James M. Jeffords: “on the morning of September 14, 2001, I toured the Pentagon with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency…”

“on the morning of September 14, 2001, I toured the Pentagon with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA. I was so impressed, that on the morning of September 11, in the hours following an unspeakable tragedy, first responders and rescue workers from different departments were able to work as one great team to extinguish the fires, to help the injured, and to save lives. This first impression only tells half of the real story. In actuality, the bravery and selflessness of the firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and police officers were hindered by a lack of interoperability between their communications systems. I spoke with workers at the Pentagon who experienced this limitation firsthand. It's inconceivable to me that members of fire departments and emergency agencies from Fairfax and Arlington Counties, the District of Columbia, and Montgomery County were held back because of equipment incompatibility. The lack of adequate communications equipment was not only an unnecessary impediment to response operations in and among units on duty across the Potomac at the Pentagon, but has also been an obstacle to other emergencies.”