Continuity of Operations (COOP) is a United States federal government initiative, required by U.S. Presidential Policy Directive 40 (PPD-40), to ensure that agencies are able to continue performance of essential functions under a broad range of circumstances. PPD-40 specifies certain requirements for continuity plan development, including the requirement that all federal executive branch departments and agencies develop an integrated, overlapping continuity capability, that supports the eight National Essential Functions described in the document.
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terrorism, border security, immigration and customs, cyber security, and disaster prevention and management.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within and connecting to the United States. It was created as a response to the September 11 attacks to improve airport security procedures and consolidate air travel security under a combined federal law enforcement and regulatory agency.
The United States Secretary of Homeland Security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the United States. The position was created by the Homeland Security Act following the attacks of September 11, 2001.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety.
The Computer-Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS) is a counter-terrorism system in place in the United States air travel industry that matches passenger information with other data sources. The United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA) maintains a watchlist, pursuant to 49 USC § 114 (h)(2), of "individuals known to pose, or suspected of posing, a risk of air piracy or terrorism or a threat to airline or passenger safety." The list is used to pre-emptively identify terrorists attempting to buy airline tickets or board aircraft traveling in the United States, and to mitigate perceived threats.
The Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the supervision of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers serves as an interagency law enforcement training body for 105 United States government federal law enforcement agencies. The stated mission of FLETC is to "...train those who protect our homeland". Through the Rural Policing Institute (RPI) and the Office of State and Local Training, it provides tuition-free and low-cost training to state, local, campus and tribal law enforcement agencies.
Edmund Summers "Kip" Hawley III was an American government official and business executive who was administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, part of United States government's Department of Homeland Security, from July 27, 2005, to January 20, 2009. He replaced the previous Director, Rear Admiral David Stone. He was succeeded by Acting Administrator Gale Rossides.
Executive Schedule is the system of salaries given to the highest-ranked appointed officials in the executive branch of the U.S. government. The president of the United States appoints individuals to these positions, most with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. They include members of the president's Cabinet, several top-ranking officials of each executive department, the directors of some of the more prominent departmental and independent agencies, and several members of the Executive Office of the President.
The Air Traffic Organization (ATO) is an air navigation service provider in the United States of America. The ATO is the operational division of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Gary W. Schenkel is, as of June 2011, the Executive Director of the city Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to this position Schenkel was the director of the Federal Protective Service(FPS), one of the six divisions of the National Protection and Programs Directorate of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from March 2007 until July 2010. FPS is the national law enforcement agency responsible for the General Service Agency's (GSA) inventory of over 9,000 buildings located in all 56 states, US territories and protectorates.
Peter J. Boynton, is co-director of The George J. Kostas Institute for Homeland Security at Northeastern University in Boston. Boynton most recently served as Commissioner of the Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security for the state of Connecticut.
David Peter Pekoske is an American government official and retired U.S. Coast Guard vice admiral who served as the seventh administrator of the Transportation Security Administration in the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from 2017 to 2025. He served as the acting deputy secretary of homeland security from April to November 2019 and again from January to June 2021. From January 20, 2021 to February 2, 2021 he served as acting secretary of homeland security, during the Senate confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkas. Pekoske retired with 33 years of active military service in 2010 as the 26th vice commandant of the Coast Guard.
Command Group, "CG", founded as Command Consulting Group, is an international security and intelligence consulting firm, founded in 2009, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. CG provides advisory services for governments, corporations, and high net worth individuals.
A Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response team, sometimes Visible Intermodal Protection and Response (VIPR) is a Transportation Security Administration program. Various government sources have differing descriptions of VIPR's exact mission. It is specifically authorized by 6 U.S.C. § 1112 which says that the program is to "augment the security of any mode of transportation at any location within the United States". Authority for the program is under the Secretary of Homeland Security. The program falls under TSA's Office of Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service. TSA OLE/FAMS shares responsibility for the program with the Office of Security Operations and Transportation Sector Network Management.
The TSA Office of Inspection Accountability Act of 2014 is a bill that would direct the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to review the data and methods that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) uses to classify personnel as law enforcement officers and to reclassify, as necessary, any staff of the Office of Inspection that are currently misclassified according to the results of that review. The TSA would be required to adhere to existing federal law about what positions are classified as criminal investigators, a fact that determines pay and benefits.
Peter Vance Neffenger is a United States Coast Guard Admiral and public servant who served as Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration from July 2015 to January 20, 2017.
Douglas Hofsass is a former Assistant Administrator in the United States Department of Homeland Security, assigned to the Transportation Security Administration. In addition to his role as the Assistant Administrator overseeing risk based security and trusted traveler programs, he also served as the Federal Security Director in New York City. As part of his responsibilities in New York City, he oversaw the first implementation of federal security operations under DHS at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport and the East 34th Street Heliport for commercial helicopter flights to John F Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. Hofsass also held the posts of General Manager of Commercial Aviation and Deputy Assistant Administrator for Policy and Industry Engagement for the Transportation Security Administration. He was heavily involved in launching the TSA PreCheck Program, and claimed a collaborative partnership with the US Customs Department and their Global Entry Program. Hofsass served at the Transportation Security Administration from 2002 until 2013, including several years working directly for Administrators John S. Pistole, Kip Hawley and Gale Rossides. Prior to his Federal executive service, Hofsass was with United Airlines management for nearly 10 years. Hofsass returned to the commercial aviation sector in 2013.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is a component of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for cybersecurity and infrastructure protection across all levels of government, coordinating cybersecurity programs with U.S. states, and improving the government's cybersecurity protections against private and nation-state hackers. Cybersecurity is now considered as important part of individuals and families, as well as organizations, governments, educational institutions and our business. It is essential for families and parents to protect the children and family members from online fraud. The term cyber attack covers a wide variety of actions ranging from simple probes, to defacing websites, to denial of service, to espionage and destruction.
