Peter A. Topp, PE, a USNORTHCOM staff engineer, recently completed a Master of Arts degree in Homeland Security Studies at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.
Topp is the current operations engineer in the command's Directorate of Logistics and Engineering. He has been a part of USNORTHCOM since Oct. 1, 2003, and was the Operations Planning Group engineer planner during Hurricane Katrina civil support operations. He is also a graduate of West Point and has postgraduate degrees from the University of California and the Army War College.
During the 18-month month Naval Postgraduate School program, Topp collaborated with federal, state and local homeland security officials from across the nation on current policy, strategy and organizational design challenges. He also completed research papers and wrote a thesis on the relationship between the National Guard and USNORTHCOM in civil support operations following catastrophic events.
The Master’s Degree program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Grants and Training. The program features faculty from around the world and a curriculum developed by experts from a variety of disciplines. USNORTHCOM has sent students to each class since the program began.