Essay | HLSS 603 | American Military University

Assignment Instructions

This assignment is an essay assignment of three questions for which you are expected to develop a 2-3 page essay for each question that fully responds to the question being posed. 

Essay 1: 

Enhancing the resilience of our critical infrastructure to all hazards is a national imperative. Nowhere is this truer than in the agriculture and food sector. A significant proportion of the US’s agriculture and food system’s critical infrastructure is privately owned or operated on a commercial basis. In most cases, the owners and operators of critical infrastructure are best placed to manage risks to their operations and determine the most appropriate mitigation strategies.  If you were the Secretary of Homeland Security what plan would employ with the Secretary of Agriculture to ensure the maximum resilience for the agriculture and food system within the US.  For this first essay write a two page joint approach to this issue that would be shared with the White House Chief of Staff.

Essay 2: 

Over the past 5 years, the number of successful hacking events on the US energy and banking system has increased significantly.  The banking system is especially vulnerable because of the very nature of “online banking”. For this essay you are the Secretary of The Treasury. You have assembled a Chartered Presidentially approved group to develop a 10 step approach to enhancing the resilience of the banking sector.  In a 2-3 page memo, describe the specific steps you would take to enhance the resilience of this system. Where do you see the great vulnerability now and what is the biggest risk factor that needs to be addressed? 

Essay 3:

The nation’s Maritime Transportation System moves over 90% of all goods and services within the United States.  Along the western rivers – serving ports such as Pittsburgh or Louisville, KY, there are large stretches of open waterway with no security regime. As the US becomes energy exporter of more fuel, such as LNG will be carried. You are the Governor of KY and have a large river system which moves a lot of commerce. In a two page essay describe what steps you will take in working with industry, the federal government and local governments to enhance the resilience of the rivers within your state that carry commerce. 

Technical Requirements:

Length: 2-3 pages per question, single spaced, 1″ margins, 12 pitch type in Times New Roman font, left

Citations/References:  You must use the APA style for this assignment. 

Submission: All work is to be submitted as an attachment to the assignment link by 11:55 pm on the due date. All work should be prepared in Microsoft Word format and submitted as an attachment.