Homeland Security: Unit 3 Discussion Board - All Hazards Approach

This discussion board post, submitted by a student, analyzes the elements of an all-hazards approach to protection and preparedness at the national level, including planning, organization, personnel, equipment, and corrective actions. It explores efforts to establish a culture of preparedness in American society, referencing the importance of risk assessment, collaboration, and funding. The post also examines lessons learned from the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina, emphasizing the need for flexible structures and national policies. Furthermore, it addresses the debate between predicting attacks versus investing in resilience and recovery capabilities, advocating for the latter. The student highlights government steps towards resilience, such as power backups and hardened infrastructure, supported by relevant academic references.

Running head: UNIT 3 - DISCUSSION BOARD
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Unit 3 - Discussion Board
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UNIT 3 - DISCUSSION BOARD 2
Unit 3 - Discussion Board
Part 1
Elements of an all-hazards approach to protection and preparedness at the national level of
government.
Planning is the first element of the all-hazards approach to protection at the national
level. Here, information is gathered, followed by a comprehensive analysis to develop policies,
plans, and procedures (Guzman, 2018). The next feature is organization and leadership, meaning
the approach has individual teams, an organization structure, and leadership. Personnel is a vital
feature too, since there is a paid workforce with relevant qualifications and certification
standards. The last elements are equipment and systems significant in performing the missions.
Also, the all-hazard approach has corrective actions, categorized as a feature.
Efforts to establish a culture of preparedness within American society.
Notably, American society has taken primary efforts to create a culture of preparedness
for disaster. Medina (2016) notes the community defines a consistent means to assess risk. After
that, it implements effective collaboration and communications to the relevant authorities, both
in the public and sector. Funding is then done to projects to reduce the risk from occurring both
at all levels of the government. The most recent development is a letter to the House and Senate
committee from ASCE requesting for the funding of federal infrastructure programs focused on
reducing flood risks.
Lessons from the 9/11 terrorist attacks and from Hurricane Katrina.
Undoubtedly, the U.S. government and society learned from the 9/11 terrorist attacks and
Hurricane Katrina. Following the incident, Americans acknowledged, disasters are
unpredictable, hence require a flexible structure during preparation and response by the

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community and emergency teams. History proves the destructive nature of these conditions
needs not only optimal operations but also a break down in the best-laid plans (Chan, 2015). The
state integrates this lesson into national policies is preparing and planning for disaster. For
example, the national systems require the national strategic plan to involve all public entities in
educating masses in preparation of disasters and managing structural assessments, particularly
the critical infrastructure.
Part 2
Response to the debate among homeland security planners and the intelligence community
regarding efforts to predict attacks and disasters so that they can be prevented, versus a
focus on resilience and investments in recovery capabilities and redundancy.
Focusing on resilience and investments to recover from a disaster is associated with more
good than striving to only predict attacks and disasters. Ideally, it is not possible to protect all
targets, and the severe conditions can still go beyond the defense. This implies the nation is still
affected with the consequences of the disaster. Advocating for resilience enhances higher
chances to reduce risks, which in turn protects the critical infrastructures (Baggett & Simpkins,
2018).
Steps by the national government to focus on resilience and investments in recovery
capabilities and redundancy.
The state has taken steps to put more effort in resilience other than protection of critical
infrastructure only. One such measure is the nation has installed power back up for electricity
generation in events the power supply is affected. In addition, the national government uses
hardened concrete in the construction of fixed and permanent infrastructure. These

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infrastructures include bridges and highways so that little damage occurs when disasters like
earthquake and flood occur.

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References
Baggett, R. K., & Simpkins, B. K. (2018). Homeland security and critical infrastructure
protection. ABC-CLIO.
Chan, N. W. (2015). Impacts of disasters and disaster risk management in Malaysia: The case of
floods. In Resilience and recovery in Asian disasters (pp. 239-265). Springer,
Tokyo.
Guzman, O. (2018). Progress towards an all-hazards approach to emergency preparedness and
response. NEA News, 36(1), 24-27.
Medina, A. (2016). Promoting a culture of disaster preparedness. Journal of business continuity
& emergency planning, 9(3), 281-290.