Homeland Security efforts are ably reinforced by Homeland Defense and
Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA), which are missions executed by the
Department of Defense (DOD), most specifically by the Combatant Command, United
States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). In supporting the nation when requested
by DHS, FEMA, or other lead federal agencies, or as directed by the president
or the secretary of defense, DOD provides many unique capabilities for crisis
response. One specific function used most notably during the post-Hurricane
Katrina period was the use of airborne assets to provide damage assessments and
to gauge the extent of the sea surge at various times during the recovery.
The function of deploying such assets is traditionally called intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance(ISR). Yet the U.S.
military cannot legally collect intelligence on U.S. citizens. Consequently,
the action, as performed during the hurricane recovery operations described
here, is known as incident awareness and assessments(IAA). For some, the
difference between these terms is merely semantics; for many, IAA differs both
symbolically and practically from ISR, if not in how information is collected,
then in how it is used and the motivation behind the collection. (The Web site
for IAA reference is under Web sites references below.)
Assignment Guidelines
·
Address the following in 5–7 paragraphs:
1. Do you believe the
distinction between ISR and IAA lies simply with terminology (and therefore
there is little or no difference) or that there is a separation between the
concepts? Explain and defend your answer fully. You may choose to research the
topic more fully.
§ Contemplating the
ethics of using IAA in the homeland, list at least 3 benefits of its use where
ethics might potentially be secondary.
§ List at least 2–3
costs or opposing views to its use and how IAA—or the information
gathered—might be misused or abused.
§ What if criminal
activity (like acres of tended marijuana) was observed during IAA missions
intended to conduct damage assessments? How should such information be handled?
2. Do you believe
converting the term intelligence, surveillance,
and reconnaissanceto incident awareness and
assessmentsfor operations conducted in the homeland was wise or frivolous (or
described otherwise)? Explain and defend your answer fully.
§ What is the value
of using carefully selected terminology for operations in the homeland?
§ How does the
symbolism of IAA potentially aid homeland security professionals in performing
their jobs?
§ How does the
symbolism of ISR potentially hinder homeland security professionals in
performing their jobs?
3. Among the Web sites
listed for this unit, you will find the Air Forces North (AFNORTH) Incident
Awareness and Assessment Handbook, June 2010.
§ Why do you think this
manual on IAA is available from open-source sites?
§ Do you think there
might be ethical considerations to publicizing the use and purposes of IAA?
Name and discuss at least 1 of these.
§ Is this method of
sharing details with the public something you would advocate for other agencies
and the technologies they employ?
§ Give at least 1
example of an agency and a type or specific technology for which you would
recommend they use a similar format.
