Chuck Brooks, Distinguished Judge, GSN 2013 Homeland Security Awards Program: An Interview
http://www.gsnmagazine.com/2013_digital_yearbook
Chuck Brooks is VP for Homeland Security at Xerox and was first Director of Legislative Affairs for the Science and TechnologyDirectorate at DHS. As an Adjunct Faculty Member at Johns Hopkins he taughta graduate course on Congress and Homeland Security, and was a Senior Advisor to the late Senator Arlen Spector. Chuck is leader of two Homeland Security groups on Linkedin.
GSN: Chuck, what are your thoughts on the Department of Homeland Security ten years after its creation?
Chuck Brooks: The creation and molding of the DHS has been a remarkable story. Starting up such a large multi-functional cabinet department has not really occurred since the establishment of the
DoD. There was little time to build a strategic plan to incorporate 22 agencies with separate culture in the DHS. These agencies includethe Secret Service, CIS, USCG, and others.
Despite the legislative impediments and urgency at the time of its creation, DHS has grown in focus and capability. Most importantly, it has helped keep the country safe. I am proud to be one of the original“Plank Holders” who originally served under Secre tary Tom Ridge and then under Michael Chertoff.
GSN: what key issues do you see to be a priority of DHS in the next ten years?
CB:CBRNE-Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive) threats will continue to be pri orities of the agency because of the asymmetrical terror consequences they present.
We must remain proactive meeting those threats and continue to in vest in counter-terrorism and detection capabilities.Interoperable communications and geospatial tech that are key to disaster and incident management are still evolving and will be upgraded over the next five years. Also, the Coast Guard, which plays a vital role for DHS and our country needs to be modernized, even though it has been amazing in its responses to disasters and in maritime operations. It’s often under the radar when it comes to allocated resources.
One newer area where you will see DHS take an in creasingly larger role is in cybersecurity. Presidential directives have mandated DHS to play theprimaryrole in the civilian side of government for cybersecurity. A major reason for the new focus on cyberse curity has been the rapid changesin the information technology landscape.Since 2003, the capabilities and connectivity of cyber devices and commu nications have grown exponentially. So have the cy ber intrusions and threats from malware and hackers requiring restructuring of priorities and missions.DHS has to step up assessing situational awareness,information sharing and resilience research and development plans with the stakeholders to mitigate risk and protect critical infrastructureand key resources. Training of next generation cybersecurity technicians must also be a priority.
GSN:what are your thoughts on the new DHS Secretary nominee?
CB: I think Jeh Johnson is a good choice. As a formerPentagon General Counsel he has experience dealingin national security issues.
I am told he also has good people skills and is liked by peers. I think his first challenge will be to bring on some top new leadership
to fill the many vacancies and build on the “One DHS” concept of assimilating the component agencies. I would recommend to him
that he outreach and work closely with the various committees on Capitol Hill as soon as he assumes office, since they have key
oversight responsibilities.
Thank you for speaking with me and letting me
share my perspective with your readers. Also, thank
you for being an excellent media resource for all
those active in the homeland security and national
security fields.
Comments are closed.
