In late August, Maryland's Joppatowne High School became the first school in the country dedicated to churning out would-be Jack Bauers. The 75 students in the Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness magnet program will study cybersecurity and geospatial intelligence, respond to mock terror attacks, and receive limited security clearances at the nearby Army chemical warfare lab.

Students will choose one of three specialized tracks: information and communication technology, criminal justice and law enforcement, or "homeland security science." David Volrath, executive director of secondary education for Harford County Public Schools, says the school also hopes to offer "Arabic or some other nontraditional, Third World-type language."

"The school's built around the marketplace that surrounds the defense industry, but the program's not involved in war or peace. Still, there are some realities about good guys and bad guys that will surely be discussed."

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The program was the "brainchild" of Frank Mezzanotte, magnet programs coordinator of Harford County Public Schools.

Mezzanotte was inspired by the opportunities APG has to offer, and that the project was four years in the making.

John Wallace, a science teacher at Edgewood High School, helped in the development of the curriculum.

Wallace, a former Navy commander, retired from APG’s Chemical Biological Defense Command (now the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center) as a command naval liaison. Wallace said he decided to get involved in the program because of his bio chemical warfare background, and because when he served in the Navy he was trained in "disaster preparedness."

"I believe that military and the civilians that work on APG have a lot to offer this exciting program! We have subject matter experts on Explosive ordnance disposal, security operations both physical and intelligence and incident management and response."