Adam Smith
1/14/13
WRIT
Richard Colby
In the state of the current world, more precautions are now being taken by powerful countries like the United States to protect the homeland and to keep its citizens aware of any outside threats. On March 12, 2002, the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security established the Homeland Security
Advisory System in response to the attacks on September 11, 2001 in New
York City (World Almanac, 2008). This system was designed by the U.S. government to direct our defensive procedures when definite information regarding a threat to our nation is received. These changes in our advisory system will allow for a more uniform rating in determining the safety of our people and the place they call home, with less manipulation by our current governing party.
Since the establishment of the Homeland Security Advisory System in
2002, it has served our country for almost seven years now. This system has never been majorly changed or altered in those seven years, and I feel it has done a decent job in representing threat within our country. While often communicating grave risk to the American public, without much explanation,

the current system’s effectiveness is often questioned (Lipton, 2005). The planned changes I have for the advisory system are to make it more uniform with other rating systems of safety already being used by the government. I feel a system based on safety rather than risk will also lessen the feeling of political manipulation and be more suitable for the American public. The uniformity of foreign and homeland safety advisory will allow the American public to evaluate there safety in the country along with any travel they would do outside of it in the same way. The current system may not be broken, but no one can say it’s the way it should be as it has never been changed in its existence.
The model I have in mind is to replace the current Homeland Security
Advisory Model. My model will work in a similar way as the current model, as it is simple to understand at a glance. My system will use a five level, color-coded model that represents the level of safety within our nation. The lowest level of safety would be represented by the color red, and be labeled
“Unsecure.” The next level would be represented by the color orange, and be labeled “Hazardous.” Yellow would be the next level and be labeled “Risky.”
The next level of safety would be represented by the color blue, and be labeled “Protected.” The highest level of safety would be represented by the color green, and be labeled “Secure.” This model would be used as a tool to communicate the safety of the nation to public safety officials and the general public, just as the current model is. This information could then be used to evaluate the level of security the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and

the Department of Defense needs to provide within our country and reduce the likelihood of any sort of terrorist attack on our soil.
In any case dealing with a large geographic area, communication or preparedness in an area of safety advisory is a limit to this type of system.
Not everything can be predicted, let alone predicted in time. All we can be certain about is that our government and public safety officials maintain a valid level of safety within our borders in order to reduce the likelihood or impact of an attack. All levels of the advisory system will always involve being prepared, which is the only defense we have against any and all attacks.
The United States Government has a responsibility to protect its citizens. With this model in place, it will allow for the general public to not only be aware, but also allow the government help prevent any more attacks on our soil. The current uses of this model will remain intact in mine as well, as it can be used by the American people to understand the level of caution that needs to be taken in any sort of situation within our borders that could draw a terrorist attack. No one wants to see what occurred on September 11,
2001 ever again within the borders of our great nation. We must stay alert, prepared, and aware in order to keep ourselves safe. It is important that the citizens of this country have this system to advise them on their safety and well-being. It is up to the individual if they heed the warnings, but without

them in place we could see another tragedy happen much sooner than we would like.
Bibliography
 Lipton, Eric. "National Briefing | Washington: Alert Changes
Are Proposed." New York Times [New York] 27 Apr. 2005: 16-
16. Academic Search Complete. EBSCOhost. Penrose Library,
Denver. 13 Apr. 2009. Keyword: homeland security advisory system.
 Shapiro, Jacob N., and Dara K. Cohen. "Color Blind."
International Security 32 (2007): 121-54. Academic Search
Complete. EBSCOhost. Penrose Library, Denver. 12 Apr. 2009.
Keyword: homeland security advisory system.
 United States of America. U.S. Department of Homeland
Security. Office of Homeland Security. Homeland Security.
2002. U.S. Government. 15 Apr. 2009
<http://www.dhs.gov/index.shtm>.
 "CIA - The World Factbook." Welcome to the CIA Web Site
Central
 Intelligence Agency. 20 Apr. 2009
<https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/>.

 "Homeland Security Advisories Timeline." World Almanac &
Book of Facts, 2008. 119-19. Academic Search Complete.
EBSCOhost. Penrose Library, Denver. 10 Apr. 2009. Keyword: homeland security advisory system.
 "DHS Milestones." CQ Weekly 66 (2008): 2825-825. Academic
Search Complete. EBSCOhost. Penrose Library, Denver. 15 Apr.
2009. Keyword: homeland security advisory system.
This is the current U.S. Department of Homeland Security Advisory System, in use since March 22, 2002 (Office of Homeland Security, 2002)