Top Ten Challenges Facing 

The Next Secretary of 

Homeland Security

Homeland Security Advisory Council

September 11, 2008

Top Ten Challenges Facing the Next 

Secretary of Homeland Security

Contents

3 Cover Letter

4 HSAC Tasking

5 Executive Summary

6 Top Ten Challenges

14 Acknowledgments

15 Process

16 Appendix A: Council Members, Subcommittees, and Staff

21 Appendix B: Homeland Security Advisory Council Reports

1

September 11, 2008

Secretary Michael Chertoff

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Washington, D.C. 20528

Dear Mr. Secretary,

On this September 11 anniversary, as we reflect on that dark day seven years ago 

and remember those who were lost, we present to you a report detailing the ten 

top strategic challenges that will face your successor. It is the hope of the 

Homeland Security Advisory Council that this report will give the next Secretary 

insight into the key challenges facing this Department at this time.

During the course of our deliberations, it became evident that this list of 

challenges should not be presented in any particular priority order. Instead, these 

key issues are interdependent and equal in importance. Each of these challenges 

must be addressed and overcome to achieve a more secure, prepared, and resilient 

America. The challenge for the new leaders will be to make hard political choices 

between competing and equal priorities. This report provides a template that may 

help the new leadership successfully navigate some of those hard decisions that 

lie ahead.

We appreciate the opportunity to advise you on our most important homeland 

security matters during this crucial time. On behalf of the members of the 

Homeland Security Advisory Council, it has been an honor to serve you, the 

members of this Department, and the American people in this advisory role.

Chair

William H. Webster

Vice Chair

James R. Schlesinger

Members

Richard Andrews

Norman R. Augustine

Kathleen M. Bader

Elliott Broidy

Kenneth C. Canterbury, Jr.

Frank J. Cilluffo

Jared L. Cohon

Ruth A. David

Louis Freeh

Lee H. Hamilton

Glenda Hood

Herb Kelleher

Don Knabe

John Magaw

Patrick McCrory

Edward Mueller

Erle A. Nye

Sonny Perdue

Richard D. Stephens

Lydia W. Thomas

John F. Williams

Robert L. Woodson, Sr.

Advisory Council Staff

Charles J. Adams

Mike Miron

Candace Stoltz

Jennifer Myers

Amanda Rittenhouse

Executive Director

Jeffrey D. Stern

Sincerely,

Judge William H. Webster

Chair, Homeland Security Advisory Council

Homeland Security Advisory Council

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Washington, DC 20528
4

HSAC Tasking
5

In an effort to assist with the first Presidential 

administration transition of the Department of 

Homeland Security, the Homeland Security Advisory 

Council has identified ten key challenges that will 

confront the next Secretary of Homeland Security.

It is important to note that these key challenges are in no 

particular order of importance. They are interrelated and 

interdependent, equally necessary to continue to build 

a strong Department and secure Homeland. With that 

said, a core test for political leadership will be to make 

the hard choices on priorities and trade-offs between 

equally important programs and policies. Successfully 

taking on these challenges will help the new Secretary 

gain credibility within the Department as well as 

among its many homeland security partners throughout 

the Nation. Ultimately, homeland security is about 

synchronizing efforts with multiple partners across the 

landscape of America. The ability to successfully establish 

and maintain meaningful partnerships at all levels of 

government and society for the purpose of securing the 

homeland may be the greatest, ongoing challenge facing 

the next Secretary, as well as his or her successors.

» Key challenge 1: Homeland security is more 

than just a single cabinet Department. 

» Key challenge 2: Quickly get an inventory of the 

Department’s commitments and deadlines and work 

with Congress to achieve a rational system of oversight.

» Key challenge 3: Continue to improve 

intelligence and information sharing.

» Key challenge 4: Build a cadre of homeland 

security leadership through a unified national 

system of training and education.

» Key challenge 5: Build the strong research and 

development, procurement and acquisition process 

necessary to support the Department’s various missions.

» Key challenge 6: The work of strengthening our 

Nation’s disaster response capabilities is not complete.

» Key challenge 7: Lead the building of a 

resilient America.

» Key challenge 8: Find the right balance between 

secure borders and open doors to travelers, students, 

and commerce.

» Key challenge 9: Improve risk management and 

risk communications for homeland security.

» Key challenge 10: Sustainability of our 

Nation’s homeland security efforts.

Executive Summary
6

The Department of Homeland Security leads America’s 

efforts in the prevention of, protection from, response 

to, and recovery from attacks, major disasters or other 

emergencies within the Homeland. In the past year 

the Department has assisted state, local, and tribal 

governments with combating wildfires, recovering 

from multiple hurricanes and floods, and protecting the 

homeland from terrorist threats. On a daily basis, the 

Department’s various components and organizations 

pursue multiple missions working together with 

the common goal of securing the Homeland.

The Department reached its five-year anniversary this 

year. It is an important milestone in an unprecedented 

effort to combine over 30 federal agencies and 

programs into one organization. During this time, 

the Department has matured through both failure and 

success, and the men and women involved in this effort 

are to be commended for their tremendous dedication 

and resolve in serving and securing our Nation.

The Homeland Security Advisory Council appreciates the 

opportunity to take stock of the continuing challenges in 

homeland security in order to distinguish the ten most 

pressing issues facing our nation and the Department. 

The Council offers this document to the next Secretary 

of Homeland Security with the hope that it provides 

guidance to ensure a smooth transition to a new 

Presidential administration by helping to add understanding 

to this complex and newly emerging profession.

The top ten challenges that will face this leadership fall into 

four areas: first, the broad homeland security environment; 

second, the key issues and relationships outside of the 

Department; third, the key issues and challenges within the 

Department; and fourth, several broad strategic challenges.

It is important to note that these key challenges 

are in no particular order of importance. They are 

interrelated and interdependent, equally necessary 

to continue to build a strong Department and secure 

the Homeland. Highlighted here are unranked and 

concurrent issues that must be viewed as such. With 

that said, a core test for political leadership will be 

to make the hard choices on priorities and trade-offs 

between equally important programs and policies.

Successfully taking on these challenges will help the new 

Secretary gain credibility within the Department as well 

as among its many homeland security partners throughout 

the Nation. Ultimately, homeland security is about 

synchronizing efforts with multiple partners across the 

landscape of America. The ability to successfully establish 

and maintain meaningful partnerships at all levels of 

government and society for the purpose of securing the 

homeland may be the greatest, ongoing challenge facing 

the next Secretary, as well as his or her successors.

I. The Homeland Security 

Environment

Homeland security provides some of the most complex 

policy and operational challenges faced by any executive 

agency. Our Nation’s homeland security efforts go to the 

core of long-standing, purposely designed tensions within 

our Constitutional system of governance; security versus 

liberty, federalism in intergovernmental relations, and 

numerous other complex issues. The next Secretary will 

face two key challenges in understanding the homeland 

security environment: homeland security involves far more 

than just DHS, and DHS has a pre-existing set of complex 

issues, deadlines, and decisions that must be addressed.

Key Challenge 1:

Homeland Security Is More Than Just A 

Single Cabinet Department.

The Department of Homeland Security is unique in 

government in its complex need for both horizontal 

and vertical integration with other organizations 

and groups. Securing the homeland requires sharing 

responsibility horizontally with other federal departments 

and agencies. Relationships with the Intelligence 

Community, the Department of Justice, the Department 

of Defense, and other partners must continue to grow 

and become institutionalized. DHS must continue 

to build its ability to serve as a leader in interagency 

Top Ten Challenges
7

homeland security processes and programs. Homeland 

security also requires a robust vertical integration 

of the federal, state, local, and tribal governments, 

the private and non-profit sectors, and the American 

citizen to build a secure, safe, and resilient Nation.

While horizontal integration requires traditional 

leadership at the federal level, vertical integration requires 

new and collaborative skills that will challenge DHS 

leadership. Gaining credibility with partners outside of the 

Department will be the foundation of success for the next 

Secretary. Key to gaining this credibility is ensuring that 

a bottom-up approach is applied to virtually all homeland 

security endeavors. The wide variety of homeland 

security partners makes this a tremendous challenge.

Building upon and improving existing systems for 

engagement with the private sector is especially essential. 

While 85 percent of our nation’s critical infrastructure 

is in the hands of the private sector, and the Department 

has specifically developed Sector Coordinating Councils 

to improve private sector coordination in this area, the 

next leadership team must recognize that private sector 

infrastructure providers comprise only a small percentage 

of the entire private sector. The next Secretary must 

continue to engage the broader private sector to strengthen 

the working relationships on proposed homeland 

security strategies, policies, and procedures during their 

formulation and prior to publication or implementation. 

This collaboration is particularly important with respect 

to the private sector’s role in our Nation’s response and 

resiliency endeavors, and most importantly with respect 

to the Department’s regulatory rule-making authorities.

The Homeland cannot be secure until every hometown 

is secure. That means listening to local leaders and 

including their thoughts in the homeland security plans, 

programs, and processes. The incoming leadership 

of DHS will be challenged continually to ensure that 

homeland security partners are provided collaborative 

mechanisms to provide essential “outside-the-beltway” 

perspectives that work towards securing the Homeland.

KEY CHALLENGE 2:

QUICKLY GET AN INVENTORY OF THE

DEPARTMENT’S COMMITMENTS AND

DEADLINES AND WORK WITH CONGRESS 

TO ACHIEVE A RATIONAL SYSTEM

OF OVERSIGHT.

DHS is involved in many controversial but important 

efforts, many with congressionally-mandated deadlines. 

The ability to competently manage these deadlines will 

test the credibility of the new Secretary and the new 

leadership team. Additionally, 86 Congressional committees 

are keeping a keen eye on the Department’s progress 

in meeting these numerous efforts and deadlines. For 

example, the 9/11 Act requires that DHS scan 100 percent 

of U.S.-bound maritime containers by 2012 and screen 100 

percent of air cargo by 2010. Both requirements also lay 

out key milestones that must be met (e.g., the requirement 

that 50 percent of air cargo be screened by February 

2009). The new administration will need to ensure 

consistency in the Department’s approach to meeting 

both the 100 percent maritime scanning and 100 percent 

air cargo screening requirements within the 9/11 Act.

The next administration will also need to fulfill 

requirements for the National Preparedness System. 

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 and the Post 

Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act (PKEMRA) 

which call for a comprehensive system to assess, on 

an on-going basis, the Nation’s capabilities and overall 

preparedness, including operational readiness.

Some additional commitments and deadlines facing the 

next Secretary and requiring continued action include Real 

ID, Secure Border Initiative Network (SBINet), US-VISIT, 

Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), E-Verify, 

Transportation Worker Identification Credential Program 

(TWIC), the Target Capabilities List (HSPD-8), and the 

Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). This is 

just a small sample of the numerous programs and activities 

that the new leadership team will need to tackle quickly.

The new Secretary must also aggressively work with 

Congressional leadership and The White House to 

develop a rational system of oversight that provides 
8

proper balance between the Executive and Legislative 

roles in governance and does not choke the ability of 

the new leadership team to manage the Department. 

Reporting to 86 different Congressional committees 

directly and negatively affects the Department’s ability 

to manage and address its many homeland security 

missions. The next Secretary should continue to pursue 

the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission for Congress 

to reduce its homeland security oversight processes. The 

Congressional system of oversight is a dangerous obstacle 

to the Department’s efforts to achieve its mission.

II. LOOKING OUTSIDE DHS

Building and strengthening partnerships with organizations 

outside the Department is one of the most fundamental 

challenges for the new Secretary. Closely linked to 

this is the need to expand and improve information 

sharing processes that tie all the players together, and 

provide a common picture of the challenges and threats 

to America. Building out a robust system for sharing 

information and intelligence is a key challenge and 

underlying network that will tie DHS to all its partners.

KEY CHALLENGE 3:

CONTINUE TO IMPROVE INTELLIGENCE AND

INFORMATION SHARING.

The Department and its partners have spent the 

past five years building the basic systems and 

mechanisms to share and exchange information 

and intelligence. The next Secretary of Homeland 

Security must continue to expand this system.

Several opportunities exist to accomplish this goal, 

including implementing objectively measurable 

processes for intelligence and information sharing 

with the private sector, as well as state, local, and tribal 

governments. The incoming DHS leadership must 

institute standards to continuously improve the quality, 

timeliness, and operational utility of intelligence and 

information-sharing systems with all Homeland Security 

partners. Several initiatives should be considered and 

supported as next-steps in building this information 

and intelligence-sharing network, including:

» Requirements-based intelligence – Consistent 

with the intelligence cycle, DHS should 

implement a requirements-based intelligence and 

information sharing process with its state, local, 

tribal and private sector partners that will allow 

for each partner to define, identify, and voice its 

intelligence and information sharing needs.

» Expand and sustain fusion centers – Intelligence 

fusion centers at the state level are becoming an 

essential place for information sharing. Expand and 

sustain existing fusion centers by completing the 

assignment of DHS intelligence officers in every 

fusion center, continue to build common standards 

and common platforms for information-sharing in 

the fusion centers, and seek mechanisms to provide 

sustained funding to fusion center efforts, especially 

those efforts that include technology and people.

» Involve the private sector in fusion centers, 

emergency operations centers, and joint field 

offices – These centers offer the best opportunity 

for the private sector to integrate with government 

activities by sharing information on a day-to-day 

basis and integrating response efforts during 

times of national security emergencies.

» Fix the security clearance and classification 

process – The federal security clearance process 

and classification system is broken and is a barrier 

(and often an excuse) for not sharing pertinent 

information with homeland security partners. The 

next Secretary should direct a concerted effort to 

resolve these clearance and classification issues.

III. LOOKING INSIDE DHS

As the new Secretary begins to understand the challenging 

operating environment of DHS, it is also necessary to 

look inside the Department and take the next steps to 

lead DHS towards its 10th anniversary, and beyond. 

Key challenges inside the Department include building 
9

an effective leadership cadre for the future, improving 

the Department’s technology acquisition processes 

and procurement procedures to prepare for the future 

threats to the Homeland, and continuing to improve 

upon the Department’s leadership role in preparing 

and responding to unfolding catastrophic events.

While it is inevitable that some continued reorganization 

of the homeland security enterprise will take place 

as the new leadership looks inside the Department, 

the next Secretary should take caution in quickly 

reorganizing the pieces before gaining a grounded 

understanding of how the entire organization functions. 

While some movement will be inevitable, it should be 

measured against costs and effort that will result.

It is common for new leadership teams to focus on the 

organizational structures and boxes as the source of 

their energies. But in reality it is the people making up 

the organizational charts that make mission successes 

possible. The next Secretary should focus on the needs 

of the employees within DHS and the supporting 

management systems and infrastructures that enable them 

to accomplish their work. By placing the people inside the 

organization first and understanding their jobs and roles, 

any necessary reorganizing of those people into a structure 

for accomplishing their missions will become self-evident.

KEY CHALLENGE 4:

BUILD A CADRE OF HOMELAND SECURITY

LEADERSHIP THROUGH A UNIFIED NATIONAL

SYSTEM OF TRAINING AND EDUCATION.

Homeland security remains in its early stages as 

both a concept and as a profession. It is a mosaic of 

disciplines, from law to law enforcement, public policy, 

administration, military and national security affairs, 

emergency response, emergency management, risk 

management, intelligence, science and technology, and 

communications. Professionals from each of these fields 

populate the federal, state, local, tribal, private, and 

non-profit leadership throughout our national homeland 

security system. It is imperative that the next Secretary 

work to secure the grounding of this profession by 

aligning the training and education systems on a national 

level. This must start inside the Department with its 

own leadership, and expand outside the Department to 

include the wide variety of homeland security partners.

» Leadership training environment - One initiative the 

Department should continue to support and expand 

is the Homeland Security Academy program with the 

Homeland Security University System to develop its own 

leadership school where senior and future leaders in the 

Department can share experiences, standardize their 

professional development, and work to further integrate 

the Department’s culture, knowledge, and operations. 

Developing a place where students who are key leaders 

from multiple DHS organizations can interact, develop 

relationships, discuss key leadership and cultural issues, 

and work together on projects that are beneficial to 

the Department is the key to this effort. Currently, 

DHS is using the Naval Postgraduate School to support 

this program. There are many examples in private 

industry that can be modeled to create a leadership 

training environment to develop future leaders.

» Professional development - DHS must lead an effort 

to increase the visibility of professional development 

opportunities both within DHS and with homeland 

security partners. This will involve expanding the 

opportunities for training, education, and development 

assignments beyond traditional horizontal opportunities 

(to work in different DHS components or other Cabinet 

departments, for example) to include opportunities to 

work vertically, with state, local, and tribal governments, 

or with the private or non-profit sectors. Understanding 

both the horizontal and vertical relationships -- and 

how these interlocking pieces fit into our Constitutional 

system of government -- is the key to unlocking the 

potential of DHS by developing strong future leadership 

who will lead a truly national homeland security effort.

» Education - Over 200 colleges and universities 

are now providing degrees in homeland security 

and related fields. For a homeland security degree 

to mean something, however, people must know 

what a homeland security degree means. DHS must 

lead an effort to align curricula, develop education 

standards, define the loose boundaries of the 
10

profession, and support the academic foundation of 

a homeland security education system. The concept 

of the Homeland Security University System must 

be expanded to include a systematic, national 

approach to homeland security education.

» National Security vs. Homeland Security education -

It is important that the next Secretary understand 

and emphasize that “homeland security” is aligned 

with, overlaps, but is not the same as “national 

security.” Commendable efforts are underway to 

rebuild the system of National Security Professional 

Development at the federal level as dictated by 

the President’s May 2007 Executive Order 13434. 

DHS must ensure that a similar effort, taking into 

account the unique nature of homeland security, 

provides the Nation with leaders for the future with 

the professional understanding of how homeland 

security fits into the national security jig-saw puzzle.

» Training - DHS has supported many training 

programs, often through grants, to build levels 

of operational competency. DHS should ensure 

that these training programs are reviewed for 

relevance and align with the rest of the homeland 

security training and education system.

» Enhance Red Team Thinking - DHS should also look 

for mechanisms to enhance “red team” thinking and 

capabilities among its leadership by incorporating 

programs that provide alternate world-views and build 

the capacity of leaders to think in a more flexible and 

adaptive manner. Leaders should learn to think like 

our adversaries, or to simply look at problems through 

different lenses and test institutional assumptions.

KEY CHALLENGE 5:

BUILD THE STRONG RESEARCH AND

DEVELOPMENT, PROCUREMENT AND

ACQUISITION PROCESS NECESSARY

TO SUPPORT THE DEPARTMENT’S 

VARIOUS MISSIONS.

DHS must continue to build a credible and reliable system 

for identifying, developing, and acquiring technologies 

and services that meet the evolving requirements of the 

Department and the changing threats to the Homeland. The 

next Secretary must continue the effort to implement the 

recommendations from the Homeland Security Advisory 

Council’s Essential Technology Task Force Report (2008), including:

» Build a high performance acquisition 

function implemented by capable staff.

» Adopt a rigorous Department-wide 

requirements management process.

» Develop a Department-wide acquisition 

strategy with a clear implementation plan.

» Improve engagement with the private 

sector in the acquisitions process.

» Manage innovation through a variety of approaches.

» Use the regulatory and standards-setting role of DHS 

to generate economies of scale across markets.

KEY CHALLENGE 6:

THE WORK OF STRENGTHENING

OUR NATION’S DISASTER RESPONSE

CAPABILITIES IS NOT COMPLETE.

The new Secretary will need to understand the evolving 

roles, responsibilities, and authorities that go along with 

his or her position as the Nation’s leader for domestic 

incident management. Understanding the relationships 

between the Secretary of Homeland Security and the 

roles of the Attorney General, the Secretary of Defense, 

the Administrator of FEMA, and state and local leaders 

will test the leadership of the next Secretary. The issue of 

when and through what authorities the President and the 

Nation’s Governors must share or cede authority during a 

large catastrophe is still an unsettled Constitutional issue.

Despite good efforts to improve our national response 

capabilities, including the new National Response 

Framework, the next Secretary must be aware of many 

response issues that require additional attention.

» The gap in medical and EMS surge capacity – Gaps 

remain in the Nation’s disaster preparedness and 

response capabilities, most notably in medical surge 
11

capacity and emergency medical readiness for mass 

casualties and specialty life support, trauma, and 

burn care. This will require close coordination with 

the next Secretary of Health and Human Services.

» National Planning System and Target Capabilities – As 

national planning efforts are established, the new 

Secretary will be challenged to ensure involvement of 

homeland security partners in building a bottom-up 

approach of organization and response. This planning 

is essential but must involve homeland security partners 

to make those plans realistic. Eisenhower’s dictum that 

planning is important, not the plan itself, applies here.

» Testing of response capacity – The new Secretary will 

be involved in many national exercises, an important 

tool used for determining preparedness and capabilities. 

However, the exercise system currently in use has 

many weaknesses, often either throwing predictable 

scenarios at participants in order to involve everyone 

or failing to test for system failure to identify areas 

and issues where the system can be strengthened. DHS 

should also enhance the use of Red Teams in exercises, 

not just to probe for weaknesses and overlooked 

vulnerabilities, but also to test for weaknesses that 

could threaten response efforts. Additionally, key 

lessons are more often revisited than learned and the 

process for sharing lessons from exercises and tying 

them into program changes is ineffective and slow.

» Implement the National Incident Management System 

(NIMS) and the National Response Framework 

(NRF) across the federal agencies – Training partners 

in the federal government in the use of the NRF and 

the NIMS system and implementing its widespread 

use must become a government-wide priority.

» Monitor the real-time resource status of national 

response assets – DHS has improved its ability to 

maintain situational awareness during catastrophic 

events but should work to improve its ability to 

ensure DHS has real-time visibility on national 

resources that are available for incident response.

» Maintain the all-hazards approach – The all-hazards 

philosophy should remain an underlying focus of all 

response and recovery efforts and should also guide 

the Department’s prevention and protection doctrine.

» Disaster communications – Communications in the 

midst of a disaster is a perpetual problem, and DHS 

must continue to lead initiatives that work to ensure 

resilient communications systems and interoperability 

during disasters, as well as establish response plans 

and mechanisms that can be executed in the midst 

of, or in spite of, communications failures.

» Think about recovery before the catastrophe – 

DHS should develop a framework for catastrophic 

disaster recovery in anticipation of future events to 

take place alongside preparedness, mitigation, and 

planning as a key inter-governmental function.

IV. STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

In addition to the previous objectives, there are a number 

of strategic national challenges that the next Secretary will 

need to address. These include shifting our preparedness 

and protection efforts towards a concept of national 

resiliency, finding the right balance between security and 

openness at our borders, and building the framework that 

will support a risk management approach to the homeland.

KEY CHALLENGE 7:

LEAD THE BUILDING OF A 

RESILIENT AMERICA.

Critical infrastructure is the enabler of our national 

economic and social activity and therefore, a central 

focus of our homeland security efforts. While the 

Department’s role in promoting infrastructure protection 

is important, recent infrastructure failures and their 

cascading consequences have demonstrated that a focus 

based solely on protection is not enough. As a nation, 

we cannot protect everything, against all things, at all 

times, and at all costs. Fortress America thinking is an 

unattainable goal and the wrong national strategy. A 

far-superior objective for our Nation and our critical 

infrastructures is the concept of resilience. It is a concept 

that is more aligned with our traditional American 
12

values as an independent, rugged, and strong society. The 

ability to absorb the blows and quickly snap back from 

the consequences of any event, natural or manmade, 

will be the measure of long-term security success. The 

Nation-wide application of a “resilience metric” (i.e., time 

to reconstitution of every day services and routines of life) 

builds on traditional, sector-focused protection efforts 

and provides the means to objectively assess, triage, and 

significantly mitigate and effectively manage the initial 

and cascading consequences of infrastructure service 

disruption, regardless of cause. An all-hazards approach 

to building resiliency should become an overarching 

theme throughout our homeland security enterprises.

» Public-private partnerships – Resilience is a unifying 

goal that must be addressed by the entire Federal 

Government and Nation. Thus, the new Secretary must 

ensure that DHS policies and programs empower, enable 

and leverage the experience, vision and innovation 

that reside in private sector, community, state and 

regional-based resilience efforts. Ensure continuous 

improvement in national resilience by actively engaging 

and acting upon private-sector and academic-sector 

thought leaders (e.g., Business Executives for National 

Security, Center for Strategic and International 

Studies, The Council on Competitiveness, Council 

on Foreign Relations, The Heritage Foundation, The 

Infrastructure Security Partnership, and The Reform 

Institute). As an extension of the above, the government 

must also support the development of a nationwide 

system of community-based, cross-sector, resiliencefocused partnerships to empower communities 

to collaborate in their collective best interests.

KEY CHALLENGE 8:

FIND THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN SECURE

BORDERS AND OPEN DOORS TO TRAVELERS, 

STUDENTS, AND COMMERCE.

This issue involves more than just DHS, including 

such partners as the Department of State, The White 

House, and the private sector. The challenge of finding 

the proper balance between secure borders and open 

doors for travelers, foreign students, foreign workers, 

and commerce remains a priority. This issue must be 

a focus of the highest levels of our government.

» Need for Cabinet-level leadership – We acknowledge 

that there is an inherent and unavoidable tension 

between security and openness, requiring policy 

analysis and review by the President and the Cabinet. 

It is unreasonable to expect mission-oriented 

agencies within the Department, e.g. Customs and 

Border Protection or the Transportation Security 

Administration, charged with a specific security 

mission, to adjudicate the trade-off between security and 

openness. But we cannot win the long struggle against 

extremist ideology by closing our doors to the people 

of the world that want to visit, learn, and work here.

» Expand what works - The Department has made 

great accomplishments in improving security by 

identifying those who would do us harm. Expanding 

programs such as Model Ports is important, and these 

programs are to be commended. But additional work 

is needed, especially with inter-agency partners such 

as the Department of State, to improve the processing 

of visitor, student, and worker visas. In addition, 

DHS must continue to work with industry partners 

to ensure that the flow of commerce and the life of 

our economy is not choked off in an effort to build 

walls against both real and perceived threats.

» Improve metrics - Key to understanding this 

problem is the need to further develop and refine 

better metrics that measure the performance of our 

security systems around the processing of people and 

goods. An effort to integrate the metrics used at the 

Department of State and in private industry with those 

used at DHS would help build a common picture of 

the movement of people and goods, and help measure 

our effectiveness in achieving the right balance.

KEY CHALLENGE 9:

IMPROVE RISK MANAGEMENT AND

RISK COMMUNICATIONS FOR

HOMELAND SECURITY.

Dealing with risk involves two key concepts: risk 

management and risk communications. The new 
13

Secretary must support and expand efforts to improve 

the risk-based approach to homeland security, which 

is in its early stages. The evolution and decisions about 

risk, as applied to the Homeland, are paramount to 

building a risk-based foundation for security that lasts 

into the next decade. Ultimately, a good risk framework 

is only useful if political leaders (at all levels) are 

willing to make tough choices on security trade-offs.

In addition, the new Secretary has the challenge of 

communicating to the American people and homeland 

security partners in an effort to prepare them for 

potential threats, as well as during unfolding crises.

» Risk management – Assessing the changing risks to 

America is always a priority. DHS is uniquely positioned 

to lead a national effort at developing a risk management 

approach to securing the Homeland. Determining the 

risks to the Homeland and using a risk management 

approach to allocate resources, make decisions, and 

communicate threats, readiness, and protective actions 

has not been perfected. This will require establishing 

and improving performance metrics for measuring 

risk and building a framework for risk-informed 

decision-making. An effective risk-based approach will 

help the new Secretary share the responsibility for 

managing those risks with other partners in homeland 

security, allocate resources more efficiently and 

effectively, and counter the politicization of homeland 

security programs (such as grant distribution).

It is also important that the Department make an 

effort to consolidate the different, existing risk 

management programs across its many components 

and agencies, to ensure that the DHS risk methodology 

is consistent within the Department, and consistent 

when presented to the Department’s many partners.

» Risk communications – Improving the approach to 

risk in the Department also requires improving risk 

communications systems. Risk communications starts 

with the fundamental need to explain the threats 

that America faces and involves creating a culture 

of preparedness through long-term education. An 

effective risk communications system can mitigate 

the long-term psychological effects of an incident on 

the American citizen, which will help safeguard our 

Democracy against overreaction to possible future 

attacks. It also involves improving crisis communications 

systems such as the color-coded homeland security 

advisory system (which should be revisited and 

revised to have meaning for the average American), 

as well as completing the improvements to the old 

emergency alert and warning systems that DHS 

controls. New crisis communications networks must 

engage homeland security partners during the initial 

phases of an event, provide adequate and immediate 

warning with clear instructions to those in harm’s 

way, and continually update partners and the public 

with pertinent information as the situation changes.

KEY CHALLENGE 10:

SUSTAINABILITY OF OUR NATION’S 

HOMELAND SECURITY EFFORTS.

Two underlying issues challenge the long-term sustainability 

of our homeland security efforts: finances and focus.

» Financial sustainability – In this period of economic 

struggle, it will be easy for the federal government, 

state, local, and tribal governments, and partners in 

the private sector to shirk responsibility for financing 

long-term homeland security efforts. Selling the need 

for continued and long-term investments to finance 

our homeland security enterprise for those over-thehorizon threats will challenge the next Secretary.

» Focus – One of the toughest challenges for the next 

Secretary will be to keep the American public engaged 

and focused on efforts to prepare for any potential 

domestic or international threats. Maintaining the 

political will and public support to move forward with 

necessary, long-term efforts to protect the Homeland is 

a challenge for all Americans. The new leaders of DHS 

must continue to work to inspire a sense of urgency in 

the public and among policy-makers that our efforts are 

necessary and valuable to the protection of our Nation.
14

The members of the Homeland Security Advisory Council would like to express our appreciation to the three leaders we 

have had the privilege of advising: President George W. Bush, Secretary Tom Ridge, and Secretary Michael Chertoff. We 

believe that their leadership in facing the fundamental challenge of our generation in the wake of the attacks of September 

11, 2001 will be seen through the eyes of history as laying the strong foundation for the future security of America.

We have found this Council to provide a unique avenue for exchanging important ideas and initiatives among 

all the partners who share the burden of securing America. We offer this report to the next Secretary with the 

hope that he or she will have a successful tenure in leading this young organization. This Council stands ready to 

assist the new Secretary in our continued desire to be of service to the Department and the American people.

The Council would also like to express appreciation to the staff of the Homeland Security Advisory Council 

whom have worked diligently to facilitate the delivery of our advice and recommendations.

Acknowledgements

14
15

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff tasked the Homeland Security Advisory Council 

with compiling a list of top challenges facing the Department at the Advisory Council’s meeting in Washington, 

D.C in June 2008. During that meeting, members heard views on current challenges expressed by members of the 

Department and its senior leadership, homeland security partners, and homeland security thought leaders.

A working group of Homeland Security Advisory Council members and its five subcommittees held eight 

separate teleconferences in July, August, and September 2008 to discuss and develop this report. The members 

also reviewed past Advisory Council materials and position papers from leaders in academia, think tanks, the 

media, Congress, the GAO, and the Department’s numerous homeland security partners in government.

Process

15
16

William H. Webster (Chair)

Partner, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, LLP

James R. Schlesinger (Vice Chair)

Chairman, Board of Trustees, The MITRE Corporation

Richard Andrews, Ph.D.

Senior Director, Homeland Security Projects,

National Center for Crisis and Continuity Coordination (NC4)

Norman R. Augustine

Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Lockheed Martin Corp.

Kathleen M. Bader

Board of Directors, Textron, Inc.

Elliott Broidy

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Broidy Capital Management

Kenneth C. Canterbury, Jr.

President, Fraternal Order of Police

Frank J. Cilluffo

Associate Vice President for Homeland Security, 

The George Washington University

Jared L. Cohon

President, Carnegie Mellon University

Ruth A. David, Ph.D.

President and Chief Executive Officer, Analytic Services Inc.

Louis Freeh

Senior Managing Partner, Freeh Group International

Lee H. Hamilton

President and Director, 

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Glenda Hood

Former Mayor of Orlando and Florida Secretary of State

President and Chief Executive Officer, Hood Partners, LLC

Herb Kelleher

Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Southwest Airlines Co.

Don Knabe

Supervisor, Fourth District, County of Los Angeles

John Magaw

Domestic and International Security Consultant

Patrick McCrory

Mayor, City of Charlotte, North Carolina

Edward Mueller

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, 

Qwest Communications International Incorporated

Erle A. Nye

Chairman Emeritus, TXU Corporation

Sonny Perdue

Governor, State of Georgia

Richard “Rick” D. Stephens

Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Administration, 

The Boeing Company

Lydia W. Thomas

President and Chief Executive Officer (Retired), Noblis

John F. Williams, M.D., Ed.D., MPH

Provost and Vice President for Health Affairs, 

The George Washington University and Medical Center

Robert L. Woodson, Sr.

President, Center for Neighborhood Enterprise

Appendix A: 

Homeland Security Advisory Council

HOmeland Security Advisory Council Members 
17

Academe and Policy Research

Senior Advisory Committee

Jared L. Cohon (Chair)

President, Carnegie Mellon University 

Ruth A. David, Ph.D. (Vice Chair)

President and Chief Executive Officer, Analytic Services, Inc. 

David M. Abshire

President, Center for the Study of the Presidency 

Sandra Archibald

Dean and Professor of Public Affairs, Evans School 

of Public Affairs, University of Washington 

Daniel I. Goure

Vice President, Lexington Institute 

Dr. Victoria F. Haynes

President and Chief Executive Officer, RTI International

Steve Kerr

Senior Advisor, Goldman Sachs 

Brian Leary

Vice President, AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp.

William Parrish

Associate Professor, Homeland Security, School of Government 

and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University

Gary M. Shiffman, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President and General Manager, 

Continuity and Crisis Management, L-3

Roxane Cohen Silver, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, 

University of California, Irvine

Robert “Rocky” Spane

Vice Admiral USN (Ret.) and Chairman, Halo Maritime Defence

Allan Zenowitz

General Officer and Senior Executive, Retired

Emergency Response 

Senior Advisory Committee

Richard Andrews, Ph.D. (Chair)

Senior Director, Homeland Security, 

National Center for Crisis and Continuity Coordination (NC4)

Kenneth C. Canterbury, Jr. (Vice Chair)

President, Fraternal Order of Police

Dan Corsentino

Former Sheriff, Pueblo County, Colorado

Frank P. Cruthers

1st Deputy Commissioner, Fire Department of New York (FDNY)

P. Michael Freeman

Fire Chief, Los Angeles County Fire Department

Ellen M. Gordon

Associate Director, Executive Education, 

Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California

Arthur Kassel

Chief of Law Enforcement Services, 

State of California Department of Mental Health 

Phillip E. Keith

Retired Chief, Knoxville, Tennessee Police Department

Paul M. Maniscalco

Senior Research Scientist & Principal Investigator, 

The George Washington University

President, International Association of EMS Chiefs

Judith M. Mueller

Director of Public Works, Charlottesville, Virginia

HSAC Subcommittees 
18

Edward P. Plaugher

Fire Chief (Retired)

Director, National Programs, International Association of Fire Chiefs

Jack E. Reall

President, Fire Fighters Union 67, Columbus, Ohio

Ellis M. Stanley, Sr.

Director of Western Emergency Management Services, Dewberry

Joseph C. White

Senior Vice President of Chapter Organizations,

American National Red Cross

John F. Williams, M.D., Ed.D., MPH

Provost and Vice President of Health Affairs, 

The George Washington University and Medical Center

Private Sector 

Senior Advisory Committee

Richard “Rick” D. Stephens (Chair)

Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Administration, 

The Boeing Company

Herb Kelleher (Vice Chair)

Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Southwest Airlines Co.

Nelson Balido

President and Chief Executive Officer, Balido & Associates, Inc.

Stephen Gross

President, BiNational Logistics, LLC 

Dr. Doug Huntt

President and Chief Executive Officer, 

Burlington United Methodist Family Services, Inc.

Monica Luechtefeld

Executive Vice President, Supply Chain and IT, Office Depot, Inc.

Maurice Sonnenberg

Senior International Advisor, J.P. Morgan

Jean E. Spence

Executive Vice President, Research, Development and Quality, 

Kraft Foods, Inc.

George Vradenburg III

Chairman and President, Vradenburg Foundation

Executive Vice President, AOL-Time Warner (Ret.)

Emily Walker

Former 9-11 Commission Member

Bill Whitmore, Jr.

Chief Executive Officer, AlliedBarton Security Services 

Houston L. Williams

Principal Owner, Raven Oaks Vineyards and Winery

Jack L. Williams

Former President and Chief Executive Officer, Eos Airlines

State and Local Officials

Senior Advisory Committee

Don Knabe (Chair)

Supervisor, Fourth District, County of Los Angeles

Sonny Perdue (Vice Chair)

Governor, State of Georgia

Karen J. Anderson

Past President, National League of Cities

Former Mayor, City of Minnetonka, Minnesota

Michael Balboni

Deputy Secretary for Public Safety, State of New York

Jim Douglas

Governor, State of Vermont

Past President, Council of State Governments

HSAC Subcommittees (continued) 
19

James R. Dunlap

Former State Senator, State of Oklahoma

Judge Robert A. Eckels

Partner, Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP

Peggy Merriss

City Manager, Decatur, Georgia

Karen M. Miller

District I Commissioner, Missouri Boone County Commission

Douglas H. Palmer

Mayor of Trenton, New Jersey

Former President, U.S. Conference of Mayors

David Wallace

Chief Executive Officer, Wallace Bajjali Development Partners, LP

Indiana State Senator Thomas J. Wyss

Representative National Conference of State Legislatures

Joe Zarelli

State Senator, State of Washington

Secure Borders and Open Doors

Advisory Committee

Jared L. Cohon (Co-Chair)

President, Carnegie Mellon University

John Chen (Co-Chair)

Chairman, CEO and President, Sybase, Inc.

Frank Cilluffo

Associate Vice President for Homeland Security, 

The George Washington University

Sandy Dhuyvetter

Chief Executive Officer and Executive Producer, TravelTalkMEDIA

Thomas J. Donohue

President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Roger Dow

President and Chief Executive Officer, Travel Industry Association

John Engler

President, National Association of Manufacturers

Susan Ginsburg

Director, Mobility and Security Program, Migration Policy Institute

J.W. Marriott

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Marriott International, Inc.

James May

President and Chief Executive Officer, 

Air Transport Association of America, Inc.

Maria Luisa O’Connell

President, Border Trade Alliance

Eduardo J. Padrón

President, Miami Dade College

Greg Principato

President, Airports Council International-North America

James A. “Jay” Rasulo

Chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

Keith Reinhard

President, Business for Diplomatic Action

Chairman Emeritus, DDB Worldwide

Paul B. Roth, MD

Executive Vice President, University of New Mexico 

Health Sciences Center Dean, School of Medicine

Roxane Cohen Silver, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, 

University of California, Irvine

 
20

Richard “Rick” D. Stephens

Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Administration, 

The Boeing Company

Rose Mary Valencia

Director, Visa and Immigration Services Administration, 

The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Charles Vest

President, National Academy of Engineering

HSAC Staff 

Executive Director

Jeffrey D. Stern

Directors

Charles J. Adams

Mike Miron

Candace Stoltz

Staff

Jennifer R. Myers

Amanda Rittenhouse, DHS Honors Fellow

HSAC Subcommittees (continued) 
21

Appendix B: 

Homeland Security Advisory Council Reports

2008

» Report of the Essential Technology Task Force

» Report of the Administration Transition Task Force

» Report of the Secure Borders Open Doors Advisory Committee

2007

» Future of Terrorism Task Force Report

» Homeland Security Culture Task Force Report

2006

» DHS/DOJ Fusion Center Guidelines

» Critical Infrastructure Task Force Report

» Weapons of Mass Effect Task Force on Preventing the Entry of Weapons of Mass Effect Into the United States

2005

» Homeland Security Requirements Process

» Homeland Security Information Sharing between Government and the Private Sector Report

» Homeland Security Intelligence and Information Fusion Report

» Maritime Strategy Report

» Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 Recommendations

2004

» Intelligence and Information Sharing Initiative Report and Recommendations

» Task Force on State and Local Homeland Security Funding Report

» Homeland Security Lexicon Recommendations

» Homeland Security Award Recommendations

» Statewide Template Initiative

Copies of all HSAC reports are available at www.dhs.gov/hsac.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Washington, DC 20528

www.dhs.gov

September 2008