Analysis Of Homeland Security And Homeland Defense

The following assignment will discuss homeland security and homeland defense. It will focus on areas within both sectors to include responsibilities and operations. This paper will also discuss critical infrastructure and protection programs in place.

Homeland Security

When the term homeland security is used, it can mean different things to people. All can agree, however, that the ideology behind homeland security is in its name; to give security to the homeland. The mission of Homeland Security is to make a safer and more secure nation that is safe from terrorism and other threats. According to Logan (2017), the events of September 11th, 2001 inspired the creation of the Homeland Security Act. This Act became law in 2002 and essentially founded the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS has several missions to include: Preventing terrorism; Border Security; Monitor and enforce immigration laws; Respond and assist in natural disasters, and safeguard cyberspace. To accomplish this enormous, DHS incorporates multiples entities under one department to “enhance communications, intelligence, and the security of the homeland”. Homeland security was tasked by Congress to effectively be involved in Intelligence and Warning; Border and Transportation Security; Domestic Counterterrorism; Protecting Critical Infrastructure and Key Assets; Defending against Catastrophic Threats; and Emergency Preparedness and Response.

Preventing Terrorism

DHS accomplishes the task of preventing terrorism and maximizing security by minimizing access and preventing the “unauthorized acquisition or use of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials and capabilities” (Fiscal Years, 2014). Since gaining access to the United States would greatly benefit the terrorist organization, DHS is constantly monitoring persons of interest that attempt to enter or leave the United States. Even though risk from exposure to nuclear material is low, the consequences would be severe to the people of the U. S if terrorists utilized nuclear material to carry out an attack. DHS also protects key economic sectors such as travel, agriculture and food, and financial sector. Criminal syndicates could exploit these entities utilizing a variety of means such as cyber-attacks and physical damage. Lastly, DHS prevents terrorism by minimizing risks to Critical infrastructure and leadership who could be exposed to certain events. An example of this is the Secret Service who are apart of DHS and they protect the President. Each agency that falls under the umbrella of Homeland Security, plays a role in accomplishing the prevention of terrorism.

Securing the Borders

DHS utilizes the many sectors contained within to control and enforce the security of the borders. Customs and Border Patrol and the U. S. Coast Guard monitor the borders for illegal activity and keep them secure. According to the Customs and Border Patrol (2017), their top priority is to prevent terrorists entering the U. S. along with their weapons. Their mission is to stop illegal immigration, the smuggling of narcotics, and illegal importations. The U. S. Coast Guard is essential in this mission also. They are responsible for the waterway security of the U. S. and enforcing anti-human trafficking laws, drug smuggling, and assisting other areas of law enforcement such as immigration laws. With DHS controlling the security of land, air, and sea operations within the U. S. Administrations such as the Transportation Security Administration ensure the Airways are safer by aiding in the prevention of terrorism, drug smuggling, our nation's assets. DHS effectively monitors Air, land and water boundaries of the U. S. which increases the security of travel and trade.

Enforcing Immigration Laws

United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) control the immigration sector and enforce immigration laws. USCIS processes applications checks backgrounds of individuals and verifies the eligibility of individuals who are coming to the U. S. and seeking legal status. ICE enforces the laws of the nation by seeking out perpetrators who have disobeyed the immigration laws of the nation. Immigration enforcement plays a major role in securing the border. A close relationship with other agencies such as the Coast Guard and Border Patrol is essential to an immigration system. This connection will aid in the identification of threats and reduce the chance of risks to national security.

Securing Cyberspace

The digital age has presented some unique and ever-evolving challenges to the nation's security. Nearly every sector of Government is reliant on computers and networks. Terrorists and criminals know this; therefore, multiple attempts to exploit the nation's networks are attempted. The Agency utilizes multiple tools to analyze and reduce cyber threats and vulnerabilities; educate government and private organizations about threats and data protection, and ensure networks and cyber systems remain safe from unauthorized access. According to DHS, they work with other Government agencies to deter and defeat cyber-attacks. Once the criminal has been identified they are pursued by criminal investigators. These agencies have designated departments designed to combat cybercrime.

Response to Disasters

No matter how prepared our nation is, it is hard to predict when mother nature decides to unleash her fury upon our country. In 2017, there were multiple weather and climate disaster events totaling multiple billions of dollars and hundreds of lives (“Billion-Dollar, 2018). In times of emergency, DHS steps up and reduces the enormous weight on small towns and communities by offering a vast wealth of resources. Agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) give aid to these communities in an emergency and to protect them from future emergencies.

Homeland security is an extremely effective branch of the government which incorporates multiple agencies dealing with very different tasks. However, these tasks are all dependent on one another and smooth communication between the agencies. Like one big team, their mission is to ensure the security of the nation no matter where the threat comes from, manage these threats, and reduce the time it takes to recover from a threat. These overlapping jobs within the agencies strengthen the national security of the country.

Homeland Defence

When discussing homeland defense it is often used interchangeably with the term homeland security; however, there are some differences. Homeland security mainly deals with threats to the people and infrastructure inside the United States, where homeland defense is concerned with the “protection sovereignty, territory, domestic population and critical defense infrastructure against external threats and aggression, or other threats as directed by the president”. Tasked with the role of enforcing homeland defense is the Department of Defense (DoD). The man I protect on a daily basis, the U. S. Secretary of Defense, in charge of the military assets of the United States. Daily he reports directly to the President on all defense-related issues. Homeland defense is concerned with monitoring and counteracting any threats to the homeland. A strong homeland defense discourages other states to attempt to violate U. S laws, harm U. S. citizens, or destroy U. S. assets. The DoD accomplishes this task by protecting the U. S. from attacks by Air, Land, and Sea. Utilizing the Army, Navy, Airforce and Coast Guard, these assets allow the DoD to continuously monitor for outside threats. According to Scaparrotti (2013) The DoD is responsible for defending against external threats to include Weapons of Mass Destruction and cyber threats. There is a difference between Homeland security and Scaparrotti homeland defense; however, it is one big team to deter terrorism and threats the America and her assets. The Agencies may work interchangeably. For example, the Coast Guard may work outside the borders of America to discourage threats. Also, the DoD may call upon service members to help in times of Natural disasters. There are some exceptions where the military cannot be used for law enforcement purposes which are covered under the Posse Comitatus Act. The President can authorize an exception to this though. As mentioned earlier, the Coast Guard is a perfect example of this as “It operates under the DHS during peacetime, and can be transferred to the Department of the Navy by the President at any time or by Congress during time of war”. The DoD utilizes different commands to portion out areas of responsibility; however, they all share the same responsibility of deterring threats and defending the U. S. - U. S. Northern Command, North American Aerospace Defense. Pacific Command and U. S. Southern Command have different areas to monitor

Although the main DoD role is concerned with defense, it has also provided civil support and aided in times of national disasters. For instance, when Hurricane Katrina hit, The DoD deployed over 70,000 military personnel to include active and National Guard. The forces were utilized for search and rescue, medical support, and evacuation. DoD assets were utilized to include over 20 ships, 60 aircraft, and more than 200 helicopters. A large amount of amphibious watercraft was also used in saving people (Assistant Secretary of Defense, n. d). One of the main priorities for America is to have a secure homeland. There are times when the DHS and DoD come together and even overlap. Homeland Security already has a military component but unlike the DoD, it’s not a federal level. The National Guard is trained in the same way as a title 10 soldier and can be federalized at any time by going from title 32 to title 10 status. A big National Strategy for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives funding. The Chemical. Biological, Radioactive, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE) is incorporated into the protecting national assets.

Homeland Security is more than just a concept. It is an organization utilizing multiple and relevant federal agencies to secure America's borders, protect the people and assets. This partnership essentially allows for a smooth flow of information between important aspects of national security such as immigration, border security, and disaster management. Any of these can severely affect U. S. personnel and assets. Although each agency has a different task and mission statement, it is easy to see how they can be dependent on each other. For example, USCIS and ICE, or TSA and CBP. Homeland Defence and Security have the role of protecting and defending America.

Nation’s Critical Infrastructure

The Department of Homeland Security protects our nations critical infrastructure that serves as the spine of the countries security, health, and economy. This can be broken down into the electricity we charge our phones with, the gasoline we put in our car, and even the phones we talk on, the water we drink, and even the food we eat. There are multiple sectors that are considered essential to the United States. These serve whether networks or facilities are so important to the U. S. they would have negative consequences on national security, public health, and economic damages if they were targeted for malicious purposes. The security of the nation is dependent on clean water for hospitals and military forces; energy to power vehicles and communication devices, and a myriad of other reasons. Financial sectors and Emergency services sectors could collapse as in one form or another, they are dependent on each other. It is vital in the interest of Homeland security and homeland defense that the critical infrastructure is protection, functional and secured. The communications sector is reliant on the information technology sector. Our networks allow us to communicate in real time over vast distances. A damaged network could disable any threat alerts coming from offshore which are targeted at the U. S.

The Presidential Policy Directive on Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience (2013) states “Critical infrastructure must be secure and able to withstand and rapidly recover from all hazards. ” The policy dictates how DHS is to secure this infrastructure by refining functional relationships between sectors which allows more awareness of potential threats, greater data sharing and stricter implantation and scrutiny of planning and protection measures. More training and responding to incident training is implanted. Risk analysis of both physical and cyber threats are frequently conducted to identify any vulnerabilities. DHS National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) outlines procedures in the event of an attack on infrastructure. The Agency also has sector-specific plans which detail interdependency between agencies. The Aim of the plan is to identify threats and have a plan in the unfortunate event an attack or hazard occurs. Anything to minimize risk by constant assessment is the main goal. Knowledge of what to do if one occurs is also essential. This is where training is important. With new threats emerging, the policies need to be constantly updated to stay current with the latest threats0 to the U. S. assets. Working with other agencies to include private sectors, developing new research, and implementation of ideas is essential for the protection of our homeland. All sectors of the Government rely on the nation's infrastructure to function effectively and efficiently. The DoD would be also be weakened by unreliable infrastructure. This is why it is vital to protect it.

Conclusion

Homeland Security and Homeland defense are two different terms with many similarities. It is important that our nation never gets complacent or thinks that the threats will remain the same. Our policies should constantly be evaluated, refined and improved upon to ensure the highest-level security is available. The concept of homeland security like mentioned above is a brilliant one. The cross-agency development of one big agency has allowed for important aspects of these individual agencies to be utilized for the same goal; to protect America’s people, assets, and national security. The Department of Defense protects our nation from threats abroad. However as stated in the examples above, sometimes these agencies have dual duties. This partnership benefits the nation on an unprecedented scale. The military has assets that federal agencies do not. The nations critical infrastructure relies on these partnerships to ensure they are protected from physical and digital threats. Interestingly, these complex tasks consisting of thousands of people home and abroad; reveals how a great partnership can get great results.

References:

1. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global Security (n. d) defense. gov. Retrieved 3 February 2018, from http://policy. defense. gov/OUSDP-Offices/ASD-for- Homeland-Defense-Global-Security/Homeland-Defense-Integration- DSCA/FAQs/#Section1
2. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters: (2018). National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Ncdc. noaa. gov. Retrieved 3 February 2018, from https://www. ncdc. noaa. gov/billions/events/US/1980-2017
3. Border Security (2017). Cbp. gov. Retrieved 3 February 2018, from https://www. cbp. gov/border-security
4. Critical Infrastructure Sectors. (2013). Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved 4 February 2018, from https://www. dhs. gov/critical-infrastructure-sectors
5. Fiscal years 2014-2018: Strategic Plan (2014). Dhs. gov. Retrieved 3 February 2018, from https://www. dhs. gov/sites/default/files/publications/FY14-18%20Strategic%20Plan. PDF
6. Logan, Keith Gregory. (2017). 'Part Ii: Post-9/11 Evolution. ' In Homeland Security and Intelligence”. Retrieved from https://psi-praeger- com. ezproxy2. apus. edu/Topics/Display/1998190? cid=138&sid=2129963
7. “Our Mission” (2011). Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved 3 February 2018, from https://www. dhs. gov/our-mission
8. Presidential Policy Directive -- Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience. (2013). whitehouse. gov. Retrieved 4 February 2018, from https://obamawhitehouse. archives. gov/the-press-office/2013/02/12/presidential-policy- directive-critical-infrastructure-security-and-resil
9. Reese, Shaw (2013) Defining Homeland Security: Analysis and Congressional Considerations. Fas. org. Retrieved 3 February 2018, from https://fas. org/sgp/crs/homesec/R42462. pdf
10. Scaparrotti, Curtis (2013). Joint Publication 3-27. Joint Chiefs of Staff. https://www. hsdl. org/?view&did=742874
11. Sandin, Terry (2017). Technologies for Homeland Defense and Security: | HDIAC. org. (2018). Hdiac. org. Retrieved 3 February 2018, from https://www. hdiac. org/node/1934