1. The homeland security system in the United States is a
"national" system in the sense that it includes all levels of
government—federal, state, local, and tribal—as well as the
private sector and volunteer organizations. It does not refer to
the federal government exclusively, nor just to the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security. It is a comprehensive,
integrated, multidisciplinary, and multijurisdictional system
including a wide variety of organizations and agencies at all
levels. Organizations and agencies must work together and
effectively coordinate their efforts to prevent and respond to
natural and man-made disasters and hazards. Documents such as
the "National Incident Management System" (NIMS), the
"National Response Framework" (NRF), and the "National
Preparedness Guidelines" were created to help organizations
and agencies coordinate their efforts. In this Discussion, you
examine how
specific
organizations and agencies interact and coordinate their efforts
when responding to a threat to homeland security.
To prepare for this Discussion:
Review the assigned pages of the article "National Preparedness
Guidelines," focusing on the description of target capabilities
and their corresponding elements. (
http://www.hsaj.org/?article=2.3.4 2.3.4.pdf) read pages 1-11
Review the assigned pages of the article "National Incident
Management System." Focus on the purpose, key concepts, and
components of NIMS, such as the standardized Incident
Command System (ICS).

2. (http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/NIMS_core.pdf)
read pages 1-8
Review the assigned pages of the article "National Response
Framework." Focus on the overview of the framework and its
guiding doctrine, as well as on the description of the various
agencies and officials at all levels of government and the
private sector that have roles and responsibilities in disaster
response.
(http://fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrf-core.pdf)
Think about the likely threats that might affect your state or
locale, such as terrorist attacks; natural disasters, such as
tornadoes and hurricanes; and hazardous chemical spills. Select
one threat for this assignment.
Based on the threat you selected, anticipate the federal, state,
and local organizations and/or agencies that would respond.
Think in terms of, and in reference to, the roles and capabilities
of each respective organization and/or agency you identified
and how they might interact and coordinate their efforts.
By Day 4
With these thoughts in mind:
Post
by
Day 4

3. a brief description of the threat you selected. Then describe at
least two organizations and/or agencies in the national
homeland security system that would respond to this threat.
Include how and why they might respond. Finally, explain how
the organizations and/or agencies might interact and coordinate
their efforts when responding to the threat. Be specific, and use
examples to illustrate your explanation.