Office of Operations Coordination

The Office of Operations Coordination and Planning (OPS) is a component of the headquarters of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is designed to provide situational awareness and decision support for the Secretary of Homeland Security, and other key officials, during a crisis. OPS is responsible for the daily monitoring of the security of the United States and coordinating activities within the Department of Homeland Security relating to prevention, protection, response, and recovery from all threats and hazards, including terrorist threats, and man-made and natural disasters.

Primarily through the National Operations Center, the Office is a key touchpoint for coordinating operational issues with federal, state, tribal, local governments Homeland Security Advisors, law enforcement partners, and private sector critical infrastructure operators, and international partners. In accordance with Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 (Annex I), OPS is facilitating a Federal interagency planning effort to address various national contingencies. The Office is headed by RADM (Ret) John Acton, the Director for Operations Coordination and Planning.

OPS oversees the National Operations Center (NOC), which collects homeland security information, both classified and unclassified, from federal, state, territorial, tribal, local, and private sector partners as well as social media.^[1]

Organization

Information is shared and fused on a daily basis by the two halves of the Office, the "Intelligence Side" and the "Law Enforcement Side". The two halves function in tandem. The Intelligence watch floor gathers intelligence and decides how it contributes to the current threats in a given area. The Law Enforcement Side tracks law enforcement activities across the country that may have a terrorist nexus. This information from the two halves accurately depicts the nation’s threat environment at any moment.

Through the National Operations Center, the Office provides real-time situational awareness and monitoring of the homeland, coordinates incidents and response activities, and, in conjunction with the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, issues advisories and bulletins concerning threats to homeland security, as well as specific protective measures. The NOC coordinates information sharing to help deter, detect, and prevent terrorist acts and to manage domestic incidents. Information on domestic incident management is shared with Emergency Operations Centers at all levels through the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN).^[2]

References

•  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of Homeland Security.

v d e Department of Homeland Security Secretary of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary United States Coast Guard Immigration and Customs Enforcement Citizenship and Immigration Services Customs and Border Protection Federal Emergency Management Agency Federal Law Enforcement Training Center United States Secret Service Office of Operations Coordination Transportation Security Administration National Protection and Programs Federal Protective Service National Communications System National Cyber Security Division US-VISIT Infrastructure Protection Science and Technology Innovation Division (Including Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency) Explosives Division Chemical and Biological Division Border and Maritime Security Division Command, Control, and Interoperability Division Human Factors Division Infrastructure/Geophysical Division Intelligence and Analysis Office of Intelligence and Analysis Management Management Directorate Policy Policy Development International Affairs State and Local Law Enforcement Private Sector Immigration Statistics Screening Coordination Strategic Plans Homeland Security Advisory Council Law enforcement in the United States Terrorism in the United States

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