Summary

In Lesson 1, you were introduced to the overall Course Goal, Scope, Approach, Related Life Experiences and Learning Objective 1 for PADM 404. The Orientation should have also provided you with a clear indication regarding how we’ll proceed in achieving the Goal of producing a graduate-level Homeland Security professional capable of demonstrating and articulating the US approaches and practices towards Homeland Security across the entire Homeland Security Spectrum of Operations.

Finally, to set the stage and context for future lessons, you were afforded the opportunity to research and reflect on the pre-9/11 actors, factors (federal vs. state Constitutional responsibilities), attitudes and strategic settings (international and domestic) contributing to Congressional legislation and Executive Branch vision, policies, strategies, executive orders, directives and plans. With this strategic setting now firmly etched in your mind, you will continually expand on this knowledge as the course continues. And as the entire course unfolds, you will gain a greater perspective and understanding of not only how difficult the entire process actually is but also the dynamic nature of each subsequent strategy, plan, program and initiative.