LEARN TO LEAD - Civil Air Patrol

and our strategy, not sector earmarks; and ensuring thatour policy instruments are aligned in support of developmentobjectives.• Homeland Security: Homeland security traces itsroots to traditional and historic functions of governmentand society, such as civil defense, emergency response,law enforcement, customs, border patrol, and immigration.In the aftermath of 9/11 and the foundation of theDepartment of Homeland Security, these functions havetaken on new organization and urgency. Homeland security,therefore, strives to adapt these traditional functionsto confront new threats and evolving hazards. It is notsimply about government action alone, but rather aboutthe collective strength of the entire country. Our approachrelies on our shared efforts to identify and interdictthreats; deny hostile actors the ability to operate withinour borders; maintain effective control of our physicalborders; safeguard lawful trade and travel into and out ofthe United States; disrupt and dismantle transnationalterrorist, and criminal organiza¬tions; and ensure ournational resilience in the face of the threat and hazards.Taken together, these efforts must support a homelandthat is safe and secure from terrorism and other hazardsand in which American interests, aspirations, and way oflife can thrive.• Intelligence: Our country’s safety and prosperity dependon the quality of the intelligence we collect and theanalysis we produce, our ability to evaluate and share thisinformation in a timely manner, and our ability to counterintelligence threats. This is as true for the strategic intelligencethat informs executive decisions as it is for intelligencesupport to homeland security, state, local, andtribal govern¬ments, our troops, and critical national missions.We are working to better integrate the IntelligenceCommunity, while also enhancing the capabilities of ourIntelligence Community members. We are strengtheningour partnerships with foreign intelligence services andsustaining strong ties with our close allies. And we continueto invest in the men and women of the IntelligenceCommunity.• Strategic Communications: Across all of our efforts,effective strategic communications are essential to sustainingglobal legitimacy and supporting our policy aims.Aligning our actions with our words is a shared responsibilitythat must be fostered by a culture of communicationthroughout government. We must also be more effectivein our deliberate communication and engagement and doa better job understanding the attitudes, opinions, grievances,and concerns of peoples—not just elites—aroundthe world. Doing so allows us to convey credible, consistentmessages and to develop effective plans, while betterunderstanding how our actions will be perceived. Wemust also use a broad range of meth¬ods for communicatingwith foreign publics, including new media.• The American People and the Private Sector: Theideas, values, energy, creativity, and resilience of our citizensare America’s greatest resource. We will support thedevelopment of prepared, vigilant, and engaged communitiesand underscore that our citizens are the heart of aresilient country. And we must tap the ingenuity outsidegovernment through strategic partnerships with the privatesector, nongovernmental organizations, foundations,and community-based organizations. Such partnershipsare critical to U.S. success at home and abroad, and wewill support them through enhanced opportunities forengagement, coordination, transparency, and informationsharing.22