This Discussion Board will examine existential threats to the homeland and their consequences in the context of the Presidential Policy Directive (PPD)-8 frameworks, and the whole-of-government approach. The U.S. government has invested considerable effort and resources to prepare for a catastrophic manmade or natural disaster that could pose a serious threat to the continuity of the national government and the American way of life. PPD-8 and the National Preparedness Goal seek to establish frameworks for prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation to direct the capabilities of the U.S. government and provide guidance to nonfederal jurisdictions and the private sector. Harnessing and synchronizing these capabilities has always been a national challenge for all of the framework areas.

The assignment will consider the effect of crosscutting the subject areas of planning, information sharing, capability development, and exercising on the federal, state, local, and tribal governments' efforts to prevent, protect, mitigate, respond, and recover from a manmade or natural catastrophe. You will review prior course material and research contemporary publications to provide an analysis on the current U.S. government efforts to establish a coherent National Preparedness System. Answer the following questions:

• In the context of homeland security, how would you defineexistential threat, and what type of threats would fall within that definition? Why?
• How would you assess the ability of the National Preparedness System to achieve its goals and synchronize government efforts?
• How would you rate the significance and importance of the crosscutting subject areas for each of the proposed frameworks?