Everything that can possibly be said about the events which occurred on September 11 has already been said. Words like unbelievable, shocking, horrible and tragic are all fitting. Everyone agrees that the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon amount to one resounding "wake-up call" for the United States of America. Most citizens in this country have lived under a false since of security thinking that terrorist attacks the magnitude of those which occurred happen only on foreign soils.

Similarly, we who live in Alabama should not think that events like those which occurred in New York and Washington D.C. will not occur in Alabama. If we think about what is going on in Alabama, it does not take long to realize that the wake-up call was dialed straight through to this state. Alabama has Military bases within its borders which play strategic roles in our national defense.

Alabama has within its borders many electricity generating facilities. These facilities are powered by water, coal, natural gas, and nuclear energy, most of which are plentiful in the state. Several additional generating facilities are either under construction or in the planning stages in the state. The curtailment of the capacity to generate electric power would certainly be high on the list of any group that wanted to harm our country.

Also located within Alabama are a host of companies that manufacture products used by the military. The destruction of these manufacturing facilities could seriously hamper our military strength.

About 25 of us who attended the International Trade Conference held recently in Mobile were treated to a boat tour of Mobile harbor. While Mobile harbor is not a homeport for the Navy, a number of military vessels were observed being repaired or reconstructed there. Destruction of Mobile harbor would diminish the capability of the US Navy to have such services performed.

There are probably many people who live in rural Alabama who may feel that their areas of the state are immune to terrorist attacks. It does not take much thought to realize that that assumption is false. The military bases generating facilities and manufacturing plants mentioned above are dispersed throughout the state. No county would be immune to various forms of fallout from terrorist attacks especially when you throw into the mix the use of biological weapons which could traverse the entire state.

The point of this discussion is to draw attention to the reality that no area of our country or state is shielded from the effects of terrorism.

County commissioners should pause now and think about the existing emergency preparedness program in their respective counties. An obvious first step would be to conduct meetings in each county involving all entities and individuals that would be involved in emergency situations. Such meetings should at least include the county commissioners, the county emergency management director, the county health officer, the county engineer, the sheriff, emergency telephone service officials and appropriate municipal officials. The list of subjects discussed at such meetings will go beyond hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, and chemical spills. We must now be prepared to respond to emergency situations never before envisioned.

A few words of caution - it was pointed out at one of the recently held ACCA district meetings that officials from some county law enforcement and emergency response agencies were using this crisis as an opportunity to pressure county commissions to invest in all sorts of anti-terrorist products, programs and services. It is not the intent of this article to bolster the efforts of those officials. Such purchases should be made, or programs established, only after careful consideration by the entire emergency management community in each county and ultimately by the respective county commissions.

The wake-up call went out to all Americans and especially to governments all levels. It is incumbent upon us to be prepared.