Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

[B <beeline AT mindspring.com>]

Many of y'all would be left out of this, as many don't work for "major
and medium sized [IT] firms," but still....

Declan McCullagh wrote:
> 
> http://wyden.senate.gov/9262001%20Tech%20Corps%20Statement.htm
> 
>           Remarks of Senator Ron Wyden to the United States Senate
>         Proposing a National Emergency Technology Guard (NET Guard)
> 
>      Senator Wyden chairs the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science,
>                            Technology and Space.
> 
>    "I am interested in discussing with the Senate a proposition that I
>    think is important in light of the tragic events that unfolded on
>    September 11, 2001. As all of us understand now, the communications
>    infrastructure of New York, Washington, DC, and indeed the whole
>    country, was severely challenged.
> 
>    "Wireless telephone networks were severely overloaded and crashed.
>    Wireless Internet access was suspended. Telephone lines were cut, and
>    communications, for people literally in communities around the East
>    Coast of the United States, came to a standstill. Even the immediate
>    communication needs of rescue workers, victims, families and aid
>    groups were a struggle to coordinate. Survivors often could not let
>    family members know they were safe. Families of victims had no
>    immediate central clearinghouse to find information or file missing
>    persons reports.
> 
>    "Hospitals were inundated with searches, requests for help and offers
>    of aid, but no way to match them to each other. Even some of our
>    nation's premier aid organizations, who have done such a marvelous job
>    helping rescue workers, survivors and victims' families, faced
>    immediate and severe challenges with respect to information technology
>    infrastructure. The New York Times drew a conclusion that I strongly
>    agree with: There need to be new ways to set up emergency information
>    systems.
> 
>    "That's what I'd like to propose. What this country needs is
>    essentially a technology equivalent of the National Guard: a National
>    Emergency Technology Guard - NET Guard - that in times of crisis would
>    be in a position to mobilize our nation's information technology, or
>    IT, community to action quickly, just as the National Guard is ready
>    to move during emergencies.
> 
>    "In our leading technology companies in this nation, there are the
>    brains and the equipment to put in place this NET Guard, that could be
>    deployed across this country when we face tragedies like we saw in New
>    York City. A national volunteer organization of trained and
>    well-coordinated units of IT professionals from our leading technology
>    companies ought to be in a position to stand ready with designated
>    computer equipment, satellite dishes, wireless communicators and other
>    equipment to quickly recreate and repair compromised communications
>    and technology infrastructures.
> 
>    "With Congressional support, the leaders of our nation's technology
>    companies could organize themselves, their employees, and their
>    resources for this purpose. Medium and small-sized businesses would be
>    able to contribute once a national framework was put in place. The
>    resources from the federal level need not be extensive; people could
>    be designated from existing human resource pools at major and medium
>    sized firms and these IT professionals would be trained to perform
>    specific tasks in the event of an emergency.
> 
>    "I intend to use the Subcommittee that I chair to initiate a dialogue
>    among Congressional, corporate, military and non-profit leaders to
>    begin a new effort to mobilize information technology in times of
>    crisis. As we seek to prevent future disasters, I believe the
>    technology professionals of this nation, like most Americans, want to
>    use their skills, their equipment, and their talents to this call and
>    do their part. I propose we give leading information technology
>    professionals a chance to use their ingenuity and creativity to insure
>    greater safety and stability for our communities and our citizens in
>    the coming days."
> 
> ---
> 
> http://wyden.senate.gov/9262001%20Tech%20Corps.htm
> 
>                             Wyden Issues Call
>                        for Emergency Technology Corps
> 
>           NET Guard Would Repair, Restore Communications in Crisis
> 
>    Washington, DC
>    - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today called for the formation of a
>    National Emergency Technology Guard (NET Guard) to mobilize as a
>    technological equivalent of the military's National Guard in times of
>    national crisis, including terror attacks and natural disasters. To
>    complement other disaster response efforts, Wyden suggested that U.S.
>    information technology (IT) companies could organize and lead a
>    national volunteer response team to quickly reactivate and safeguard
>    the nation's communication capability and infrastructure in times of
>    critical need.
> 
>    "As we seek to prevent future disasters, we must still prepare to meet
>    them. I believe the technology professionals of this nation, like all
>    Americans, are ready to answer the call and do their part,"
>    said Wyden. "The formation of a National Emergency Technology Guard
>    will give them that chance, and insure greater safety and stability
>    for our communities and our citizens in the coming days."
> 
>    The September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
>    temporarily crippled much of the communications infrastructure of New
>    York, Washington, DC, and other parts of the nation, hampering rescue
>    and response efforts. Wireless telephone networks were severely
>    overloaded and crashed. Wireless Internet access was suspended.
>    Telephone lines were cut, and communications, for many people, came to
>    a standstill. Rescue workers, victims, families and aid groups
>    struggled to coordinate their communication and technology needs.
> 
>    NET Guard would be a national volunteer organization of trained and
>    well-coordinated units of IT professionals from U.S. technology
>    companies. These units would stand ready with designated computer
>    equipment, satellite dishes, wireless communicators and other
>    resources to quickly recreate and repair compromised communications
>    and technology infrastructures. Volunteers would be designated from
>    existing human resource pools at major and medium sized firms and
>    these IT professionals would be trained to perform specific tasks in
>    the event of an emergency.
> 
>    Wyden, chair of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science,
>    Technology and Space, intends to initiate a dialogue among government,
>    corporate, military and non-profit leaders to begin a new effort to
>    mobilize information technology in times of crisis.
> 
>                                    # # #
> 
> 
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