Unit 4 Homeland Security

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.

Select one of the six “Prevailing challenges that pose the most strategically significant risk” (Strategic risks) found on page 28 of DHS’ 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review. Answer these questions regarding the selected risk: What consequences are faced at the national level if this threat is not adequately addressed? Do you believe this risk is being adequately addressed now? Why or why not?

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

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 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

After the attacks on September 11th, 2001 the United States was forced to reassess its policies over the defense of the country within its borders. Until that time the United States’ homeland security was under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice (Masse, O’Neil, & Rollins, 2007). After the attack the Executive branch of the government created a new organization that would be responsible for deciding where the biggest threats to the country were. This was the birth of the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for assessing all risk to the Nation within its borders and developing way to mitigate these threats before a disaster can take place. One of the documents that the Department of

The Homeland Security Division was formed in the wake of terrorist attacks and implemented by President Bush after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. This policy was formed to place a national policy into place for Federal departments and local agencies to identify and protect the United States from additional terrorist attacks. What many don’t know is that this plan defines orders and roles for local state and governmental agencies as well, in order to carry out the goal. I will explain how six sub-groups come together to form the Department of Homeland Security’s one enterprise operation.

The DHS’s overall mission is to, “…ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards.” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security

1. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 reduces the vulnerability of the United States to terrorism.

After 9/11, the United States completely revamped its entire system of defense, policy prescription and stance with regards to terrorism; both foreign and domestic. The Department of Homeland Security was created, direct militaristic action was taken against these terrorists and domestic and foreign policy was changed in order to combat the new threat. While much of this “war on terror” was fought far away from U.S. soil, that did not stop these new policies from affecting the lives of U.S. citizens directly. The most noticeable, controversial and powerful of these policies was the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act (Breinholt, 23-25). While the PATRIOT Act has drawn the ire of many U.S. citizens due to its far reaching effects, lack of jurisdictional or

Corder and Scarborough write about the lack of security clearances granted to state and local authorities. Due to the long wait times and in depth vetting it is suggested that this has hindered state and local authorities with regard to being utilized better on the front line. An additional issue related to security clearances is the concept of the “need to know basis.” It is understood that to combat this there have been fusion centers created to disseminate this information. While fusion centers are functional it could be contended that they tend to have a shelf life and a sense of complacency might set in. A 2008 CRS/ John Rollins report for congress touches upon the aforementioned issues. The shelf life concept of the

When the creation of the new Department of Homeland Security was announced in 2002, “Bush outlined the organizations mission: to protect all the borders, minimize the damage of an attack and have a quick and efficient clean up from the chaos, to develop antiterrorist technologies, and to review intelligence from all agencies of government (Haulley,

Prevent terrorism (attacks, operations and recruiting) and enhancing security; protecting the American people and way of life from all terrorist attacks is the founding principle that DHS was founded upon and it is considered their highest priority. DHS has a counterterrorism program that is responsible for three objectives;

The Department of Homeland Security National Strategic Plan was created to outline the department’s missions, goals, and visions from the years of 2012-2016. There are five missions that DHS (Department of Homeland Security) is prioritizing in the national strategic plan. These

When I hear of the word apparatus, the first thing that comes to mind is a group of fire trucks, as they are called apparatuses, which means that it is a group of something that has a certain use. In chapter 2, I found out that Homeland Security has several different agencies and is considered an apparatus. In this essay, I will discuss some of the different types of agencies involved with Homeland Security, as well as possible ways that some of the agencies mentioned can help me when it comes to my future career. Finally, I will also go over ways to possibly make the agencies run more efficiently when it comes to them cooperating with certain issues.