The Resilient Homeland

The resilient homeland: broadening the homeland security strategy: hearing before the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, One Hundred Tenth Congress, second session, May 6, 2008.

This title combines original research, case studies, and synoptic analysis to cover highly charged topics in America today. Each chapter in this edited volume offers conditional responses to three essential questions about the disciplinary status of homeland security: What are the domain’s central problems? What research methods are best able to address those problems? What has research contributed to addressing homeland security’s core problems? The volume is divided into two main sections. Part I: Immigration and Management covers topics such as: Immigration enforcement Illegal crossing Border security Gaps in securing the borderland Part II: The Resilient Homeland addresses issues such as Lessons learned from the pandemic Disaster recovery and preparedness Public health Cybersecurity This publication bridges knowledge from various topics related to homeland security into one volume.

Provides a comprehensive account of past and current homeland security reorganization and practices, policies and programs in relation to government restructuring.

Focusing on this broader security culture framework of analysis, this text uses a comprehensive approach to explore cultural factors empirically and pragmatically as they affect threat environment and assessment along core missions, organizational responses, and the aim of fostering safe and secure societies.

Every job can lead to stress. How people cope with that stress can be influenced by many factors. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employs a diverse staff that includes emergency responders, border patrol agents, federal air marshals, and policy analysts. These employees may be exposed to traumatic situations and disturbing information as part of their jobs. DHS is concerned that long-term exposure to stressors may reduce individual resilience, negatively affect employees' well-being, and deteriorate the department's level of operation readiness. To explore DHS workforce resilience, the Institute of Medicine hosted two workshops in September and November 2011. The September workshop focused on DHS's operational and law enforcement personnel, while the November workshop concentrated on DHS policy and program personnel with top secret security clearances. The workshop brought together an array of experts from various fields including resilience research, occupation health psychology, and emergency response. Building a Resilient Workforce: Opportunities for the Department of Homeland Security: Workshop Summary: Defines workforce resilience and its benefits such as increased operational readiness and long-term cost savings for the specified population; Identifies work-related stressors faced by DHS workers, and gaps in current services and programs; Prioritizes key areas of concern; and Identifies innovative and effective worker resilience programs that could potentially serve as models for relevant components of the DHS workforce. The report presents highlights from more than 20 hours of presentations and discussions from the two workshops, as well as the agendas and a complete listing of the speakers, panelists, and planning committee members.

This book deals with both actual and potential terrorist attacks on the United States as well as natural disaster preparedness and management in the current era of global climate change. The topics of preparedness, critical infrastructure investments, and risk assessment are covered in detail. The author takes the reader beyond counterterrorism statistics, better first responder equipment, and a fixation on FEMA grant proposals to a holistic analysis and implementation of mitigation, response, and recovery efforts. The recent Oklahoma tornadoes and West Texas storage tank explosion show the unpredictability of disaster patterns, and the Boston Marathon bombings expose the difficulty in predicting and preventing attacks. Egli makes a compelling case for a culture of resilience by asserting a new focus on interagency collaboration, public-private partnerships, and collective action. Building upon the lessons of the 9/11 attacks, hurricane Katrina, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the basic findings are supported by a creative mix of case studies, which include superstorm Sandy, cascading power outages, GPS and other system vulnerabilities, and Japan's Fukushima disaster with its sobering aftermath. This book will help a new generation of leaders understand the need for smart resilience.

Homeland Security: The Essentials, Second Edition concisely outlines the risks facing the US today and the structures we have put in place to deal with them. The authors expertly delineate the bedrock principles of preparing for, mitigating, managing, and recovering from emergencies and disasters. From cyberwarfare, to devastating tornadoes, to car bombs, all hazards currently fall within the purview of the Department of Homeland Security, yet the federal role must be closely aligned with the work of partners in the private sector. The book lays a solid foundation for the study of present and future threats to our communities and to national security, also challenging readers to imagine more effective ways to manage these risks. Highlights and expands on key content from the bestselling book Introduction to Homeland Security Concisely delineates the bedrock principles of preparing for, mitigating, managing, and recovering from emergencies and disasters Provides coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing Explains the border security, immigration, and intelligence functions in detail Analyzes the NIST Cybersecurity Framework for critical infrastructure protection Explores the emergence of social media as a tool for reporting on homeland security issues