Albany County intends to launch a terrorism task force and is seeking $175,000 from the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security to do so. The county states that the funding will “support the implementation of risk-driven, capabilities-based state homeland security strategies to address capability gaps and sustain existing capabilities.”
County officials are also tight-lipped about the potential threats they hope to defend against.
Albany County Sheriff Aaron Appelhans confirmed to Cowboy State Daily on Thursday that the county is looking for special tactical response training, emergency communications equipment, armored personnel protection, and other equipment “for adaptive environments” and threats.
“Albany County has many areas of critical infrastructure in our vast jurisdiction that we want to be fully prepared to protect and respond to in the event of an incident,” she wrote. “There is currently no threat to our citizens or critical infrastructure in Albany County, making now the best time to train and equip a team.
“It would be irresponsible for the Sheriff’s Office to respond to an event that was ill-prepared and within our scope of work. It is our responsibility to be ready to respond to anything, regardless of the likelihood of an incident occurring.”
Appelhans stated that the county worked with Homeland Security and FEMA to conduct a “threat and hazard identification and risk assessment” in 2023. That assessment, he said, revealed that the county needs to do more to prepare for the possibility of severe attacks by bad actors in the future.
“Albany County has gaps in planning, training, and equipment in preventing and responding to larger events (ex. attacks, casualties, threats to critical infrastructure),” he told us. “The Albany County Sheriff’s Office is requesting funding from the Wyoming Department of Homeland Security to address gaps identified in our threat assessment.”
FEMA’s website includes a list of “authorized equipment” covered by the grant. This includes things like firefighting masks, explosive mitigation devices, and even tools for capturing wild animals.
The grant application for $175,000 is being sent to the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security, which will accept applications until the end of September. Local governments can request funds “to support the implementation of risk-driven, capabilities-based state homeland security strategies to address capability gaps and sustain existing capabilities,” according to the agency’s website.
According to FEMA’s website, grant applicants must submit information such as their “mission statement,” identified weaknesses in the threat assessment, and a “investment justification” form.
Real Threat
Albany County Commissioner Pete Gosar told Cowboy State Daily that despite terrorism seeming like a distant concern, it represents a very real threat in Wyoming. The county’s intention is to be proactive rather than reactive to such threats.
“As we’ve seen recently, that might be misplaced assumptions,” he said of those who aren’t concerned about potential terrorist attacks. “I believe it is a requirement to ensure that we are covering all of our bases, that we have considered it before something happens, and that we know how to respond.
“I think you should always be prepared and that’s the best money spent.”
According to Wyoming’s Homeland Security website, places of worship are especially vulnerable to attack. It specifically mentions using “physical security enhancements and activities” to protect visitors to a religious site.
Gosar stated that receiving the requested money is not guaranteed. He acknowledged that Congress’ continued cuts to the federal budget could prevent grant distribution.
“With reduced federal funding across the board it seems, they may or may not have the funding available even if they thought it was a priority,” he told me. “I guess we’ll wait and see how it goes.”
Gosar said he hopes the application sends a clear message to those who want to cause harm in Albany County that they will be stopped.
“It’s the same message we try to present in everything we do in Albany County is we’re going to try to be ahead of the curve and we’re going to try to anticipate how to do the work that the Albany County voters hired us to do,” Gosar told the crowd.
The task force’s formation is intended to reassure rather than frighten Albany County residents.
“We don’t want to scare Albany County residents about any potential threats. I don’t know of any,” he replied. “You hope that it never happens, you hope that you never need the terrorism task force, but it’s nice to have it if we do need it.”
Bigger and Better
Wyoming Homeland Security warns residents on its website that terrorism is possible due to the state’s high concentration of critical government and military installations, such as Cheyenne’s F.E. Warren Air Force Base. It reminds residents to keep an eye out for “suspicious activity” to avoid potential attacks.
“You can help to prevent terrorist attacks by reporting certain activities, especially when these activities occur at or near key facilities such as government, military, utility, or other high-profile sites,” according to the page.
Katelyn Conn, a spokeswoman for the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security, confirmed that Albany County applied for grant funds to form a counterterrorism task force, but said she couldn’t go into detail because the application process is competitive.
Conn stated that the state office collaborates closely with state, federal, and local partners to prevent terrorism through its Fusion Center, which analyzes and responds to threats.
“These partnerships allow us to share intelligence, conduct continuous threat assessments, and coordinate our preparedness efforts across the state,” Conn told the crowd. “It involves a lot of proactive training and exercises with first responders so Wyoming can be prepared for any threat, including terrorism.”
The grant application comes as other jurisdictions across the state ramp up their law enforcement operations.
Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak told Cowboy State Daily this month that his department is purchasing two high-tech, remote-controlled robots that could help save first responders in dangerous and high-risk situations. The bots’ rugged design includes oversized wheels that allow them to be easily tossed into situations and withstand falls, tumbles, and blows.
Kozak told Cowboy State Daily this month that bots make police operations safer for everyone involved.
“We don’t want to be the ones forcing someone to use deadly force on ourselves or on a deputy,” Kozak told the media. “We want to keep the deputies back at a distance so we can have the robot go in and actually make contact with that person.”
“It’s just a safer way of doing it so the person doesn’t feel threatened by the deputy,” he claimed.
During a House hearing this week, FBI Director Kash Patel expressed his desire to see drones used to combat drug trafficking on reservations such as the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming.
“What we’ve found is, that most of these lands can be assisted by our counter UAS (unmanned aerial systems) program – our drone capabilities,” Patel told the conference. “And we are going to do it. Because the Mexican drug cartels are literally flying overhead, dropping their cargo—their narcotics—on this land where no one is looking.”
