n the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, on the United States, there is great discussion about the ‘new’ methods of terrorism and how to effectively counter the threat posed by terrorist groups armed with weapons of mass destruction. Political and military leaders are still grappling with strategies to combat the new terrorists as witnessed by events in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005 and daily in Iraq and Afghanistan. To effectively combat this new scourge we must explore the motivations for terrorism, terrorist strategy and tactics and the implications of terrorist use of weapons of mass destruction. This presents real challenges to any government and national security community due to the many different domestic and international terrorist groups, each with their own leadership, motivations, political objectives and their own repertoire of tactics. The fact that these groups continue to evolve and mature in their capability means even greater challenges lay ahead for the U.S. military and government agencies involved in combating terrorism and in ensuring homeland security. The fully developed degree program at APUS prepares students for the complexities of this field, along with preparation in a number of areas across the spectrum of weapons of mass destruction, counter terrorism and homeland security. In its degree programs, APUS takes an integrated approach that reflects this discipline in its current emergency state. Degree Program Objectives: In addition to the institutional and general education level learning objectives, the Associate of Arts in Weapons of Mass Destruction Preparedness also seeks the following specific learning outcomes of its graduates. With reference to each of the respective areas of weapons of mass destruction, graduates in this degree program will be able to: - Recognize the threat to the U.S. posed by both domestic and international terrorist groups and state actors armed with weapons of mass destruction.
- Describe the threat posed to society by chemical agents.
- Relate the threat posed to society by biological agents.
- Identify the threat posed to society by radiological and nuclear terrorism.
- Review the use of detection and monitoring equipment and personal protection and decontamination practices for the first responder.
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