For one of the richest countries in the world, we move pretty slowly &8212; even when the emergency alarm is ringing loudly.

In the months following the horrible Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks emergency personnel immediately began pointing out a key problem in what later became known as homeland defense &8212; communication issues.

Looking back on it now, it seems simple enough to fix &8212; one agency often has trouble communicating with another agency.

It&8217;s one of those instances in which our independence can be a problem. In the past, different agencies bid on their own communication systems. Often Brand A might not work well with Brand B.

One would think that given the mountains of money our nation has spent all in the name of Homeland Defense that we&8217;d have solved the communication issues by now.

Think again.

Although the recognition that 9/11 brought to the issue has helped raise awareness, not enough has been done to bridge networks together and bring the full breadth and depth of our technological knowledge to bear on the problems.

And what 9/11 didn&8217;t reveal, Hurricane Katrina certainly did. Yet, only this month has Mississippi accepted a bid for a new statewide emergency radio system. But at this point, only a fraction of the necessary funding is in place.

The alarm is ringing. Someone just needs to pick it up and deal with the problem before the next 9/11 or Katrina catches us off guard.