need-two-responses-500-words-a-piece-per-response-totaling-2-posts

(Need 500 word response to this post with two cited sources)

The Department of Homeland Security takes the lead federal government role in regards to homeland security. According to its website, DHS secures the nation from the many threats America faces. The department’s missions include preventing terrorism, enhancing security, managing borders, administering immigration laws and ensuring disaster resilience. DHS contains over 20 organizations, and some of the main ones include the Coast Guard, Citizenship and Immigration Services, Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Secret Service and the Transportation Security Administration.

The Department of Defense plays a supporting homeland security role to other federal agencies including DHS and DOJ. The military supports civilian law enforcement agencies when called upon, mainly through defense support of civil authorities. This can happen when called upon during both man-made and natural disasters and emergencies. Additionally, the DoD can sometimes take a lead role in areas that law enforcement cannot handle. This gets into more homeland defense, but include things like air and missile defense. USNORTHCOM and NORAD handle these missions for the military.

The National Guard and State Defense Forces serve a different role than active duty military forces (Title 10 troops) and can do homeland security missions at the local, state or federal level. This is because National Guard units are created, funded and controlled at the state level and under the command of governors. The National Guard is usually considered Title 32 forces and have the legal authority to serve in domestic homeland security roles and respond to local and state emergencies. There are over 3000 Army National Guard armories and 140 Air National Guard units stationed throughout the country to help provide quick and efficient action. Typically, communities and states rely on first responders like police, fire and medical services for the initial support to a homeland security situation. The National Guard comes next if needed. The DoD is only used as a last resort during major emergencies. Emergency response starts at the lowest level (local) and only goes up to the state and federal levels when the specific situation requires it.

I believe private companies and civilians should be considered first responders when it comes to homeland security because we all have a vested interest in preventing, deterring, responding and rebuilding from disasters and emergencies that affect us personally. Private companies and individual citizens all determine the level of preparation and protection they need based off their assessment of threats to their own homeland security.

I believe there needs to be separation of power and checks and balances between the different levels of government in order to ensure effective homeland security does not interfere with a free and open society. One example of this is the DoD being kept in a supporting homeland security role. The United States has always been hesitant to use military force domestically. This dates back to British soldier occupation prior to the American Revolution and is written into the Constitution. There are specific laws in place to ensure Title 10 forces are only used domestically when absolutely necessary.

Visa security policy is another example of separation of power protecting an open society. The Department of State Consular Affairs offices issue visas, but the Department of Homeland Security provides visa security, approves immigrant petitions and inspects all people coming into the United States. There have been attempts since this was decided in The Homeland Security Act of 2002 to give DHS more power, but they have not been successful. This balance of power allows the State Department to promote trade and tourism at the same time that DHS is preventing terrorism.

-Bobby Lennon

References

Mission (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.dhs.gov/mission

Post 2 need 500 word response with two cited sources to this post

A pretty complex objective for this week. Let this student begin from the later part and work up. In protecting the homeland, public and private responsibilities intersect. The vast majority of the nation’s critical infrastructure is privately owned. Given the significance of the private sector in homeland security settings, structuring incentives properly is critical. The country’s national security and standard of living depend on the reliable functioning of our critical infrastructure. The local governments must do a great deal more to prepare for the consequence management role. In particular, they must also pay a great deal of attention to prevention efforts. Critical infrastructure includes a vast array of assets, networks, and systems such as food, water, energy, communications, transportation, banking, and more, and most of these aspects of critical infrastructure are within the domain of the local governments. One of the critical issues that private sector has to deal with security clearance for private sector staff members. Protecting Critical Infrastructure and key resources requires cooperation between government and private industry. It is the policy of the DHS to share pertinent information regarding Critical Infrastructure with the private sector, which at times may include classified information. A private sector official must be cleared for a federal security clearance prior to receiving classified information from the government. The Critical Infrastructure Private Sector Clearance Program (hereinafter referred to as the “Program”) was developed to provide a means to facilitate the processing of security clearance applications for private sector partners (DHS 2011). Market/trade forces currently provide some incentive to firms to avoid the direct financial losses associated with a terrorist attack on their facilities or operations. In general, however, that incentive is not compelling enough to encourage the appropriate level of security—and should therefore be supplemented with stronger market-based incentives in several sectors. As the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has put it in a different context: “We cannot simply let markets work. We must make markets work.” Even though the protecting the private sector is a shared responsibility; it is also possible, at least in theory, for private firms to invest too much in anti-terrorism security. In particular, visible security measures (such as more uniformed guards) undertaken by one firm may merely displace terrorist attacks onto other firms, without significantly affecting the overall probability of an attack (Orszag 2011)

At the bottom local level the resources are most stretched since the first responders do surge feom the local levels. The first responders could lack at the following resources: training, having adequate tools (meaning equipment) in dealing with any incident that has direct relationship with state or Federal entities. Although in one specific sector the local and even at stet level in case of natural or human disaster; FEMA does participate actively but factor of losing critical time falls in very quickly. First responders are often the primary line of defense for the American communities, responding to an evolving spectrum of natural and man-made threats and disasters. The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) works closely with first responders across jurisdictions and disciplines to improve their safety and effectiveness. The responsibility of DHS and even FEMA is to ensure that both State and Local first responders are at par with o capabilities that: This includes but not limited to o develop capabilities that would make make first responders safer: Improve communication tool security and effectiveness Enhance data and information sharing during daily, emergency or joint operations

Promote and sustain partnerships with responders and responder organizations across the nation at all levelselp investigate cybercrime and cases involving digital evidence

Secure 911 emergency call systems from cyber attacks

There are some areas where there is even some degree of partnership p between two federal, but the final out ends up at the window of the officer who has all the authority to conclude the matter promptly. The subject matter of visa is one matter that this student has gone through and ended up miserable state. This student applied for permission for his fiancé went through all of the processes a petition took its required process security check at USCIS and national visa center. The petition ended up at the window of U.S State Department officer at the visa window at the local embassy. It was application rejected without any reason given. This student backtracked to the process to the USCIS, and National visa center their response was everything right on our end it is visa officer who is creating problems. Beside wastage of time and funds, the process has to start all over. Here is a classic real-life example when one federal agency denies permission without any reasons, thus, overloading the system for all the unnecessary reasons.

DHS, first responders https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/first-responders

Peter R. Orszag, Homeland Security and the Private Sector, https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/20031119-1.pdf