The critical infrastructure club in the United States needs to be a little more exclusive, Center for Homeland Defense and Security master’s degree alumnus David Riedman told APEX during a presentation titled, “Thinking Critically About Infrastructure Protection.” More than 10 years after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security developed its National Critical Infrastructure Prioritization Program (NCIPP) the list of sites and facilities deemed vital to the nation has swelled to the point of meaningless and may well constitute outdated notions about terrorism. Even absent the terrorism threat, the nation faces an almost $4 trillion backlog of maintenance on roads, bridges, dams and a range of other aging assets. Riedman, a Captain with Montgomery County (Md.) Fire and Rescue, draws on renowned Air Force Col. John Wardens’ Five Ring Model, which centers on five areas that would need to be decimated before an enemy could be defeated. The model can be through of as a concentric ring, with Leadership in the center and progressing outward with key production, infrastructure, population and field military forces. Thought of in homeland security terms, terrorist attacks historically in the United States have fallen well short of striking leadership, or debilitating the nation. Riedman concludes with recommendations on how to improve the process.
Related: see David Riedman’s article in Homeland Security Affairs:
Riedman, David. “Questioning the Criticality of Critical Infrastructure: A Case Study Analysis.” Homeland Security Affairs 12, Essay 3 (May 2016). https://www.hsaj.org/articles/10578
