California lobbies for training site.

• Position: Security beat: homeland defense briefs

The absence of integrated training among civilian leadership, first responders and police forces is a dangerous gap in the way the country is preparing for disasters, said California law enforcement officials.

A delegation recently was in Washington to pitch a federally funded expansion for a training center in Sacramento.

"On the law enforcement side, our training is nowhere near that of firefighters," said Michael Smith, assistant sheriff for Sacramento County. "That might be a tough pill to swallow, but we need to catch up, and catch up fast."

Sacramento officials are seeking funds for Project HomeSTAR, which aims to transform the closed McClellan Air Force Base into a facility to train police, firefighters and relevant government employees in teams, with each being taught their part independently before slowly integrating the lessons in larger exercises.

They are asking the Department of Homeland Security for $150 million during the next 25 years to train first responders, plus $14 million over the next two years to rehabilitate existing buildings.

The project would expand an existing Joint Powers Authority training center, which currently supports 500 first responders and public safety students a week.

"The demand for training across the country is going to skyrocket," Smith predicts, "The money to purchase equipment has become available, and people are going to realize they don't have the training to use it. They are going to be overwhelmed."

Among the deficiencies in security training cited by HomeSTAR's supporters...