Homeland Security

• There may be things you disagree with, such as the debate over individual rights vs security which characterizes the Patriot Act. Where should cybersecurity fit within the CIKR sectors and why, or should it not?? What aspects of the goals for national preparedness do you want to see changed or deleted? There is much to argue, much to debate, much to discuss. Keep it objective, professional, informed, and relevant.
• The purpose for these first three weeks of discussions is to get you acclimated as quickly as possible on the topic of CIKR, the lexicon, and some of the issues. From what you have already learned in the first two weeks, you should now be feeling more confident in your overall understanding, and this should become increasingly evident in the weekly discussions.
• As you discuss these matters, please do not overlook perhaps the single greatest threat of all to our infrastructure: neglect. It might also be interesting to compare infrastructure in developed countries to that in the undeveloped world. There are countless numbers of souls on the planet that live with very little infrastructure at all. For those of us who have not seen this way of life, it is impossible to comprehend. For those of us who have seen it, and many of you have, we can be eternally grateful that we are privileged to live and rear our children in this country. Last week much of the discussion was only tangentially related to infrastructure.
• Put yourself in the position of one who is responsible for providing warning, whether at the national level, within a military unit, at county government, and so on. Think about having to tolerate the reaction of some minor elected official who scoffs at your advice and counsel, takes no action whatsoever, and the tragic event occurs costing loss of life and property.
• Your understanding of infrastructure is now based on theoretical knowledge, as well on the applied knowledge you have learned from the discussions and from your own personal experience. You have a solid grasp of the sectors and subsectors, the interplay between the levels of government, and the role of the private sector. We have witnessed a lot of epic disasters this past year, and the devastating hurricane that destroyed the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico is perhaps the worst explain more.
• Explain the topic of risk management .