Homeland Security Assessment Paper

Week two of our material provided us with several different elements of the homeland security assessment process. What I gathered most from the material was based on the “Baldrige Assessment Criteria and the eight step process for a successful assessment” (Fisher, 2004). However, the consensus is that the key elements in the homeland security assessment process are “a threat assessment, a vulnerability assessment and a criticality assessment” (Decker, 2001). In my opinion, these three key elements are equally critical components of any emergency management plan and/or emergency management service. Virtually every day we hear of heightened degrees of already proposed threats or new means of threats to our nation, as well as the criticality of them. “Threat assessments are important decision support tools that can assist organizations in …show more content…
“The criticality assessment is based upon the consequence of loss of many types of assets, such the number of people at risk, national security and/or The Department of Defense missions. It requires identifying and analyzing missions and supporting systems to identify Task Critical Assets (TCAs) and their dependency relationships on Supporting Infrastructure Critical Assets (SICAs). The consequence of the loss or degradation of these assets on the execution of Mission Essential Tasks (METs) and/or to elements of national security is the primary means of determining their criticality in the Risk Assessment process” (Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global Security Risk Management). The criticality assessment is a valuable tool not only for terrorist related attacks or threats, but for natural disasters as well. This assessment also assist’s government officials and emergency management personnel in establishing a system of priorities regarding protection based on the nature of the emergency or