ABSTRACT
Emergency management is a critical component of homeland security. The profession of emergency management has steadily evolved over the last several decades with preparation, response, and recovery strategies adapting with changes in capabilities and technologies. Every disaster is different, and the dynamic process of community recovery is shaped by the level of destruction or disruption that is experienced. The nature of disaster response has always lent itself to community-based cooperation in recovery. Neighbors assisting neighbors, from the earliest times, recognized that cooperation was a key element of survival. The communities of our nation faced disasters and the challenges of disaster response long before the creation of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), President George W. Bush described the government’s efforts to perform homeland security activities as a “patchwork” of efforts. The Department of Defense is a key resource for the disaster response community, both domestically and internationally.
