Although Homeland Defense, as well as Homeland Security, are not the same, the line between them is a narrow one. Scholars gave a little thought about the functions of the two bodies before the attack of 9/11. In most cases, people associated with Homeland security with local law enforcement and linked Homeland defense to national interests outside the United States’ boundaries. After the terrorist attack, things changed. Concerning policy, the United States has defined the roles of the two bodies, focusing on the primary tasks. The essay will discuss the organs components, functions, and differences.
Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has approximately 229,000 employees, forming the third largest department of the government of the United States. DHS is responsible for 22 components including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard, the Directorate of Science and Technology, Customs and Border Protection, the Directorate of National Protection and Programs, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Secret Service, as well as the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (Bullock, Haddow, " Coppola, 2011).
Homeland Security’s mission is to safeguard the people of the United States, their homeland, and values with honor as well as dignity. Under the leadership of the Secretary, DHS has been formed to address counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and protects the ports as well as airports. Additionally, the body protects the country against any attacks and responds to disasters.
The work of the Citizenship and Immigration Services of the United States is to administer the lawful immigration system of the nation, safeguard its integrity while efficiently adjudicating for migration requests. The Homeland Security department considers the Customs and Border Protection to be one of the largest and most complex components and has the sole job of keeping the United States free of terrorists. Apart from enforcing hundreds of the regulations of the United States, the organization secures and facilitates trade as well as travel in the country. Being the only military organization within the DHS, the United States Coast Guard protects the maritime environment and borders (US Coast Guard, 2002).
DHS also supports America’s citizens as well as first responders through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The agency makes sure people work together as a nation in sustaining, building, and improving their capability to prepare and recover from hazards. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement carries out criminal as well as civil enforcement laws that protect the borders of the country to promote homeland security and public safety. On the other hand, the transportation systems of the United States are protected by the Transportation Security Administration, thus, warranting freedom of movement for people as well as commerce.
The Secret Service of the United States safeguards the financial infrastructure as well as the payment systems of the nation, therefore, preserving the economy’s integrity, and protecting local and visiting leaders. The Directorate of Management is responsible for budgeting, appropriations, funds expenditure, and accounting and finance. Additionally, it tracks performances associated with the department responsibilities. The directorate of science and technology is the department’s arm of research and development. Officials are provided with technology to protect the country (Knight, 2008, January).
The goal of the Justice Department is to prevent terrorism which is reflected in the responsibilities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation which enforces law and domestic intelligence. On the other hand, the Homeland Security Department works with other sectors such as the Department of Energy and Sector Specific Agency to secure the power grids.
Homeland Defense
Homeland Defense is a national effort to protect the sovereignty, territory, citizens, as well as the United States’ critical defense infrastructure against external threats and aggression. The Department of Homeland Defense is comprised of four military commands, for instance, the Northern Command, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the Pacific Command, as well as the Southern Command. Additionally, in 2005, the Defense Secretary designated the United States Strategic Command to synchronize military efforts to combat mass destruction weapons and to ensure all required resources are in place to help the combatant commands defeat mass destruction weapons (White House, 2007).
The National Strategy for Homeland Security states that, the Department of Defense would be used in extraordinary times such as responding to disasters like forest fires. This is because they have resources that other departments do not have. Over the years, the Marine Corps has been supporting firefighters in cases of bushfires on United States soil, and the Army provides relief following major disasters (Tomisek, 2002).
Shared Responsibilities
Although the definition of homeland defense as per the United States Northern Command is to defend the country against external military attacks, the description sounds ambiguous in several ways. According to the National Strategy for Homeland Security, the defense department contributes to the country’s security through taking part in external military operations, homeland defense, as well as support civil authorities. Further, the strategy suggests that the defense department would protect the people of America by taking part in military operations like combat air patrols.
Both Homeland Security and Homeland Defense share the United States Coast Guard organ. Since the critical focus of the Department of Homeland Security is preventive in nature and consequence management, the Coast Guard, a military branch, is situated within the Homeland Security Department to provide both defense as well as security interventions. Although the Posse Comitatus Act limits the scope of use of the military in operations concerning law enforcement, the law does not apply to the United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard holds the privilege of providing both military service and law enforcement. In some instances, the agency offers flexibility in the areas of homeland defense as well as homeland security.
Assessment and Protection of United States Infrastructure
The Homeland Security Department has the responsibility of identifying, assessing, as well as protecting the United States critical infrastructure from acts of terrorism and other disasters. Additionally, the department should make sure the national infrastructure such as roads, bridges, power plants, as well as cyber networks function on a daily basis. President Bush issued a Homeland Security Presidential Directive in 2003 assigning the department the responsibility for coordinating national measures and protecting critical infrastructure and resources (Radvanovsky, 2006).
One of the initiatives should be to unify the infrastructure protection effort of the country in the department of Homeland security. Instead of shifting risk from one potential target to another, the United States requires a single accountable agency to assess threats as well as vulnerabilities. Under the proposal of the president, the Homeland Security Department will be responsible for integrating and coordinating federal responsibilities of infrastructure protection.
The Department of Homeland Security should build as well as maintain an accurate assessment of the critical infrastructure and the key assets of the country. In the effort to prevent or mitigate attacks, the department should translate threat information into appropriate action as soon as possible.
Protecting the critical infrastructure of the country is a formidable challenge. Therefore, there should be strategic improvement plans that will improve the security of the country. Additionally, there needs to be a partnership with the local and private sector. For instance, the government can create venues where the public can share information concerning infrastructure vulnerabilities and help with solutions. The private sector controls approximately 85 percent of the infrastructure of America. Thus, they are responsible for addressing the public safety risks brought about by their industries (Moteff " Parfomak, 2004, October).
The United States shares much of its critical infrastructure with other countries such as Canada, therefore, should partner with such countries to protect the infrastructure. Some of the shared infrastructures include electricity transmission systems and natural gas.
References
Bullock, J., Haddow, G., " Coppola, D. P. (2011). Introduction to homeland security: Principles of all-hazards risk management. Butterworth-Heinemann.
Knight, W. (2008, January). Homeland Security: Roles and Missions for United States Northern Command. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
Moteff, J., " Parfomak, P. (2004, October). Critical infrastructure and key assets: definition and identification. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WASHINGTON DC CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE.
Radvanovsky, R. (2006). Critical infrastructure: homeland security and emergency preparedness. CRC Press.
Tomisek, S. J. (2002). Homeland Security: The New Role for Defense (No. 189). Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University.
US Coast Guard. (2002). US Coast Guard: America’s Maritime Guardian (Publication 1).
White House. (2007). Office of Homeland Security. National Strategy for Homeland Security, July 2002.
