Introduction
Every organization or agency has a plan that must be followed in case of an emergency.
DHS and other agencies on the state and federal levels, have a process or steps that are used
when they are responding to a crisis or emergency. These steps are known as mitigation,
preparedness, recovery, and response. These steps have a process that have already been put in
place, so they do not have to “wing it” or make it up as an emergency is happening. Department
of Homeland Security has a mission to protect the nation from the many states that the United
States could have. They have the services from aviation security, border security and cyber
security. DHS needs to have a mitigation, preparedness, recovery, and response plan for each of
the separate departments that are under them. The plans that DHS has to come up with for these,
have to ensure that they can adapt and ensure the safety of the people they are meaning to protect
from an emergency.
Mitigation
A mitigation plan is something that needs to happen as the first thing before anything else
can be done. “From the start, communities should focus on the resources needed for a successful
mitigation planning process. Essential steps include identifying and organizing interested
members of the community as well as the technical expertise required during the planning
process” (Nemeth, 2021). A successful mitigation plan is meant to help prevent injury, death, or
limit the loss of property. This first step is meant to ensure that DHS know what type of risks
they are going to be facing. “A mitigation plan is a way to find, evaluate, and lower the risk for
your projects. Risk mitigation, in some ways, is similar to risk reduction and elimination in that it
involves taking steps to reduce the damage to your business” (Karolyn, 2022). DHS would need
to find the hazards that they could be facing. This is something that could be done through a risk
assessment.
Mitigation is something that DHS needs to start out with and ensure that the correct
people are involved in this process. This could be having the individuals in the organization
involved, bringing in outside help like FEMA, elected officials, different community groups that
are trying to prevent disasters in order to get different viewpoints and ideas on things that could
be done. This step will allow DHS to see what is needed for the mitigation process and how they
can adapt and change this process every year to see what the things that are needed to do.
Mitigation is something that needs to adapt to different changes because threats are always
changing.
Preparedness
To begin the process, the agency must begin to identify potential threats within the
community. In order for this to happen, there must be several agencies that get involved with the
process. This would include elected officials, police, fire, public works, hospital officials, and
business leaders. Bringing these people in will allow them to understand their role and
responsibilities during an emergency and to use their support for emergency management
programs. “Whole Community is a means by which residents, emergency management
practitioners, organizational and community leaders, and government officials can collectively
understand and assess the needs of their respective communities and determine the best ways to
organize and strengthen their assets, capacities, and interests” (FEMA, 2011).
However, it is vital to recognize that emergency preparedness plans are not static
documents. They need to remain adaptable and relevant to evolving circumstances. This is where
training becomes essential. Conducting training exercises for different scenarios allows us to test
and refine the preparedness plan, ensuring its effectiveness and usability. Through training, all
stakeholders involved gain a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, equipping
them to respond effectively during emergencies. Training should be conducted every year to
ensure that the preparedness plan still works or to see if changes are needed before something
happens.
An example of preparedness was during the COVID-19 pandemic where DHS was
needed. They have prepared for a pandemic to ensure that services are provided to others. They
had to prepare to test people at the border to ensure that people were not sick or infected trying to
enter the country. After the pandemic was over, DHS had to come up with a new preparedness
plan to ensure if another pandemic had occurred, they would be prepared for anything that was
thrown at them. Their plan ensured that the people they were protecting were safe and that
everybody knew their role in case something did happen.
Recovery
During the recovery phase it means to assist impacted communities with restoration and
revitalization. Examples of recovery include on-scene security, protection, providing food, water,
shelter, public health, emergency medical services, transportation, communication, etc. This is
the most important step when it comes to DHS after the planning phase and everything that has
been done. Protecting the people and making sure that services are provided to them after an
emergency strike is important. “As response activities are underway, recovery operations must
begin. Applying the community lifelines construct enables response officials to more effectively
identify the requirements and sequence steps in the recovery process, including activities that
support the economy, by focusing them on vital areas of community support” (FEMA, 2019).
Recovery is a step in the process that employees or stakeholders need to have training on
because you are able to say what needs to be done in recovery, but training will allow each
person to see exactly what their role is. This does not mean that recovery will be needed for
individuals, but it could mean that economic recovery could be needed to provide the economic
relief people need. “In some cases, changes to the way business is done in the Department of
Homeland Security will undoubtedly need to adapt to fully complete the economic recovery
from COVID-19, better prepare for the next pandemic, and improve department operations to
incorporate greater effectiveness, efficiency, and resilience going forward” (Gerstein, 2021).
DHS during COVID-19 had to use their recovery services to provide the needs to the people to
ensure that the citizens of the United States were protected.
Response
FEMA (2019), states that response is saving lives, stabilizing community lifelines,
protecting property, meeting basic needs after an incident has occurred. This is something that is
very similar to recovery because you are providing a service to the people of a community or to a
nation after something has occurred. This step in the process is something that is very similar to
recovery because they are both giving the services that are needed after an incident or emergency
has occurred.
An example of the response of DHS would be during the COVID-19 pandemic because
DHS had to respond to protect the borders and not let individuals in that could potentially have
the virus. “The department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) efforts in preparedness and readiness
have facilitated a speedy, whole-of-government response in confronting COVID-19, keeping
Americans safe, and helping detect and slow the spread of the virus” (DHS, 2021). DHS had to
respond with efficiency according to the response plan that was already set in place.
The response part of DHS has to ensure that every stakeholder or anyone involved knew
exactly what their role would be if response was needed. In order for the response to always be
efficient and current for what is needed, DHS has to ensure that their response plan still suits the
emergency. Training and adaptation would have to be conducted every year to ensure that the
plan still fits for an emergency. If during the training, things were showing that they needed to
change, adaptation would be needed to change the response time. DHS would also need to know
exactly what type of resources would be needed for different types of emergencies that could
happen. This is important because the response given to people would need to provide what is
needed at that time instead of providing services that were not needed.
Biblical Perspective
1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a
roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (New International Version). There are several
verses in the Bible teach us to not be caught unprepared when Christ returns. We must be on
guard for what the devil may throw at us, which could be a stumbling block in our walk of faith.
The Biblical concept of preparedness and mitigation provides us with a lesson in how we prepare
for emergencies we may face in everyday life. Our country must always be on the watch for
potential threats and risks, and develop strategies that can mitigate the threats, or be prepared for
what may be thrown at our country.
As Christians we are told that God will not allow any evil to come over us because we are
protected. “The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your
going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore” (Proverbs 121:7-8, ESV).
This is something that we need to remember because Homeland Security is protecting the United
States citizens from all different forms of evil and protecting us from emergencies that might
-yrer
happen. As Christians we need to understand that the Lord is protecting us and DHS is providing
us with that as well.
References
FEMA. (2019). National Response Framework (4ed). Department of Homeland Security.
FEMA. (2011, December) A Whole Community Approach to Emergency Management:
Principles, Themes, and Pathways for Action. https://www.fema.gov/media-library-
data/20130726-1813-25045-0649/whole_community_dec2011__2_.pdf
Gerstein, D. M. (2021, February 11). The Essential role of DHS in the Economic Recovery from
COVID-19. Rand. https://www.rand.org/blog/2021/02/the-essential-role-of-dhs-in-the-
economic-recovery.html
Karolyn, H. (2022, June 6). Mitigation Plan. UniSoft Bank.
https://www.unisoftbank.com/project-management/mitigation-plan/#:~:text=A
%20mitigation%20plan%20is%20a%20way%20to%20find%2C,not%20possible%20to
%20reduce%20or%20eliminate%20all%20risks.
Nemeth, C. P. (2021a). Homeland security: An introduction to principles and Practice. CRC
Press.
1 Peter 5:8. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%205:8&version=NIV
(2021, May 6). Overview of DHS Response. DHS.
https://www.dhs.gov/archive/coronavirus/overview-dhs-response#:~:text=Overview
%20of%20DHS%20Response%20The%20Department%20of%20Homeland,detect
%20and%20slow%20the%20spread%20of%20the%20virus.
(2021, May 6). Proverbs 121:7-8. Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?
search=Psalm+121%3A7-8&version=ESV
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