Abbreviated as DHS, the Department of Homeland Security was specifically created with the goal of responding to terrorist threats within the borders of the United States of America. The development rather the establishment of the DHS followed the terrorist attack that took place on September 11, 2001. Hence, the mandate of the DHS is primarily to protect the territories of the United States including its Ambassadors’ residences abroad. However, the mandate of the DHS extends beyond just terrorism to accommodate instances of natural disasters and man-made accidents (DHS, 2015). The annual budget of the DHS is estimated at between $60 billion and $100 billion. Statistics collected from its 2011 budget indicates that the DHS was allocated $98 billion of which $66.4 billion was spent (U.S. Department of Homeland Security Annual Financial Report Fiscal Year 2010).
The DHS employs a little over 200, 000 employees making it the third largest government institution or department in terms of size only falling behind the Department of Defense which follows the Veterans Affairs Department. The distinction between the mandates of the DHS in comparison to the Department of Defense (DOS) owes to the fact that the DOS is mandated with external aggression. For that reason, the DOS is particularly tailored to react to external threats that the United States comes across. On the other hand, the mandate of the DHS is particularly hinged on intelligence gathering to prepare for, prevent and react to all threats to security within the borders of the United States. To that end, the obligation of the DHS to the people of United States of America is sustaining peaceful coexistence within the borders from internal and external threats that have a direct bearing on the safety of the citizenry. Essentially, the mandate also stretches to include the collection of intelligence in regards to threats posed to American citizens’ safety whether from weather conditions and natural disasters or initiated threats. To that end, the mandate of the DHS serves to address all manner of threats to the internal security of the American populous (DHS, 2015).
