When Col. Jerry Bussell retired in 1994 as head of the Nevada National Guard in Las Vegas, he moved to Reno and settled down to become a businessman. After 26 years of service in the U.S. Army and the National Guard, including a tour in Vietnam, Bussell was ready to enjoy private life, with investments in a steel company and a small restaurant in Truckee, Calif. But, like many other people, Bussell found his life profoundly changed by the terrorist incidents of Sept. 11, 2001. When Gov. Kenny Guinn began a search for someone to advise him on homeland security in Nevada, Bussell’s name was the one that came up most often from many different quarters. On November 19, 2002, he was appointed to the newly-created position of “Special Advisor to the Governor on Homeland Security”. Was Bussell eager to give up private life and return to service? “After Sept. 11, I immediately realized that the world will never be the same,” said Bussell. “This isn’t a job for me – it’s a calling.”
Since November, the new homeland security advisor has been traveling throughout the state to familiarize himself with public agencies and private industries to and assess their state of readiness in case of a terrorist attack. “My primary responsibility is to advise the governor,” explained Bussell. “To be able to give him accurate advice, I need to meet people and ask questions about their operations. The governor needs to have confidence in my knowledge and my judgment. If he asks me about the level of readiness at a particular location or agency, I want to be able to tell him, ‘I’ve toured that facility and they have a great emergency response system in place. Here’s the name and number of the person in charge.’ The last thing I want to do is to rush to the scene of an incident and be exchanging business cards and making introductions at that time.”
Bussell is quick to point out that his position does not create another layer of state government, and is not funded by money from the state’s coffers. Line items in a $10.4 million anti-bioterrorism grant from the Federal Dept. of Health and Human Services paid for salaries for Bussell and one administrative assistant, and for space in a modular building located at the National Guard headquarters in Carson City. “I’m as close to a one-man show as you can get,” Bussell admitted. “There’s no one between me and the governor.” He said he enjoys his relationship with Gov. Guinn. “It’s fun to work for a guy who puts in more hours than me, and I work 12 hours a day.”
Immediately after his appointment, Bussell expected to be deluged with calls about homeland security issues, but said messages during his first week were evenly divided among friends offering congratulations, people seeking employment in what they thought was a new state department, and those trying to sell him something. “I kept trying to tell them I didn’t have a budget, so I couldn’t hire anyone or buy anything, even if I wanted to,” he laughed. “They just didn’t seem to get it.” Bussell was disappointed that very few questions came in regarding homeland security, a subject he was (and is) eager to discuss. He invites anyone with questions about homeland security to call or e-mail his office so he can address their concerns or direct them to the proper agency.
When asked how business people and ordinary citizens can help preserve security in the state, Bussell had several suggestions. First of all, he said all voters should support changes in the state’s open meeting law so security discussions can be conducted without disclosing details that could aid terrorists. The attorney general’s office interprets current statutes to mean that any public meeting must be open, and all details discussed must be made public knowledge. “Government shouldn’t be conducted behind closed doors in smoky rooms, and the main part of meetings held to discuss security issues should be open to the public,” agrees Bussell. “But at some point, when sensitive information is being shared on a ‘need to know’ basis, the doors need to be closed for a short time so as not to aid our enemies. We need to discuss threats, vulnerabilities and capabilities. These kinds of things must be kept as confidential as possible. We are not taking away anybody’s freedom. I believe you can increase security without taking away rights.”
Bussell is working with the attorney general’s office to see if the open meeting statutes can be redefined or clarified to allow sensitive details to be excluded from public view. “If the attorney general decides that can’t be done under the present law, then we need to address it in the Legislature, and it needs to be done during this session,” stated Bussell. “We are asking our fire personnel, police and emergency crews to go into harm’s way and put their lives on the line. We owe it to them, and to our citizens, to keep this information confidential to ensure their safety.”
Bussell also advises citizens to gather as much information as they can about security measures, and to follow established guidelines to make sure their homes and businesses are as safe as possible. One task he has set for himself is to make sure the Homeland Security Web site is easy to access and contains up-to-date, helpful information. The site contains everything from a 30-page Citizen’s Preparedness Guide published by the National Crime Prevention Council to specialized fact sheets on subjects such as terrorism, keeping mail safe, storing emergency supplies and maintaining Internet security.
As special advisor to the governor, Bussell now heads the Nevada Homeland Security Steering Committee, which was originally formed in 1999 as the Weapons of Mass Destruction Committee. The committee, which operates under the state’s Division of Emergency Management, is composed of officials from state, local and federal agencies. It has completed a statewide threat and vulnerability assessment and is currently working on a comprehensive three-year strategic plan. The committee has also served as a conduit to funnel federal homeland security funds to the local agencies that will implement the budgeted programs. Bussell would like to see the committee take a more pro-active role in deterring potential acts of violence.
Bussell visualizes a continuum of potential threats to Nevada. The worst would be a catastrophe caused by weapons of mass destruction, either nuclear, chemical or biological. Such an attack would not have a definite ending date, since repercussions might last for years and spread out from the original site. Fortunately, he sees this as the least likely scenario. Next is the individual terrorist attack, in which a small group or a fanatic like Timothy McVey creates a single incident. The third threat, and the one we are most likely to face in the immediate future, is an attack from a terrorist group such as Al Qaida, which has a global reach and has established cells in 60 countries. Because its cells are already in place awaiting instructions, it would be relatively easy for them to carry out an attack.
“There are many stakeholders with interests in homeland security,” said Bussell. In addition to federal agencies such as the FBI, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), etc., there are also public agencies within the state, local agencies at the county and city level, private businesses and individual citizens. He sees his job as engaging all these stakeholders to take an active interest in security issues. “There are some folks who are not taking this seriously anymore,” he stated. “They think Sept. 11 was a long time ago, and things are back to normal. It’s important to realize there are still a lot of people out there who don’t like the American way of life, and that includes people in our own country.”
Bussell realizes maintaining security in a free society is not an easy task. “Sure, we can completely stop the threat of terrorism in our country,” he stated. “We can stop having a free society. We can erect walls at our borders, stop international trade, put up internal checkpoints, etc. But then we have become just like the people we’re fighting. Instead, we have to do what we can to minimize the threat, while keeping our freedom.”
The security advisor sees one of his main tasks as communicating with the public. He is available – and eager – to speak to groups on the subject of homeland security. Said Bussell, “I’m taking it one day at a time, and taking steps each day to make a difference. My aim is to make each day safer than the one before it.”
Contact Information:
Jerry Bussell
Special Advisor Homeland Security
Telephone 775-687-7320
E-mail: jbussell@gov.state.nv.us
Homeland Security Web site: http://homelandsecurity.nv.gov/
