal agencies. At the Center for Domestic preparedness in Aniston, Alabama, SAIC is the prime contractor for training police, firefighters and medical personnel how to respond to terrorist incidents, especially those involving chemical, biological and radiological agents.

When terrorists attacked in 2001 and when one of the most devastating natural disasters on record struck the Gulf Coast, SAIC provided situational awareness supporting rescue and recovery efforts. When government agencies arrived to help, SAIC staff reestablished communications and provided emergency operations and IT support. As part of our support for our customers in the Gulf region, to aid emergency workers after Hurricane Katrina, we helped the U.S. Geological Survey process and deliver nearly 22 terabytes of imagery.

Both times, our staff members were among the first to respond. When the Pentagon was attacked on September 11, 2001, SAIC staff risked their lives to help others escape the burning smoke-filled building. Their acts of bravery earned them the highest peacetime medals awarded by the U.S. Army.

When Hurricane Katrina crashed into the Gulf Coast near the NASA Michoud facility, an SAIC employee risked his life to stay and protect flight hardware essential to the U.S. space program. That courage earned Steve Thompson the NASA Medal for Exceptional Bravery.

Not far from NASA Michoud, our employees were on the ride-out crew at the National Data Buoy Center. Although they suffered devastating personal losses, our employees stayed on the job, working quickly and efficiently to get data from critical hurricane early warning systems streaming back out to the public before Hurricane Rita hit Texas and Louisiana.

After Katrina wreaked havoc on Mississippi River shipping channels, our staff members were among the first to navigate the area. On board a NOAA research vessel, they worked around the clock to survey and chart new navigation hazards so that ports and shipping channels could be reopened to Navy Relief vessels.

When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staff arrived to help, they relied on SAIC to configure new communications links and provide emergency operations support in the disaster-torn area. And when Louisiana State University (LSU) became the temporary home for displaced or arriving federal agencies and evacuees with special needs, SAIC staff quickly assisted LSU in standing up an emergency operations center to coordinate relief efforts.

SAIC also delivered logistics and maintenance support for military relief operations, assisted in the transfer of electronic medical records and prescription histories to help displaced victims, and captured lessons learned from disaster and relief efforts.

Protecting Against Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Threats

Respected experts from SAIC and its GEO-CENTERS acquisition joined forces to protect first responders, armed forces and civilians from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons.

SAIC's centerpiece contract is: Lead Systems Integrator for the ground-breaking Guardian Installation Protection Program. SAIC is helping the Joint Project Manager Guardian chose new detection, protection and response capabilities and integrating them with existing force protection measures at installations in the U.S. and overseas. As part of this effort, SAIC identifies and evaluates emerging detection and protection technologies at its Integration and Assurance Center in Abingdon.

For more on SAIC’s efforts in homeland security, visit our Homeland Security section.

Securing Borders and Ports of Entry

Safeguarding the homeland means working with international trading partners to identify and inspect cargo containers at international ports before they are shipped to U.S. seaports. In a project that holds promise to reduce the terrorist threat, two of the world's busiest cargo terminals - both in Hong Kong - have been using our Integrated Container Inspection Systems to scan hundreds of thousands of containers during the course of normal traffic flow. One of the core technologies in this system, our proprietary gamma-ray imaging system, has been deployed across the U.S. and around the world to land, sea and air ports of entry.

SAIC also is exploring new technologies to help detect contraband, intrusions into cargo containers, and explosives in containers. We are also developing new technologies to help protect seaports and the Panama Canal from seagoing threats, and we are working on new ways to help protect airports from runway incursions and aircraft from shoulder-fired missiles.

Defending Against Disease

Whether a disease outbreak is terrorist-driven or naturally occurring, government and public health officials are turning to SAIC for solutions in preparedness and response. We are helping the CDC develop a national biosurveillance infrastructure designed to improve early detection of major disease outbreaks as well as to provide improved "health situational awareness." SAIC is working with hospitals and health care organizations around the country to implement real-time data feeds into this BioSense system. This is a massive, first-of-its kind effort.

We are designing the system to correlate medical complaints with data from monitors in the DHS BioWatch network. SAIC is developing a system that could make substantial improvements to this biosurveillance network, which was implemented after the anthrax attacks in 2001.

At the same time, we're exploring emerging technologies such as the TIGER biosensor, a revolutionary system for identifying infectious diseases and winner of an R&D 100 Award for 2005. Developed by SAIC and Isis Pharmaceuticals, TIGER shows remarkable promise for identifying both known pathogens and newly evolved or engineered pathogens.

Once pathogens are identified, vaccines need to be available in the right quantities at the right time and place. SAIC is playing a key technology management role in the DHS BioShield program to more effectively stockpile and more rapidly develop vaccines and therapeutics.