Volunteers rally to defend their homeland

Talk of civilians helping out with civil defense can also conjure up mental images of codgers in ancient doughboy helmets scanning the coastline with binoculars during World War II for German subs that never show, or ex-military men in uniform waving riding crops while serving as suburban block captains.

Civil defense has also suffered something of a credibility problem after the bomb shelter and duck-and-cover craze that symbolized 1950s civil defense, when such practices were deemed wholly inadequate in the face of nuclear war.

"There was nothing the individual citizen or small groups of them could do to protect themselves from thermonuclear war," says Larsen. "That's not true in the twenty-first century. There are many things individuals can do to protect their families and their communities from biological attacks."

Others question the value of individual volunteerism. "Civil defense in the United States has always had some structure, but ultimately it was left up to the individual to take care of themselves," says Andrew Grossman, an assistant professor and civil-defense expert at Albion College in Michigan. "There's just not a lot individuals can do. I think the government knows that, but it isn't good politics to say it."

Others say volunteers are needed - and not just because the strain on resources caused by recession makes unpaid workers fiscally attractive - because they play a unique role.

Indeed, the disaster action team that Pam January, the St. Louis volunteer, is a part of, will go to an accident scene to lend comfort to victims - or the site of a terrorist attack if one were to occur. "Being there and holding someone's hand, being an emotional support to someone, that's not something the government can do," she says.

Larsen believes both government and individuals have roles to play. He cites the example of a nationwide disaster exercise last year, which included a simulated release of plague in Denver. Nearly 100,000 pounds of antibiotics were shipped by the federal government to handle the fictitious outbreak, but they were left sitting at the airport with no distribution mechanism in place.

"It's a perfect example of what a voluntary service organization can do," says Larsen. "Give me six hours twice a year with maybe all the Rotary clubs or Knights of Columbus in the Denver area, and we could come up with a plan on how to do it - how to set-up distribution points at, say, all the elementary schools in the area."

Some citizens are already taking the initiative to help. Dan Dodgen, a mental health professional in Washington, volunteered his services on the morning of Sept. 12 . Subsequently, he and others are meeting with local agencies in the area to address perceived gaps in counseling services that became apparent after Sept. 11.

"It's not either/or," he says about the role of government and private citizens in civil defense. "Obviously government has a role to play, but we saw at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon that existing government personnel weren't sufficient to meet the need.... Volunteers played a significant role in those situations, and I think they can and should be counted on in the future."

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