Each year, we set aside June 14 as Flag Day to commemorate the day when, in 1777, the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of our Republic. The image of the American flag is one of our strongest national symbols. The flag reminds us of the freedoms we all cherish, unites us in times of national grief, and brings patriotic identity to international achievements in sport and science.

And since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the flag also stands as a symbol that reminds us that everyone in America now has a greater role, a greater responsibility, for making our nation safer, stronger, and better prepared.

We have made tremendous progress as a nation shoring up our vulnerabilities to threats of all kinds - whether they're natural or man-made, accidental or intentionally hostile. Thousands of federal, state and local officials and private-sector first responders have worked diligently to transform their operations and procedures and put our towns, cities, states and regions on a better footing to respond to any emergency that may occur.

As a part of this movement, the National Park Service has worked closely with the Department of Homeland Security to make Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty National Monument safe and welcoming harbors to visitors from around the world. At the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island, this includes Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training for park service staff, partners, and concessionaires.

A component of a Citizen Corps, the CERT program provides 20-hours of hands-on training to citizens in emergency response skills to enable them to help others and to assist first responders in any type of incident. Through this training, Park Service employees and partners are now better prepared to help visitors on the island. And they are taking these skills and a strengthened interest in safety back to their communities to be ready to help there too.

When people take personal responsibility to be prepared, get training, and volunteer to support their local first responders, we become a stronger nation. This is the goal of Citizen Corps, the Department's grassroots initiative that encourages everyone to play a role in hometown security - through personal preparedness (outlined on the Department's website www.ready.gov), training such as CERT, basic first aid courses; and volunteer programs, including Neighborhood Watch, Medical Reserve Corps, and Volunteers in Police Service.

The impulse to get involved in local civic life or to volunteer for worthy causes is uniquely American. Since September 11, 2001, people across America have focused on the safety and security of others and have asked, "What can I do?" and "How can I help?" Many asked these same questions again during the widespread electrical blackout last summer. Citizen Corps answers these questions and provides local opportunities to channel this interest and energy through preparedness, training, and volunteer service opportunities coordinated by the nearly 1,200 local Citizen Corps Council nationwide.

Our flag no longer symbolizes only patriotism, but action too. And being an American citizen means taking a role in hometown security.

And when people embrace this personal responsibility, there is a powerful cumulative effect. By putting together an emergency preparedness plan and survival supplies for their home or workplace, they're not merely taking care of themselves and the people closest to them, they're ensuring that professional first responders and disaster personnel will likely have one less emergency call to answer. They're also setting an example for others that, person by person, house by house, and business by business we can reinforce an entire community's defenses to the hazards that threaten their lives and property.

America's military and first responders have already answered the call to service. This Flag Day, as a citizen, you can show your commitment too. Fly the flag, visit the Citizen Corps website, www.citizencorps.gov, and make your pledge to prepare, train, and volunteer!

C. Suzanne Mencer is the Director of the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness, Department of Homeland Security.

Fran P. Mainella is the Director of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

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