FRANKFORT — From a windowless office within Kentucky's Emergency Operations Center, retired Army Col. Ray Nelson spends each day trying to think like a terrorist.

        Mr. Nelson heads Kentucky's Office for Security Coordination, created in November in the aftermath of Sept. 11 to prepare the state for all types of attacks.

        “What we have to do is look at the threat. If I was a terrorist, what would I do?” Mr. Nelson said.

        Mr. Nelson has framed a distinguished military career around answering that question and figuring out how enemies would carry out their plans.

        A decorated helicopter pilot, Mr. Nelson was one of the first members of the Fort Campbell unit that would become the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. The unit nicknamed the “Night Stalkers” is trained to fly special forces in and out of hostile territory undetected.

        A graduate of the Army War College near Gettysburg, Pa., Mr. Nelson helped the Army plan several well-known operations, including the invasions of Grenada and Panama, and the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Storm.

        Now, Mr. Nelson draws on those experiences to envision worst-case scenarios for terrorist attacks on Kentucky.

        “You have to look at those and say, 'What's the worst thing that can happen?' If you had $10 to spend on security, where would you put that $10?” he said.

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