Assignment Description

Phase 1 Reading Assignment:

• Threading the Needle

• Interagency Collaboration Challenges; pgs. 1-32

Scope of Homeland Security

Primary Task Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 400-600 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments.

This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas:

• In your opinion, what is homeland security? Should it include national security or national defense?

o If not, how are they related?

• Who are the stakeholders of homeland security?

o Who are the primary stakeholders and who have more of a peripheral role?

• Who is responsible for homeland security? Is this a federal effort that should be led by a single department or a national effort jointly led by a mosaic of local, state and federal stakeholders? Explain.

• Should homeland security include natural disasters in its definition and discipline scoping? Why or why not?

• The contemporary discipline of emergency management is more than 30 years old. Its mission areas include Preparedness (including Mitigation and Prevention); Response; and Recovery. Homeland Security's mission areas have been labeled: Prevent; Protect; Respond; and Recover.

Prior to 9/11 (and since), emergency management has considered terrorism within the risk profile of incidents it needs to plan to prepare for, respond to and recover from.

What is the difference between emergency management and homeland security? Are both required?