National Security Strategy

A National Security Strategy has been produced every few years going back to 1987, under the Reagan administration.  The latest NSS was published in 2002 and 2006 by President Bush, and in 2010 and 2015 by Barack Obama.

The purpose of the NSS is to communicate a President’s vision to the Congress as well as to  political players both domestic and foreign, and also to push for consensus on foreign and defense policy within the executive branch.

The one component that is missing from both our formal security policy and what is transacted in the field is the inclusion of private security officers into the mix.  Even when tactics like community policing and working collaboratively across agencies is brought up, the lowly security guard is not part of the discussion.  There are over one million security officers employed in the U.S. and they are by default posted in public and private areas that are potential targets of attack be they criminal or terrorist.  Think of the force multiplier their inclusion would represent.

The missing components that would make the scheme work is solid guard training and security protocols common across law enforcement and private forces.  This all-hands-on-deck stance is  the case in Israel and the system works very well, especially given the nature of the threat there.

This is one of the reasons that Chameleon hosts the Israel Security Model seminar.  The network  of seminar attendees are comprised of law enforcement, military and private sector security professionals.  They learn the proactive methods and security procedures that are used by government security agencies, border patrol officers, VIP protection agents and security guards to secure everything from retails malls, the parliament and transit hubs.  The seminar curriculum explains and demonstrates the security methods in the field with experts across the country.  The national security strategy in Israel is practical and takes advantage of all potential assets, particularly human ones.  Lessons worth adapting and applying.

It will be interesting to see what direction President Trump’s Executive NSS takes.

Update:  In December 2017, the Trump White House published its National Security Strategy.  Once again, the notion of integrating private security efforts into an overall national security scheme is absent.  With the onslaught of shootings the U.S. has endured in only the last six months, bringing all hands on deck is a chance missed to bolster security.  Link here to read the current NSS report.