First Observer – Truckers Learn To Watch Out For Terrorists

By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

A local truck driving school became the first on the West Coast to be trained for a new federal anti-terrorism program, the school’s owner and the instructor said. Robert Hertan, an instructor from Maryland-based Total Security Services International, Inc., led the three-hour class at Vallejo’s Falcon Truck School recently. He said the federal Transportation Security Administration hired his firm to train transportation professionals for the “First Observer” program.

“This is a Department of Homeland Security program, funded by FEMA and administered by the TSA,” Hertan said.

The heart of the training is to use truckers to keep an eye out for — and report — suspicious behavior that could be part of a terrorist operation or some other attack like that on the state capitol eight years ago. ....