As far as the mission of USA Homeland Security is concerned, I believe that it must adopt an all-hazard management approach for handling both natural and man-made disasters as well as contemporary terrorism threat. It is not an untold secret that geographical boundaries neither are respected by natural disasters nor by terrorism. Even though it is not possible to avoid such incidents, the Homeland Security Department must become competent for minimizing the effects of tragic and unfortunate events. It is extremely important to understand that such emergencies can be effectively dealt if Homeland Security adopts technology-based consequence management. Moreover, the development of an inter-agency partnership is also essential for the resolution of every hazard that challenges the United States of America (Bellavita, 2008).
The American society has always been susceptible to natural catastrophes that include floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, etc. However, there was an instantaneous shift in Homeland Security’s preference after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Since then, there has been more focus on encountering terrorist attacks. Nevertheless, it is necessary to understand that both man-made and natural calamities should be equally managed and mitigated with the adoption and implementation of an all-hazard approach. This is because it is the prime responsibility of Homeland Security to protect American citizens in all emergency events, be they natural or man-made including terrorist activities (Bellavita, 2008).
The attacks of 9/11 and latest hurricanes have increased the necessity for proficient leadership, skills, and adequate resources for the identification and appropriate response to the impending threats to American land. It is the high time for Homeland Security to give attention to both forms of mentioned threats and mitigate them so that it can prove itself as an effective and efficient agency.
References
Bellavita, C. (2008). Changing Homeland Security: What is Homeland Security? The Journal of the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security,04(02). Retrieved December 13, 2014, from http://www.hsaj.org/?fullarticle=4.2.1Homeland
