Compare And Contrast The Department Of Homeland Security

When the topic of Homeland Security is introduced, the first thought that comes to mind is either 9/11 or the Transportation Security Administration, TSA for short. No matter the reference, most Americans know that Homeland Security has something to do with Terrorism. Until an actual attack occurs, or election season begins, the average person may never give any thought or credit to the Department of Homeland Security. Homeland Security goes far beyond terrorism and terrorism prevention. Homeland Security does not just encompass holding individuals up at airports for multiple hours to intentionally hinder passengers from catching their flight out of the Caribbean. Homeland Security is multiple levels of legislation; law and policy to prevent

The original goal of the Department was to enhance the safety of the American citizenry. Unfortunately, this has not occurred as the resources of the Department of Homeland Security have been so widely spread that increasing the safety level of the nation has taken a back seat to other concerns and what additional security that has been provided has come at the expense of the civil rights of the American citizens (Kettl, 2004).

Just as our parents and grandparents remember where they were and what they were doing when President John F. Kennedy was shot, so will it be with this generation when asked the same questions pertaining to September 11, 2001. This horrific event will be a scar on the body of our wonderful nation until the end of time. Parents lost children, children lost parents, spouses lost their heartmates – so much anguish and emotional devastation demands that something be done to prevent tragedy like this from occurring in the future. This is why President George W. Bush created the Office of Homeland Security.

President George W. Bush, appointed Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge as the first Director of the Office of Homeland Security in the White House. The office duties are to oversee and coordinate a comprehensive national strategy to safeguard the country against terrorism and respond to any future attacks. On November 2002, Congress passed the Homeland Security Act and the Department of Homeland Security became a stand-alone, Cabinet-level department. The department’s vision is to coordinate and unify national homeland security efforts. The creation of the department forms the most substantial reorganization of the federal government agencies since the National Security Acts of 1947. Ultimately this placed military departments under a secretary of defense and created the National Security Council (NSC) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The Department of Homeland Security incorporates 22 government agencies that holds 179,000 people into one organization. The organization consists of five directorates: Border and Transportation Security, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Science and Technology, Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection and Management. In regard to border and transportation security , DHS manages who and what enters into the United States to prevent the entry of terrorists and the instruments of terrorism. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), an agency of DHS is responsible for Emergency Preparedness and

By understanding the steps to prepare for countering and responding to a terrorist, the well-being of US national security interests can be promoted and the exposure to risk and susceptibility to experiencing harm can be efficiently managed for communities, families and individuals in the event of a terrorist incident. The welfare of US national security, citizens and property can be effectively safeguarded through the understanding of protection strategies administered collectively by local communities, families and individuals. Local emergency operations planning, family disaster planning, as well as self-protection planning each represent important protective measures, which serve to educate the nation and its citizens how to

The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for protecting the United States of America. However, it is a very complex and

Prior to the catastrophic 9/11 attacks The Department of Homeland Security was known as only Homeland security. Homeland security initially was defined as, “A concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and recover from and minimize the damage of attacks that do occur.” (McEntire, 2009) In response to what marked the United States forever, the September 11 attacks, the federal government then procreated what is now known as The Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security also known as DHS is now known as a, “Newly created organization which aims to prevent terrorist attacks or react to them effectively; it is also comprised of over 170,000 employees from 22 federal agencies and

The Department of Homeland Security was formed in the face of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 as part of a nationwide effort to protect the U.S. against terrorism. This department became the third largest federal department in the United States; compose of 22 different federal agencies each with a function with the same objective. The goal of the Department of Homeland Security is to have a singular department with a shared vision, and integrated results-based operations. The federal agencies of DHS include: The U.S. Customs Service, The Immigration and Naturalization Service, The Federal Protective Service, The Transportation Security Administration, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Office for Domestic Preparedness, The Federal Emergency Management Agency, Strategic National Stockpile and the National Disaster Medical System, Nuclear Incident Response Team, Domestic Emergency Support Teams, National Domestic Preparedness Office, CBRN Countermeasures Programs, Environmental Measurements Laboratory, National BW Defense Analysis Center, Plum Island Animal Disease Center, Federal Computer Incident Response, National Communications System, National Infrastructure Protection, Energy Security and Assurance Program, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Secret Service (www.dhs.gov/creation-department-homeland-security). Via the passage of the Homeland Security Act by Congress in November 2002, the Department of Homeland Security officially

The United States Department of Homeland Security is a section of the U.S. federal government that protects the United States on a daily basis. The Department of Homeland Security is for the protection of the United States of America from terrorist attacks, man -made accidents and natural disasters. This department also has made a scale of terrorism threat which goes from low to severe. The Department of Homeland Security was formed on November 25, 2002, following 9/11. September 11, 2001, was proof that America was as a target to terrorism like other countries and killed 2,977 people. It was 2002 when The United States Department of Homeland Security was formed. Following 9/11, George Bush announced the creation of the Office of

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) covers a variety of topics including: academic engagement, border security, citizenship and immigration services, civil rights and civil liberties, cybersecurity, disasters, economic security, homeland security enterprise, human trafficking, immigration enforcement, international engagement, working with law enforcement, preventing terrorism, and transportation security (Homeland Security, g). DHS works with all law enforcement partners at federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial levels. In these partnerships, communication and information sharing are a focus as well as have better resources and support (i.e. grants and training), and improve analytic capabilities to address threats (Homeland Security, f).

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stated that it will apply risk management principles to homeland security operations and has stated “Ultimately, homeland security is about effectively managing risks to the Nation’s security” (DHS 2010, pg. 2). This is much easier said than done. There are many difficulties that must be sorted out. As with anything and everything, money comes into play, conflicts between national and local priorities, and societies opinion.

We cannot assume that we can prevent all acts of terror and therefore must also prepare to minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur. As September 11 showed and proved to us that we are not where we are supposed to be, the aftermath showed us how vulnerable we were. The Department of Homeland Security has made tremendous improvement since then to ensure the preparedness of our nation’s emergency response professionals, provide the federal government’s response, aid America’s recovery from terrorist attacks and natural disasters and foresight.

The ability of the Department of Homeland Security to effectively manage risk is vital to national security. Risk in general, is something that is permanent but because this is known, strategies can be used to mitigate situations as they present themselves. Government managers must manage risk in a complex environment taking into consideration the diverse missions and multiple objectives of public agencies (Hardy, 2014). The role of risk management within the homeland security enterprise was managed by best and worst case scenario planning. This is something that is inevitable as we are faced within a definite variety of threats. One way to grade or rank threats is through worst-case analysis. As this analysis can be used for worst-case scenarios the federal government cannot leave out lower ranking situations (Roberts, 2007). Since the Department of Homeland Security is charged with managing risk within the enterprise, a basic equation is used to help figure out different variables and how they would be affected.

In the past sixteen years the United States has seen significant changes to the national policies that protect the population and its critical infrastructure. Two main agencies that arose from the 911 Attacks were the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Homeland Defense (HLD). These two agencies are responsible for protecting countless potential terrorist targets, millions of citizens, and the thousands of miles of U.S boarders. How can two government agencies protect so many assets? This paper will explore the two agencies and identify key roles, responsibilities, resources, and operations. It will highlight the efforts shared between the two agencies and provide the authors own definition of the DHS. Lastly, this paper will identify our nation’s critical infrastructure and how it intertwines with the DHS and HLD, by discussing the resources needed to operate successfully.

“We have learned as a Nation that we must maintain a constant, capable, and vigilant posture to protect ourselves against new threats and evolving hazards. But we have also learned that vigilance and protection are not ends in and of themselves, but rather necessary tools in the service of our national purpose.”(Napolitano, 2010, p.iv) In the wake of the September 11th, 2001 attacks our nation has taken upon itself extreme vigilance to ensure the security and defense of the American people. The relationship between homeland security and homeland defense is one that is tightly knit. Each has a very distinct mission set but somewhere along the spectrum they cross over and mutually support each other in the best interest of the nation.