Homeland Security Enterprise: Where Do We Fit

摘要

Homeland security is a responsibility to be shared across the nation. Resource demands, differing cultures, and varying motivations result in frustration and confusion that conflict with the nation's need to collaborate and cooperate. As such, the homeland security enterprise appears to be imploding from turf battles, suspicion, poor communication, competitive funding, and mistrust, which cause stakeholders to wonder where they fit in this complex, interdependent environment. This study examines reports, literature, and studies, along with interviews of homeland security executives from the four levels of government. It is argued and supported by the research that enhancing the nation's ability to collaborate involves a hybrid approach, where operational functions are decentralized and intelligence functions are centralized. The operational component encourages growth from the bottom of the enterprise through a decentralized block-grant process that allows jurisdictions to address their unique demands. The intelligence component recommends comprehensive reform and uses the nation's layered system of government as a portal to provide situational awareness at all levels. Collectively, the study's recommendations create an environment ripe for collaboration, where leaders capitalize on the strengths of interconnectivity and continuously add value so that the synergy of combined efforts positively influences the homeland security enterprise.