Some thoughts from EXCALIBUR Founder Ed "Otto" Pernotto:

EXCALIBUR Research and Development LLC was born out of the September 11th 2001 attacks upon the United States. That day, my co-workers and I at the Navy SEAL Headquarters watched the horror and discussed how this attack was planned and what our response would be. We were impressed with the ability of whoever did this but we also knew that our nation would respond soon and that more than likely, SEAL units would be involved. I began to think about a rapid response capability to support planners and decision makers.

For those that believe this attack was ordered by the President and carried out by our military or some secret cabal, well, let's just say that I respectfully disagree and perhaps this site and concept is not for you. Our nation has been under attack by people trying to wrap themselves in the Islamic religion since the American Embassy was seized in Tehran in 1979. This litany of attacks includes the killing of 241 service members, mostly Marines, in Beirut in 1983; the US Embassy in Beirut 1983 killing 63; the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993 killing 6; the planned attack in the Philippines to destroy 11 airlines over the Pacific in 1995; the African Embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya with 224 dead and over 4000 injured in 1998; the attack on the USS Cole killing in 2000 killing 17 and wounding 39.

This is not meant to imply that all Muslims or people from the Middle East or Arab countries believe in terrorism, these acts are clearly conducted by a small violent extremist faction often called Islamofascists. The vast majority of Muslims do not back these acts of terror nor is it correct to imply terrorism is only used by Arabs or Muslims. People all over the world use terror as a tactic, including here at home most notably the destruction of the Murrah Building in Okalahoma City killing 168 and wounding over 800 in 1995, the almost two decades long bombing and terror campaign waged by the so called Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, or the recent shooting known as the DC snipers in 2003 which 10 were killed and 3 wounded, and possibly more around the country.

From the initial thoughts for this rapid response team, my thinking on the subject has evolved. I have watched with great fascination the evolving nature of the internet and certain collective activities that have gone on. Two books on these subjects, "An Army of Davids" by Professor Glenn Reynolds of the blog Instapundit.com and "Blog" by radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt were both instructive on the collective forces brewing on the internet. This was reinforced by the launch of MIT's "Center for Collective Intelligence" which they describe as "groups of individuals doing things collectively that seem intelligent." The ability for people to work together, collaboratively, is only just beginning to emerge. After he got to New Orleans to take command of JTF Katrina, I watched a live news conference where General Honore's gave us his marching orders:

"You guys are working off a calendar, I'm looking at my watch." ..."We need to get on with it. We need the big brain people in America finding a (expletive deleted) solution and stop worrying about the first-half. The second-half is yet to come. Take care of the evacuees. Let's get it on. And I need to go to work." - Lt. General Russel Honore, Commander JTF Katrina

I attended a course taught by Yale Professor Emeritus Dr. Edward Tufte and was an immediate convert to his way of thinking regarding presenting information. One of my major points of inspiration was this image from John Kao, a leader in the field of innovation. This is the inspiration for what our facility will eventually look like.

Critical to this concept are three things: a facility, a process, and a network. We see signs around us every day of a clash between "new media" as represented by the internet, blogs, and podcasts and "old media" like traditional newspapers, news broadcasts, and journalists which seem to be fighting a rear guard action against irrelevancy. Similarly, many in the military or the defense industry have been slow to understand that as these new processes for information emerge, we have to change with the times but those with the power are loathe to recognize the necessity for change.

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." - Albert Einstein

I have chosen the theme of EXCALIBUR based on the legend of King Arthur. According to legend, there were two Excalibur swords, the original from the stone which made Arthur King of the Britons and the second given to Arthur by the Lady in the Lake. That sword was never defeated in battle and Arthur had it thrown back into the lake where the Lady caught it and took it below. We are now retrieving the sword to help defeat terrorists and defend freedom around the world.

In WWII, America faced tough challenges and came together…we can again. From a fireside chat only two days after the Pearl Harbor attack, President Roosevelt said:

"We are now in this war. We are all in it -- all the way. Every single man, woman and child is a partner in the most tremendous undertaking of our American history. We must share together the bad news and the good news, the defeats and the victories -- the changing fortunes of war…It will not only be a long war, it will be a hard war. That is the basis on which we now lay all our plans"

In World War II, our government ran ads for the Civilian Service Corps extolling service by civilians. Of the ads produced, this is one of the most poignant.