First Week

Thank you for your comments to my first post. I appreciate the encouraging words of welcome.

As expected, my first full week has been busy.

I’ve continued to meet with directors of all seven of the Department’s operating components, visit their headquarters locations, and receive briefings on their activities.

I’ve been impressed by what I’ve seen so far – the caliber of the people who work at this Department, their professionalism, and their commitment to our mission.

As Secretary, I want to ensure that our Department continues to uphold the highest ethical standards. For this reason, I’ve ordered that every incoming DHS employee receive ethics training.

This week, I also sent recommendations to President Obama regarding the winter storms that impacted most of our nation’s Midwest and Northeast. He acted on those recommendations, issuing emergency declarations for Arkansas and Kentucky. This will ensure that federal aid flows to these areas. FEMA has been deeply engaged in this process. It began mobilizing assets and resources well ahead of the storm to ensure timely aid and assistance.

Of course, I’ve been intently focused on preparations for Super Bowl 43, and not just because my home team is in the game.

I spoke directly with our head of security in Tampa and received briefings on the Department’s activities related to the Super Bowl, which are extensive.

Finally, I’ve continued to issue action directives to assess the Department's critical functions and set priorities. We rolled out the final action directive today on immigration – to assess our progress to secure the border, remove criminal aliens from the United States, and improve our legal immigration procedures.

I’m eager to get the results of these assessments in the coming days and weeks, and I look forward to sharing these results with you.

Secretary Napolitano

Secretary Napolitano Meets with Department Agency Staff

January 29, 2009 – Secretary Napolitano meets with senior leadership from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Pictured are Secretary Napolitano; Acting Assistant Secretary John Torres; Marcy Forman, Director Office of Investigations; and Susan Lane, Director Office of Intelligence. (ICE Photo/Caffrey)


January 27, 2009 - Secretary Napolitano greets employees at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services headquarters in Washington, D.C., where she received briefings from the three USCIS directorates. (USCIS Photo/Buckson)


January 26, 2009 - Secretary Napolitano visits the Transportation Security Administration headquarters and conducted a town hall with TSA employees. (TSA Photo/Dittberner)


January 22, 2009 - Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano meets with Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad W. Allen at Coast Guard Headquarters, for briefings from the service's senior leadership. (USCG Photo/Bender)

Getting to Work

I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the DHS Leadership Journal, our online forum for discussing issues and challenges facing the Department of Homeland Security as we work to keep our nation safe. I plan to be a regular contributor along with other senior leadership across the Department.

First, I’d like to recognize Secretary Chertoff and his team for the work they have done to ensure a smooth transition. I am honored to join Homeland Security and continue the important work begun by my predecessors to protect our borders, safeguard our infrastructure, and improve our nation’s abilities to prevent, respond to, and recover from natural and manmade hazards.

One of my first priorities as Secretary will be to meet with as many of the Department’s leaders and employees as possible. This past week, I met with leadership from each DHS component and will be visiting each of our headquarters in the coming days. On Thursday, I had the opportunity to visit with many of the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard and received an in-depth briefing from Admiral Allen about major issues facing this agency. I look forward to similar visits to other components this week including TSA, ICE and USCIS.

I also initiated a process to assess and solicit employee input about the Department’s performance across what I see as its five core mission areas: protection, preparedness, response, recovery, and immigration. These “Action Directives” will measure the Department’s effectiveness at meeting its critical functions, from protecting our transportation systems and critical infrastructure to distributing homeland security grants, assessing risk, and sharing intelligence with our state, local, and tribal partners.

Our goal is to identify those areas that require immediate attention, develop strategies to address short-term needs and long-term goals, and provide clear, consistent direction on how we can more fully unify the Department. DHS has come a long way in its short history. Through these Action Directives, we can continue to focus on growth, integration and greater efficiencies.

There is no more important function of government than the protection of its people. Over the past few days, I’ve seen the dedication of the men and women in this Department in action. In the weeks and months ahead, we will continue to meet this challenge head-on, with the sense of urgency and purpose our citizens expect and our nation’s security requires. It is time to get to work.

Janet Napolitano

Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Leadership Journal Archive (2007-2009)

This page is the gateway to the 2007/2008 Leadership Journal Archives. Here you will find all of the content published on the Leadership Journal beginning in September 2007 and ending in December 2008.

You may choose to view any past blog entry, each with its original comments still intact.

• December 2008


• November 2008


• October 2008


• September 2008


• August 2008


• July 2008


• June 2008


• May 2008


• April 2008


• March 2008


• February 2008


• January 2008


• December 2007


• November 2007


• October 2007


• September 2007