SAFE Program manager will discuss his insights on how to catch terrorists

While countering terrorism has been foremost on everyone’s mind since Sept. 11, some people have made a career of it. Terry Turchie is one of those people.

On Tuesday, Oct. 30, the former deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division and current manager of the Laboratory’s the Security Awareness For Employees (SAFE) Program, will share his insights on "How to Catch Terrorists."

The talk is scheduled for 10 a.m. in the Bldg. 123 auditorium. All LLNL and Sandia employees and contractors and DOE personnel are invited. The talk will be unclassified.

While Turchie has many tales of how domestic and international terrorists have been foiled, perhaps the highlight of his 29 years with the FBI was his role as head of the task force that brought infamous "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski to justice.

In his role within the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, Turchie had overall responsibility for management of the FBI’s counterterrorism program, which included coordinating the pursuit of international terrorists with the FBI’s 56 field offices. He accompanied former FBI Director Louis Freeh to Turkey, India, and Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union to meet with high government officials on counterterrorism and counterintelligence matters.

Turchie helped to coordinate counterterrorism planning for the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, the 2001 Presidential Inauguration, and the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

He also had primary responsibility for the FBI’s Rapid Deployment Teams in extraterritorial matters and overall management of the Domestic and International Terrorism programs, National Domestic Preparedness Office, FBI Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) efforts, and National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC).

Before Turchie went to FBI Headquarters in May 2000, he was associate special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Division Office. He managed all of the bureau’s criminal, foreign counterintelligence, and counterterrorism cases in the Northern California area.

In June 2001 Turchie retired from the FBI to take a position as SAFE Program manager.

In this presentation, Turchie will tell of the many terrorist plots that have been foiled, how the national laboratories have helped to foil these plots, and what needs to be done now. The talk also will cover precautions you can take when traveling at home and abroad, and what you can do to bring terrorists to justice.

The program will be broadcast live on Laboratory Channel 2, and will be rebroadcast on Thursday, Nov. 1, at 10 a.m., 2 and 4 p.m. Videotapes will be available Tuesday, Nov. 6, from the SAFE Office, 2-5557, and the SNL/CA Counterintelligence Office, 4-2493.