Analysis: The National Response Framework

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was formed more than a decade ago with a very significant mission of safeguarding America's homeland from hazards, threats, and national disasters. This department conducts its mission through securing the country's borders, preventing terror attacks, and responding to incidents or threats to its citizens (Miller, n.d.). Generally, the most important roles of the Department of Homeland Security are to lead a concerted national effort in securing the United States and preserving the American way of life. The department was established in 2002 in reaction to the 9/11 terror attacks and has since developed a nationwide strategic plan for evaluating and updating its mission statement and effectiveness of operations. These plans can be updated and transformed to accomplish the needs of the Department for Homeland Security and the American people.

Local protective measure planning equips first responders with the knowledge needed to organize efficient response results in the event of an emergency. Structured open dialogue between local emergency jurisdictions enables responders to delegate the appropriate individuals and equipment resources to the impacted local areas requiring the most aid following a terror event. By establishing a streamlined communication framework, local emergency responders can collaborate their efforts and resources to promote collective well-being. When a local emergency plan specifies what responders and resources belong where and at what time, response overlap and shortages can be avoided. Unionized response action established prior to a terrorist incident, serves to mitigate the risks, hazards and threat of injury or harm the people and property of the US face when a terrorism event occurs. Furthermore, a structured local emergency operations plan for a hazardous materials incident involving a terrorist is imperative to public health and safety, as the blueprint outlines protective measures the public can follow to minimize their exposure to dangerous substances. The people of a community affected by a terror event can be warned and notified of the event’s associated dangerous materials, which threaten their well-being, through a variety of methods such as warning sirens or horns, emergency alert systems, automated

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is third largest Executive Department of the Federal Government charged with protecting the security of American homeland. Its primary mission is to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reducing vulnerability to terrorism and minimizing the damage from potential attacks and natural disasters. The DHS was created by President G.W. Bush in the aftermath of terrorist attacks on America in 2001. It is relatively new agency that continues to evolve in the 21st century. In my chosen topic I will perform research on the history and creation of Department of Homeland Security, identify 3 of the 22 agencies within the DHS and describe their responsibilities. The purpose of this paper is to define and give detailed information about Homeland Security in the United States. Exploration of this topic will enhance knowledge about DHS and help understand the responsibilities of the agencies.

“The struggle against international terrorism is different from any other war in our history. We will not triumph solely or even primarily through military might.” (National Strategy for Combating Terrorism, 2003) And so to combat this in the post 9/11 time, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was born. And as we have seen in the past event, DHS is needed more today than ever. But DHS was born out of not only necessity but also function.

September 11, 2001, the worst terrorist attack on US soil to date, killing thousands of people, rocketed the nation. This led to formation of the Department of Homeland Security. While the department of Homeland Security has many responsibilities, one of its primary roles is preventing acts of terrorism like the 9/11 attacks. Terrorism is a broad subject matter, it can be hard to fully cover it. The Department of Homeland securities’ terrorism prevention plan attempt s to do this by breaking down into nine main components. The nine main components of homeland securities' terrorism prevention plan are Biological security, Chemical security, Nuclear Security, explosives, Countering Violent Extremism, Secure Driver's Licenses, The

The Department of Homeland Security is liable for establishing the safety and defense of the U.S. from terrorism and natural disasters. In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on America by terrorists, Department of Homeland Security’s main concern has been on federal measures to prevent terrorism attacks and handle other crisis situations. When the Department of Homeland Security was created it had four goals: to diminish America’s vulnerability to terrorism by securing the borders, minimizing the damage and speed the recovery from attacks that happen to occur, to develop technologies devices to detect terrorism and to share all intelligence gathered from all federal agencies (Haulley, 2006). These four

In this research paper, I am going to discuss the plan that the Department of Homeland Security has set forth for the years of 2012-2016. This plan outlines the entire vision of the department to essentially accomplish their missions and goals. The plan consists of missions varying from border security to cyber security. We must not forget the men and women on the front line working hard to ultimately secure and provide safety for the United States of America.

What is the National Response Framework? The National Response Framework is a guide to how the Nation conducts all-hazards response – from the smallest incident to the largest catastrophe. This key document establishes a comprehensive, national, all-hazards approach to domestic incident response. The Framework identifies the key response principles, roles and structures that organize national response. It describes how communities, States, the Federal Government and private-sector and nongovernmental partners apply these principles for a coordinated, effective national response. And, it describes special circumstances where the Federal Government exercises a larger role, including incidents where Federal interests are involved and catastrophic

The National Response Framework is a guide designed to assist local, State, and Federal governments in developing functional capabilities and identifying resources based on hazard identification and risk assessment. It outlines the operating structure and identifies key roles and responsibilities. It established a framework to identify capabilities based on resources and the current situation no matter the size or scale. It integrates organizational structures and standardizes how the Nation at all levels plans to react to incidents. The suspected terrorist attack will have health, economic, social, environment and political long-term effects for my community. This is why it is essential that local government’s

Having a basic understanding of community or national emergency plans can assist families in disaster. This is especially true during the response phase. The National Response Framework (NRF) is a great example of a national community reference. According to FEMA’s publication, “The National Response Framework,” from 2013, the NRF is a guide which describes the basis of national response to any form of disaster. The NRF was developed from a long line of response guidance plans. The first was the Federal Response plan which was replaced by the National Response Plan. Then in 2008, the NRF was developed to make national response guidance more efficient as well as to include practices created after Hurricane Katrina. The NRF is comprised

“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.

Terrorism is one of the most debated topics in the twenty-first century and this is primarily owed to the 9/11 events, a moment when people worldwide acknowledged that they were more vulnerable than they previously considered themselves to be. All levels of law enforcement got actively involved in and prioritized preventing future terrorist acts from that point on. This meant that law enforcement officers were provided with new responsibilities and that they became a part of homeland security initiatives developed in the states where they worked. Florida has been involved in devising anti-terrorist strategies before the 9/11 events actually took place and the authorities within the state's borders have had to focus on reducing the chances of a terrorist threat happening by directing a significant number of resources toward the concept.

* Rank order (in order of priority) the 14 core capabilities of the NRF. Explain why you rank ordered 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Be specific.

The threat by terrorist groups in using Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) has increased significantly in the recent years. Preventing the creation and the utilization of these deadly weapons as well as their delivery systems and reducing those already in existence, has become of extreme importance to the government. Certain weapons of mass destruction, such as chemical and biological, are easier to acquire but much harder to detect. For that reason, they should be the highest priority. Predicting when and how an attack will occur, involving chemical or biological weapons, is not 100 percent possible; however, individuals should not ignore the possibility of such an attack happening here on American soil. In the past, there have been attacks involving Sarin gas, such as the Tokyo Subway attack, and just recently, the Sarin nerve agent use in Syria. Terrorist have the capability to use chemical WMD and have shown that they are willing to use this method in warfare. In addition, military biological WMD programs discovered in Iraq and Russia show that there is a definite biological threat as well. Preparing America to face this threat head on is a daunting task, but lacking preparedness could have devastating consequences beyond comprehension. Agencies, such as public health organizations, must be prepared to prevent illness and injuries resulting from biological and chemical terrorism, especially with a concealed attack by a terrorist.

The Department of Homeland Security released the 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review on June 18, 2014 as required by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and its amendments. This review outlined the current state of preparedness, as well as the future areas of concentration. It also determined six strategic challenges facing the nation: terrorist threat; growing cyber threats; biological concerns as a whole; nuclear terrorism; transnational criminal organizations; and natural hazards. The basic building block of emergency management in the U.S. is the local community. Each step begins here. Threat assessments are completed on the local level. Planning, mitigation, and response are all responsibilities of the local community to support the state and Federal practice using the guidance provided by both.