The 9/10/11 Project: Are We Ready for the Day Before Tomorrow?
September 10, 2011 marked a full decade since the devastating terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Is our nation equipped for whatever catastrophe may happen tomorrow? How have our prevention, preparedness, response and resiliency structures changed, matured and become operational?
The Homeland Security & Defense Business Council's 9/10/11 Project looked at how far the country has come since the day before 9/11/2001. Through fresh interviews with industry leaders the Council sought to vividly illustrate the strides our government at all levels, working with the private sector, has made to secure the country and to stay at least one step ahead of events and disasters that could destroy our way of life.
On the 10th of each month through October 2011, the Council provided a historical context for how far we have come and where we are now, as well as an assessment of the future of the most pressing homeland security issues. Each monograph included a running timeline (interactive on our website) illustrating the events, incidents, and critical government responses pertinent to that month's topic.
Introduction
The events of September 11, 2001 had an indelible effect on our nation's psyche and approach to security. Our attitudes toward safety, preparedness, and awareness, as well as the ability of our existing legal, regulatory and political structures to keep us safe going forward changed forever. The collective effort of government, business and the overall citizenry had to be reinvented to prevent, prepare and otherwise protect our nation going forward. New federal agencies were created, calls for greater information sharing among and between the already existing governmental structures at the federal, state & local, and global levels were established, and a new industry (and lexicon) was created: Homeland Security.
Even as the very definition of what constituted 'homeland security' issues was being formulated and retooled, almost on a continual basis - focused first on foreign terrorism, then evolving to include domestic terrorism (the Anthrax issue), then natural disaster emergency management prevention and response (Katrina), a pandemic (H1N1), and a not so natural disaster emergency management prevention and response (Oil Spill) - our nation sought and continues to this day to better understand how the events happened and what measures must be taken to prevent, prepare and, at the very least, mitigate the impact future incidents could have on nation.
The Homeland Security & Defense Business Council (Council) was created soon after the Department of Homeland Security was established in order to encourage and facilitate a strategic and substantive dialogue between government and industry. From its very beginning, the Council sought to be the leading voice of the private sector in homeland security, representing the nation's foremost companies that contribute the solutions and execute the homeland security mission daily. The Council's members work to ensure that the perspective, innovation, expertise and capabilities of the private sector are recognized, respected and integrated with the public sector. We do this to assure that the mission of homeland security receives the best technology, innovation and thought leadership available to protect our nation.
The 9/10/11 Project was conceived because the Council wanted to look at where we were 'the day BEFORE 9/11/2001' and to assess how far we've come as a nation as of 9/10/2011. Through new interviews of industry leaders who have sought to provide the homeland security solutions necessary crafted into short monographs on a series of monthly individual topic areas the Council will be seeking to vividly illustrate the strides our nation has collectively made, as well as identify significant contributions of the private sector that have shaped how we would now be prepared for whatever homeland security 'incident' (whether it is a physical, biological, or cyber terrorist; or a natural or manmade disaster) might occur 'tomorrow'. How have we evolved since 9/10/2001? What has government - at all levels - done to help prevent, prepare and/or respond? What has industry provided to help and what value does it bring? And finally, are we more prepared for whatever may happen 'tomorrow' than we were ten years ago?
Many have heard the statistic that the private sector owns and/or is responsible for over 90% of the nation's infrastructure. To make this number real - to promote a real understanding of what this means to our nation's security and counterterrorism efforts, the Council has embarked on this year-long project to look at how far we have come as a nation in the ten short years since the 'day before' 9/11; begin to show how the industry of homeland security solution providers that we represent works with government to coordinate and collaborate in the development of the best services, technologies and products in a collective attempt to stay at least 'one step ahead' of those people who wish us harm and foreseeable and unforeseeable natural and manmade events that could do likewise.
Over 14 months the Council completed a monthly monograph series. Please find them individually below. Contact
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for the compendium of the entire project.
