Dhs History

DHS History and Development It was just over fifteen years ago, when the United States (US) experienced one of the most horrific terrorists’ attacks ever carried out. The events of September 11th, 2001, saw two planes fly into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, one plane fly into the Pentagon, and another plane headed for the White House which was thwarted by the heroic efforts of the passengers on board. The events of this day brought the US to its knees, with massive loss of life, property, wealth, and sense of security. The US was crippled with fear, and President George W. Bush had to do something to show the US and the rest of the world that we would not allow terrorism to get the best of us. President Bush announced that
The office would oversee and coordinate a national strategy to safeguard against terrorism and respond against future attacks. The following weeks and months proved to be very complex with many different executive orders and reorganization efforts put forth. On June 18th, 2002, the proposal for a comprehensive consolidation of national security and protection agencies came together in a proposal from President Bush to congress. Homeland Security (2017) stated that the White House released a national strategy for homeland security defining three objectives including prevention of terrorists’ attacks, reducing vulnerability, and minimizing damages and recovery from attacks that do occur. The DHS was approved and became operational on January 24, 2003, and now the government agencies had to learn to work together, and figure out how to efficiently operate and keep our country
In February of 2010, President Obama introduced a balanced approach to homeland security known as the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR). This revised the definition of homeland security to incorporate a more global and comprehensive approach. Following the introduction of the QHSR came the homeland security enterprise (HSE). Bullock et al. (2016) stated this agency consists of federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, nongovernmental, and private sector entities that share a common interest in the safety and security of the US. The QHSR and the HSE identified five basic homeland security missions they would focus on including the prevention of terrorism and enhancement of security, securing and managing our borders, enforcing our immigration laws, safeguarding and securing cyberspace, and strengthening our national preparedness and resilience. As mentioned earlier, there are a total of 22 government agencies that make up the DHS and HSE. These departments include the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of National Intelligence (ODNI), Department of Energy (DOE), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and many more. These agencies play a critical role in the complex puzzle of the DHS