Security department responsibilities

Security department responsibilities. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for ensuring the safety and security of the United States from terrorist attacks and other disasters. Created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, DHS has largely focused on federal preparations to deal with terrorism while trying to manage other duties, including border security, customs and emergency management. The department’s fixation on terrorism has resulted in considerable controversy and criticism, including accusations of violating civil liberties. (by Robert Block, Wall Street Journal) The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for ensuring the safety and security of the United States from both man-made and natural disasters. Created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, DHS has largely focused on federal preparations to deal with terrorism while managing other duties related to border security, customs and emergency management, among others. Constellation/Automated Critical Asset Management System (C/ACAMS), which is designed to help state and local governments better protect key infrastructure from terrorist attacks. Homeland Security Advisory System, which warns public safety and other government officials of potential dangers or threats to their part of the country. Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN), which works in tandem with the Homeland Security Advisory System to relate terrorism dangers to all 50 states, five territories, Washington, DC and 50 major urban areas. State & Local Fusion Centers, which allow state and local officials to combine law enforcement data and terrorism intelligence into a system designed to warn of possible terrorist threats. Protected Critical Infrastructure Information (PCII) Program, which duplicates some of the C/ACAMS efforts to protect private sector and pubic sector infrastructure, such as buildings, dams and power plants. Homeland Security Advanced Research Project Agency, which is modeled after DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency) by funding technological research that can help mitigate the dangers of terrorism and other duties performed by law enforcement agencies. Homeland Security Advisory Council is comprised of leaders from state and local government, public safety agencies, the private sector and academia who advise the DHS Secretary on matters related to homeland security. Critical Infrastructure Sector Partnership is yet another infrastructure-protection element within DHS that helps federal, state, local and tribal governments, along with the owners and operators of key infrastructure and resources, to share information. The DHS Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee advises the DHS Secretary and the DHS Chief Privacy Officer on all issues related to DHS operations that affect individual privacy and data collected by the department. In the brief time it has existed, the Department of Homeland Security has dolled out more than $57 billion in contracts to private and public entities. According to USAspending.gov, 69,248 contractors have worked with DHS to provide a variety of services and goods. Planning Against the Threat of I.E.D.s in the United States. DHS Personnel Rules. Following the Sept. 11 attacks, the National Commis­sion on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States was created to examine all aspects of the federal government in order to prevent such tragedies from occurring again. The 9/11 Commission recommended, among other provisions, that the Department of Homeland Security reform its grant process. So far it has not done so, according to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Establish a regional framework for the Department of Homeland Security Require a periodic mandatory review of the department’s strategic plan Abolish or substantially reduce manda­tory outlays to states. Tom Ridge (2003 to 2005) Department of Homeland Security. Former Marine Corps General John F. Kelly, who rose from the enlisted ranks to lead the United States Southern Command, was confirmed on January 20, 2017, to be Secretary of Homeland Security with the Senate voting 88-11. He was sworn in later the same day. Kelly was born in Boston on May 11, 1950, and grew up in the neighborhood of Brighton. His taste for adventure manifested itself early; Kelly hitchhiked across the country and rode a freight train from Seattle to Chicago. He also served in the Merchant Marine, saying that his first trip overseas was to deliver beer to soldiers in Vietnam. In 1970, with the likelihood that he’d be drafted, Kelly enlisted in the Marine Corps. He didn’t get to Vietnam with the Corps, though. He was assigned to the Second Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and mustered out in 1972 as a sergeant. Kelly then returned to Boston for college with the idea of returning to the Marine Corps as an officer. He graduated in 1976 from the University of Massachusetts and went into Officer Candidate School. Later that year, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps and worked at the Pentagon. Kelly again went back to school, earning an M.S. in National Security Studies from Georgetown in 1984. That same year, he returned to the Second Marine Division to become a company commander and in 1987 was promoted to major as battalion operations officer. He subsequently was head of the Offensive Tactics Section, Tactics Group, and later assumed the duties of the director of the Infantry Officer Course at Quantico, Virginia. After being selected to be lieutenant colonel, Kelly was made commanding officer of the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion in the First Marine Division. By 1995, Kelly had earned an M.S. from the National War College and was a colonel who worked on Capitol Hill in the Commandant’s Liaison Office. He was sent to Europe as special assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander in Mons, Belgium, in 1999. Kelly returned to a combat unit and the First Marine Division in 2002 as assistant division commander. In 2003, while he was in Iraq, Kelly became the first officer promoted to general in a combat zone since it happened to Lewis “Chesty” Puller, also a Marine, in Korea in 1951. Kelly returned to Washington in 2004 when he was made legislative assistant to the commandant. By 2008, he was a major general and made commander of the First Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, California. The following year he was put in charge of Marine Forces Reserve and Marine Forces North. Both of Kelly’s sons served in the Marines. In 2010, his son Robert, who like his father had enlisted in the Marines and later become an officer, died when he stepped on a land mine in Afghanistan. Kelly’s next assignment was a military assistant to the Secretary of Defense, first Robert Gates and then Leon Panetta. In 2013, Kelly was put in charge of the Southern Command, which is responsible for U.S. military activities in Central and South America. The Southern Command’s reliance on interagency cooperation and its focus on drug-trafficking and organized crime issues gave Kelly experience that would appear to translate well to leading the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Kelly’s appointment drew approval from Democrats as well as Republicans. Outgoing DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson had considered appointing Kelly to head the Secret Service when that agency was embroiled in controversy. Panetta has also praised Kelly’s appointment, saying “He has led our men and women in uniform and understands what it takes to keep our nation safe.” But some civil libertarians are concerned about some stances Kelly has taken. Shortly after the death of his son, Kelly spoke to a group in St. Louis and said, “Their struggle is your struggle. If anyone thinks you can somehow thank them for their service, and not support the cause for which they fight—our country—these people are lying to themselves.…More important, they are slighting our warriors and mocking their commitment to this nation.” Kelly has been reluctant to support the idea of opening all military jobs to women. “They’re saying we are not going to change any standards,” Kelly said. “There will be great pressure, whether it’s 12 months from now, four years from now, because the question will be asked whether we’ve let women into these other roles, why aren’t they staying in those other roles? Why aren't they advancing as infantry people?” In addition, Kelly was critical of President Obama’s efforts to close the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. When he couldn’t keep his promise to close the facility because of resistance from Congress, Kelly said in testimony, “In talking to the hunger strikers, they had great optimism that Guantánamo would be closed. They were devastated when the president backed off—at least their perception—of closing the facility.” Kelly also told The Washington Post in a 2014 interview that human rights concerns about the prisoners in Guantánamo were “foolishness.” Kelly retired from the Marine Corps in 2016. Like his new boss, Donald Trump, Kelly has railed against the media. In 2010, he stated, “Yes, we are at war, and are winning, but you wouldn’t know it because successes go unreported, and only when something does go sufficiently or is sufficiently controversial, it is highlighted by the media elite that then sets up the ‘know it all’ chattering class to offer their endless criticism. These self-proclaimed experts always seem to know better, but have never themselves been in the arena.” In addition to Robert, Kelly and his wife Karen have a son, John, who’s also a Marine officer, and a daughter, Kathleen. Jeh C. Johnson was sworn in December 23, 2013, as the fourth Secretary of Homeland Security in the department’s short history. As the head of Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Johnson oversees much of the nation’s domestic security apparatus. He was confirmed by the Senate for the post December 16, 2013. Johnson (whose first name is pronounced Jay ) was born in New York City on September 11, 1957, and grew up in Wappingers Falls, New York, living across the street from the woman who would eventually become his wife, dentist Susan DiMarco. He graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta in 1979 and received his law degree from Columbia University in 1982. While he was an undergraduate, he was a summer intern for Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynahan (D-New York). Johnson started his career in 1982 at the law firm of Sullivan and Cromwell, but in 1984, he joined the firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison. Johnson would move back and forth between that firm and government service right up to his appointment as DHS secretary. His first move into government service came in 1989, when he became an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. During his stint in the U.S. Attorney’s office, Johnson worked on several prominent cases, including the prosecution of a former congressman, Robert Garcia, in the Wedtech scandal and the conviction of a New York state senator, Andrew Jenkins, for money laundering. Johnson returned to Paul Weiss in 1992. While there, he unsuccessfully defended a client who had attempted to extort $5 million from McDonald’s with the client claiming he’d found a rat tail in his French fries. He had many more successes during his stints with the firm, however. He won while defending flooring company Armstrong World Industries in an anti-trust suit and successfully defended Citigroup and Salomon Smith Barney against claims. In 1998, President Bill Clinton asked Johnson to join his administration as general counsel of the Air Force. He served in that post until 2001 when, with the arrival of the George W. Bush administration, Johnson returned to Paul Weiss. He remained there until 2008, but did work in 2004 as a campaign advisor to then-Sen. John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) in his run for the presidency. In 2008, Johnson earned $2.6 million at Paul Weiss. Johnson served as a foreign policy advisor in Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign. In addition, he was a major bundler of campaign funds in that race. After Obama’s inauguration, Johnson was named general counsel for the Department of Defense. One of his major achievements in that position was the co-authorship of a report on why the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy should be overturned. Congress took its recommendations to heart and now gays may serve openly in the armed forces. Johnson was also a defender of the military’s increased use of drones, writing memos providing legal cover for their use. “In my view, targeted lethal force is at its least controversial when it is on its strongest, most traditional legal foundation,” he told an audience at Fordham Law School in 2013. “The essential mission of the U.S. military is to capture or kill an enemy. Armies have been thousands of years. As part of a congressionally authorized armed conflict, the foundation is even stronger. Furthermore, the parameters of congressionally authorized armed conflict are transparent to the public, from the words of the congressional authorization itself, and the Executive Branch's interpretation of that authorization, which this Administration has made public.” At the end of 2012, Johnson left government service, returning once again to Paul Weiss. Just a few months later, though, in October 2013, Obama nominated Johnson to be Secretary of Homeland Security to replace Janet Napolitano. Johnson’s unusual first name comes courtesy of his grandfather, Charles S. Johnson, at one time president of historically black Fisk University. The elder Johnson was sent to Liberia on a fact-finding mission for the League of Nations. While there, he met a tribal chief whom he admired and named one of his sons for him. That son was Jeh Johnson Sr., the father of the DHS secretary. The secretary’s uncle, Robert B. Johnson, was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. While in training, he was arrested as part of the April 1945 “Freeman Field Mutiny,” in which black officers tried to use an officers’ club that was restricted to whites. Johnson was reprimanded over the incident. Johnson and his wife have two children, Jeh Jr. and Natalie.