Homework Responses Wk 8 & 4
yellancnigg
MikeJ.sPost.docxDiscussion Questions: Looking at the key initiatives such as SMART, SAFE Port, SVSS and others, where do you see that the vulnerabilities still exist? Provide a critical analysis in a narrative form – where are the vulnerabilities, what risk do they pose…AND who addresses them.
Well, it seems that the SMART Port Security Act was meant to force the use of biometric data found on the TWIC to validate the user and ensure that security is kept up by not allowing unscreened or unvetted individuals from meandering about a port and there were other included measures too. The SAFE Port Act seemed to address the issue of who owns the port and who owns the port’s security personnel and who owns the port’s security infrastructure (refer to the Dubai Ports World Controversy). It brings light to who owns what and how that controlling entity may affect port security or provide cover for illicit activities by not sharing intel or delay the sharing of intel. The SVSS is a document that looks to address the threat of waterborne IEDs by creating framework that addresses safety and security to reduce risk of attack while not infringing on freedoms. All of these are documents are national level framework documents meant to establish a baseline to conduct maritime security operations from. They are typically written in the macro sense and you have to find the additional documents to fill in the smaller pieces of information. In a military diagram lexicon- these are the big blue arrows on the map. They are meant to address the total picture from an elevated point of view- while the day-to-day operations occur on the micro scale and is focused on the micro terrain. These framework documents have to cover as much as possible, given time and intelligence and budget and history. The documents need to be revisited to determine their age and effectiveness. I would have to say that the agents, investigators, officers and sailors who eat, breathe and live in this environment would have a better perspective on what is a critical vulnerability and what needs to be done to address it; but they are stuck in the same position as we are- we have to rely on elected officials and service level chiefs to evaluate and make changes based on information passed onto them from reports and intel from the field. In closing- the biggest vulnerability is in who makes the decisions that drive the doctrine we live with based on what other people have percolated to them. The risk generated impacts the budget and the mission to carry out maritime security operations, locally and abroad. Unfortunately, the people who make the decision are the ones who address the issues too- they are meant to be a sounding board for everyone; but that seems to be lost in translation.
Personally, I have always felt and still would say that the threat lies in the area of smuggling, theft, and piracy; especially in the area of small craft. Small craft are harder to detect and track. For a smuggling example- NARCO subs. But the doctrine mentioned is too far removed from specific direct action. At the user level, there is more policies and doctrine that get into that detail that is glossed over in doctrine and legislation that is at a higher level of government.
House Passes SMART Port Security Act – Homeland Security Today (hstoday.us)
The Dubai Ports World Controversy: Jingoism or Legitimate Concerns? - FPIF
Not Just Petrodollars: The UAE Economy | InterNations GO!
Taxonomy term | Homeland Security (dhs.gov)
Tenth Anniversary of SAFE Port Act | U.S. Customs and Border Protection (cbp.gov)
U.S. Department of Homeland Security National Strategy for Small Vessel Security (dhs.gov)
Completely New Type Of Narco Submarine Discovered In The Atlantic (forbes.com)
Coast Guard seizes drug-filled 'narco-sub' in Pacific - The Washington Post
