ABSTRACT
The National Domestic Preparedness Office's (NDPO) first-responder-centric mission was an ambitious undertaking but an awkward fit for the bureau, which was an agency with expertise in the collection of information, the disruption of threats, and crisis management but no substantial legacy in pre-event preparedness. The creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provided a more appropriate setting for NDPO's mission. The creation of DHS ended the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s leadership of the NDPO. The NDPO was a platform for facilitating readiness, as opposed to having an operational role in responding to crises. The NDPO's brief history has significant implications for how one looks at the United States’ domestic national security apparatus. First, it was a pioneering effort to simultaneously bridge the gap between intelligence agencies and relevant non-intelligence agencies, as well as incorporate sub-federal actors. A second consideration is how functions are aligned with agencies.
