The Department Of Homeland Security (FEMA)

Throughout its history, FEMA has had two main missions. First, FEMA’s mission is to enhance the federal government 's capacity to deal with and survive foreign attacks. The main types of foreign attacks that FEMA is tasked to respond to relate to terrorist attacks and nuclear war. The second mission of FEMA is to assist state and local authori¬ties to respond to man-made and natural disasters that are to enormous for the local and state resources to respond to efficiently. While national security focuses more on civil defense, state and local authorities are more focused on natural disasters such as hurricanes, storms, floods and potential nuclear power accidents. These divergent focuses really presents FEMA with huge challenges since federal security authorities’ main objective is quite different from state or local authorities’ focus. Considering that FEMA designed the Federal Response Plan, the agency has the challenge of balancing these interests while working on its two key missions.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has had some downfalls within their missions as does any organization, however, they still lead a very positive and contributing lending hand when in times of need. Their goal and ultimate mission, according to the official website of the Department of Homeland Security, is to “support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against,

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.

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

The mission of FEMA is about support, first response, sustainability, and recovery. Their entire focus is that of helping those affected by a disaster. If you look at the mission of the DHS it centers on safety, security, anti-terrorism, and threat response. These mission statements, although both compatible & noble, do not belong under the same roof. Allow the right hand to hold the sword and the left hand to

The United States at this time was the target of a series of different natural disasters. Ranging from the “Ash Wednesday” storm which accounted for well over $300,000,000 in damages to an earthquake which measured 9.2 on the Richter scale and in turn resulted in multiple tsunamis that rolled down the pacific coast and resulted in over a hundred losses of life (Maria). These kind of disasters did not let up in the 60’s and 70’s as the United States was hammered with a series of massive earthquakes and hurricanes. Legislation recognized there needed to be a solution and so in response the Disaster Relief Act was created giving presidents more power in their declarations at the time of the disasters. Since the first government intervention in 1803 until 1970, more than one hundred federal agencies were in some manner involved in some aspect of responding to the emergencies when they took place. The overlap between state issued programs and federal installed policies was concerning. That is why in the year 1979, President Jimmy Carter signed into order the Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA). As of present day, this is the program we all now look to in times of a disaster. They strive to support not only the citizens but also the first responders to ensure we can work together to improve, build and sustain our capability to recover from all hazards that are associated with these emergencies. FEMA does not work completely alone however, and in 2001 homeland security stepped up its role in dealing with disasters (Haddow). It was the terror attacks on September 11th that sparked their involvement and their coordination with FEMA made for quick and effective decisions during one of the United States’ time of greatest

Since its inception the DHS has gone through a shift in terms of overall concepts and missions. Something had to be done to ensure the safety of American people and protecting the U.S. homeland against future terrorist attacks. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was enacted shortly after the September 11th 2001 attacks and the creation of DHS was one of the most significant changes made by the U.S. government with a clear mission of protecting our homeland.

On September 11, 2001, there were 2,996 casualties and more than 6,000 others were injured in the terroristic attacks of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Some may say that these acts of terrorism changed the American homeland security for the better, others disagree. Since the events of September 11, 2001, the Department of Homeland Security was created and expanded into one of the largest divisions of the federal government. This paper consists of the lack of homeland security before September 11, 2001, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, and the development of this department, which is leading America to be safer since the last act of terrorism.

The Department of Homeland security was founded shortly after the horrendous attack of the world trade center’s twin towers on November 11, 2001. Congress ultimately passed the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and President Bush signed the bill into law on November 25, 2002. It was the largest U.S. government reorganization in the 50 years since the United States Department of Defense was created. The main priority of the DHS is to protect the United States from terrorist attacks, man-made accidents, and natural disasters. The stated goal of the DHS is to prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies, particularly terrorism. The DHS has over 200,000 employees making it the third largest cabinet in the United States after the Departments

Since the attack on the United States of America on 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was established to aid the country in preventing such a horrific event or future threats from happening to the citizens. DHS has had a clean record so far and it seems to be doing a great job in deterring the terrorist’s threats from reaching the American population. There has been no serious terror attack on the United States soil since the establishing of DHS. This is not an easy feat since there are so many rules and agencies that feed intelligence, support, equipment, and personnel to this large department. To have coordination of over twenty-two agencies and ensure they are all working together is a task that may seem impossible but it is one that DHS has hit upon head-on. All the agencies must be aware of the intelligence and actions and risks that are prevalent so as to prepare themselves. Then the next hurdle is to gather intelligence and information from the citizens without violating the Patriot Act which protects the rights of the people. There is a fine line that must be monitored and not crossed in fear of interfering on someone’s rights. In some instances the people will not comply with DHS and therefore they receive a negative aspect from the population. If DHS is not able to gather intelligence from the people without infringing on their rights, what makes them so sure that the department will protect them?

The events of September 11th, 2001 forever changed the organizational make-up of Emergency Management. Prior to 9/11, FEMA was the premier organization in the United States that dealt with any sort of disaster management. While FEMA was not without its own particular struggles early on, it had grown into an effective program; often emulated by other Governments for its effectiveness. As the primary Emergency Management function for the United States it was afforded a cabinet level position; thus allowing direct access to the President (Haddow, Bullock, & Coppola, 2011). Functioning as its own entity, FEMA was also able to spend its money as they saw fit, develop its own hierarchy, and most importantly; decide which natural disasters/emergencies to focus a majority of their resources on. Unfortunately for FEMA all of that was lost with the creation of The Department of Homeland Security (DHS). According to (Haddow, Bullock, & Coppola, 2011), “In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, when the Department of Homeland Security was established and FEMA lost its status as an independent agency, emergency management became a minor player” (p. 343). The shift from a focus on natural disasters, to a focus on terrorism has been detrimental for FEMA. First and foremost, FEMA lost its cabinet position and the direct line to the President that it was afforded. While funding was accelerated to DHS in quantities never before seen in emergency management, FEMA, being a subordinate of

The Federal Emergency management Agency came under the helm of the Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2013 in response to the September 11th terrorist attacks (fema.gov). FEMA’s mission as a result of the attacks changed from preparing for natural disasters and hazards to ensuring the nation’s first responders are well equipped to deal with weapons of mass destruction (fema.gov). Notably FEMA is most known for helping millions in need in times of disaster and turmoil. Unfortunately they will always be known for their lack of preparation during the Hurricane Katrina aftermath in Louisiana in 2005. The organization failed to do what it set out to do and as a result millions of people were displaced and many lost their lives.

It is the responsibility of the Government to provide security to its people. The Department of Homeland Security “DHS” was formed after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Before the attacks, independent agencies handled homeland security. The DHS was formed to have most of these agencies work together under one management to secure America.

The national agencies involved in pre and post-disaster management and planning are The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in connection with The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and The Ready Campaign. FEMA was first implemented during President Jimmy Carter's term in 1979. Their mission is dedicated to nationally support and protect citizens throughout the country during natural or manmade disasters (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2017). FEMA works closely together with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security along with local and state governments to provide extensive disaster relief efforts and necessary assistance during any crisis (Department Homeland Security, 2016). FEMA offers both pre and post-disaster

The Department of Homeland Security is to protect the nation from any type of threats. Through the Department of Homeland Security are areas such as, aviation, border security, emergency response cybersecurity analyst and chemical facility inspector (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, n.d.). Department of Homeland Security went through a complete overhaul, as a result of the September 11 terrorist attack. “…the Department of Homeland Security Act of 2002 established the Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and created the position of Homeland Security”