A Walters State Community College professor is one of 43 professors in the United States and Canada chosen to attend the Academic Fellows Program, a training session sponsored by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

John Rose, assistant professor of criminal justice at WSCC's Greeneville Center, is in Tel Aviv through Monday, June 16, for 10 days of extensive training and discussion with others who teach classes on terrorism and counter-terrorism.

The goal of the program is to offer information to teaching professionals about the ideologies, motives and operations of terrorists.

"Being chosen for this very exclusive institute is an honor for John and an honor for Walters State," said Dr. Wade McCamey, president of the college.

"John is an excellent professor, having worked almost 20 years in law enforcement. I look forward to the new knowledge he will gain and bring back to share with our students and with the law enforcement community of East Tennessee."

Rose teaches terrorism to new police officers attending Walters State's Basic Law Enforcement Officer Academy in Greeneville and offers a more extensive in-service training class for current officers.

He also teaches a three-hour credit course each semester at Walters State and as an adjunct faculty member at East Tennessee State University.

He joined the Walters State faculty in 2003.

"After 9/11, I became very interested in terrorism and became involved in ways that we can detect terrorists cells before groups have a chance to carry out an attack," Rose said.

He said that, while no terrorist attacks have happened in the region, he wants new officers to know the signs that could signal the presence of a terrorist cell or planning of an attack.

"Terrorists are most vulnerable when they're choosing a target. Police officers or deputies need to pay attention when someone is hanging around a possible site. Terrorists won't act like tourists. They'll be taking pictures of signs and security gates.

"That may not seem like much information, but it may be vital when combined with what the TBI or the FBI already knows. It's very important that individual law enforcement officers understand the key role they play in the war on terrorism," Rose said.

The former Sullivan County Sheriff's Department major said he is hoping to have even more information to share when he returns from Israel.

"I think this will give me a different perspective. I'll get a chance to meet with officials and other professors to see what methods they use to teach counter-terrorism."

Rose added that he, along with his students, has learned a lot about terrorist methods from veterans attending Walters State.

"Many veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are pursuing careers in law enforcement and it's great to have them in class. They have first-hand knowledge and they're willing to share. That makes the lesson even more interesting."

This will be Rose's second trip to Israel. In 2006, he completed a training course there.