EXPERT ADVISORY: VCU Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness Faculty expert can discuss Bin Laden’s death, impact on war against terrorism

By Mike Porter

Keywords: Osama Bin Laden, Homeland Security, Emergency Preparedness, Terrorism

William H. Parrish, associate professor of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness at Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, is available to discuss how Osama Bin Laden’s death impacts al-Qaida and the war against terrorism.

He formerly served in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in several senior level positions, including the Department’s Senior Representative to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, acting Assistant Secretary for Information Analysis in the Department’s Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate, the first Associate Director for Homeland Security at the Presidential directed Terrorist Threat Integration Center and as special assistant to the Secretary of Homeland Security.

In October 2001, Parrish established the first Office of Anti-Terrorism in the U.S. Customs Service. As the Commissioner of Customs’ senior adviser for anti-terrorism programs, Parrish directed and managed the Office of Anti-Terrorism’s efforts to coordinate policy, programs, training, and matters relating to combating terrorism in order to ensure that the Customs Service maximized its anti-terrorism efforts.

Parrish, a retired United States Marine Colonel, commanded the Marine Corps Security Forces, which was composed of approximately 4,000 Marines serving worldwide to protect sensitive U.S. government installations. A special anti-terrorism unit, the Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team, was part of Parrish’s command and received special recognition for security missions in Bahrain following the attack on Khobar Towers.

Parrish helped to develop VCU’s Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness program, the first undergraduate major in Homeland Security in a major research institution.

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