About Us
Colonel Randall Larsen, USAF (Ret), is the Director of The Institute
for Homeland Security and the National Security Advisor to the Center
for Biosecurity, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He previously
served as the Chairman of the Department of Military Strategy and Operations
at the National War College, where in 1999 he created the nation's first
graduate course in homeland security.
Colonel Larsen began his studies of homeland security in 1994 while
on a one-year fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School
of Public and International Affairs. Larsen was one of the first witnesses
to testify before the 9-11 Commission, and since 9-11 he has served as
an expert witness to the Senate Armed Services, Senate Judiciary, House
Government Reform, House Homeland Security, and House Budget Committees.
In March 2005, he designed and ran a two-day workshop and table top exercise for the House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security. Additionally, he served on the 2003 Defense Science Board Summer Study on Homeland Security and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
His publications include: OUR OWN WORST ENEMY: Asking the Right Questions About Security to Protect You, Your Family, and America (Grand Central Publishing, September 2007), The Executive's Desk Book on Corporate Risks and Response for Homeland Security (The National Legal Center for the Public Interest, March 2003), and Defending the American Homeland 1993-2003 (Air University Press, December 2003). His op-eds have appeared in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and USA Today.
Larsen has been the homeland security consultant/on-camera analyst to CBS News since March 2003, and he co-hosts the weekly, one-hour public radio show, Homeland Security: Inside and Out. He is also a frequent guest on radio and television including: CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, BBC, NPR, Jim Lehrer News Hour, Fox News Channel, Larry King Live and Oprah.
At the request of senior public and private sector leaders, he has designed
and led numerous war games and table top exercises including: DARK WINTER
(bioterrorism, 2001), SILENT VECTOR (critical infrastructure, 2002),
CRIMSON SKY (agro-terrorism, 2002), CRIMSON WINTER (food security, 2003),
TERMINAL RISK (environmental terrorism, 2003), ATLANTIC STORM (international
public health, 2005), and OIL SHOCKWAVE (oil crisis, 2005).
Colonel Larsen served in both the Army and Air Force for a combined
total of 32 years of military service. He began his flying career as
a 19-year old Cobra pilot in the 101st Airborne Division, where he flew
400 combat missions in Vietnam. He also served as military attaché at
the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, the chief of legislative liaison at the
U.S. Transportation Command, and the commander of America's fleet of
VIP aircraft at Andrews AFB MD. His decorations include the Legion of
Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, 17 awards of the Air
Medal (3 with "V" Device for Valor), and the South Vietnamese
Cross of Gallantry.
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