Please prepare a response to each of the attached documents for total of 4 responses. The responses need to be at least 150 words each. The responses should be as if you are talking directly to the person.

Due in 24 hrs.

The Global Transportation System (GTS) includes a maritime component. Explain the key elements of this mode of transportation to include methods, intermodal connections and impact.

Our maritime system in the United States is so vast that it is truly hard to envision.

It covers waterways and ports, that also consists of channels, locks, marine terminals, marinas, along with the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway (Department of Transportation, 2019).  All of these elements coordinate with almost 175 thousand miles of railways in the US, Canada and Mexico.  They also coordinate with 45 thousand miles of highways and 115 thousand miles of supporting roads (Department of Transportation, 2019).  According to the DOT (2019), there are “1400 designated intermodal connections” (p. 1), which basically lets freight or people use more than one method of transportation to get where it, or they, need to be.  For example, freight make come to the US on a shipping vessel, then it may be moved to a train or an airplane for its final destination.  Almost 100% of global shipping is done by the waterways in the US, therefore, it is vital to the economy that global shipping continues to prosper and runs smoothly and efficiently, while also maintaining top security for the cargo that arrives in our nation.  The efficiency and security of maritime transportation falls to the Department of Transportation, under the Maritime Administration, or MARAD, as it is widely known (Department of Transportation, 2019).

            What is the impact of a disruption?

With almost 100% of incoming cargo being through the waterways, a disruption of this would have significant up to catastrophic impacts to our nation’s resources and also to the economy.  Post disaster situations could be dire for the affected communities if the ports were disabled or disrupted.  Things such as food, water, tarps, health and medical supplies would all be impacted.  This would make the US vulnerable and would negate any resiliency that communities have built up (Errett et al., 2018, p. 1). 

            Describe the key attributes of the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) of 2002.  How has this law impacted the overall governance of security within the 360 ports within the United States?

The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 was implemented to establish a consistent measure to all ports and waterways to provide a safe, secure and efficient way to move cargo and persons through the waterways while keeping threats and vulnerabilities to a minimum.  This is achieved with increased baggage or cargo screening, increased security of our waters by the US Coast Guard and increased personal identification procedures.

References

Department of Transportation. (2019, June 20). Maritime transportation system (MTS) | MARAD. | MARAD. 

https://www.maritime.dot.gov/outreach/maritime-transportation-system-mts/maritime-transportation-system-mts#:~:text=Improving%20the%20U.S.%20marine%20transportation,25%2C000%20miles%20of%20navigable%20channels

Errett, N. A., Tanner, A., Shen, X., & Chang, S. E. (2018). Understanding the impacts of maritime disruption transportation to hospital-based acute health care supplies and personnel in coastal and geographically isolated communities. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 13(03), 440-448. 

https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2018.64

Reply to Thread

Good day, Professor and Class;

           For our first discussion, the first part of the discussion is to explain the key elements of the GTS, including the methods, intermodal connection, and impact. According to the lesson, the Global Transportation System contains air transportation which transports air cargo, land transportation, rail transportation, and Maritime Transportation (MTS). The MTS includes many elements such as 25,000 miles of navigable channels, 250 locks, 3500 marine terminals, thousands of recreational marines, and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway (DOT, 2021). The MTS focuses mainly on transporting freight because of the cost and effectiveness to move a large amount of freight for long-distances. The advancement in mineral and energy trades enriched the maritime transportation mode. The comparative advantage had a role to play in the growth of maritime transportation and add to that the technology improvement in the cargo ships engines and terminals. The MTS has the ability to connect countries and nations from different continents due to the intermodal connections it creates, which are connection points for changes in the mode of transportations (HSDL, 2008). 

Due to the connections seaports create, seaports have both direct and indirect effects on the economy. Seaports contribute to the growth of the job market and also to the growth of the regional products. As stated above, maritime transportation is cost-effective, and it creates activities in the ports (Jugovic, 2021). 

Because maritime transportation transports over 90% of global trade and 99% of the U.S trade, any disruption to maritime transportation would be devastating. The maritime transportation industry is responsible for about 23 million jobs in the U.S (Wendler-Bosco & Nicholson, 20189and creates about $4.5 of revenue directly and indirectly. Any disruption to maritime transportation will have implacable economic and security effects. 

The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 developed port-level security plans and security strategies by conducting inspections on the security plans and increased the security of pots by mandating the use of access cards to ensure only authorized personnel has access. The MTSA also allowed for the screening of vessel crew and vessel escorting and boarding, making the vessel more secure (Gasperetti, 2018). 

References 

Department of Transportation. (2021). Maritime Transportation System (MTS). 

https://www.maritime.dot.gov/outreach/maritime-transportation-system-mts/maritime-transportation-system-mts

Department of Homeland Security. (2008). National Strategy for the Marine Transportation System: A Framework for Action. Department of Homeland Security Digital Library. 

https://www.hsdl.org

Jugovic, A. (2021). Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. Marine Science and Engineering. 

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/jmse/special_issues/transport_management

Wendler-Bosco, V., & Nicholson, C. (2019). Port disruption impact on the maritime supply chain: a literature review. Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure, 5(6), 378–394. 

https://doi.org/10.1080/23789689.2019.1600961

 Gasperetti, B. (2018, February 9). Security Since 9/11: Creating the Maritime Transportation Security Act and the ISPS Code – Homeland Security Today. Homeland Security Today. https://www.hstoday.us/uncategorized/security-since-9-11-creating-maritime-transportation-security-act-isps-code/

Hello class,

Overt and covert operations are strategies that can be used depending upon the situation the protective detail finds themselves in. Starting with covert details, this type of operation requires the personal protective detail to draw as little attention to themselves as they possibly can and blend in to the public. On page 130 of the Protective Operations textbook, the author states “if an organization is going to make the effort to run a protective operation in a covert manner, then they must deploy some subterfuge and guile thereby avoiding a pattern”. This type of detail can be used to transport a principal whos life is believed to be in serious or immediate danger, to avoid media/public attention, or to conceal where they may be traveling to. 

Overt operations are the opposite of covert; is it out in the open, with much of the information about the principal such as where they will be, what times they will be there and who they will be traveling with are widely available. A good example of an overt operation could be a law enforcement escort of a president to give a speech at a designated location. One example of a disadvantage of a covert operation is the attention it can draw from witnesses. Motorcades that use all vehicles with tinted windows will hide the location of the principal, but at the same time it will look suspicious to random people passing by (McGovern, 2011). Knowing the appropriate time to use each of these strategies for a protective detail will make a big difference in the execution of the operation. 

-Trevor

Class,

During this week’s lesson, we learned about two different type of details.  Covert details are designed to blend in with the surrounding environment.  Vehicle selection begins with utilizing vehicles that are commonly found in the city, state, or country the principal will be traveling in.  Sending out a decoy motorcade to divert attention away from the actual principal is one common tactic found within a covert detail (McGovern, 2011).  The positives with utilizing this detail ensures the principal is able to move around discreetly with as little to no details made available to the adversary. Swapping vehicles multiple times is another way in which the protection team can keep the adversary in a reactive state to ensure maximum protection without broadcasting to everyone the principal is on the move.  The cons to this type of detail involves the actual principal not agreeing with the vehicle choice he or she may be traveling in.  Consistent threat updates and communication with the counter surveillance teams will help minimize the amount of exposure or risk to the principal.  An additional area of concern for the covert detail is the strict compliance of Operational Security as we learned in the last lesson. One small detail that is leaked to the public about the principal may tip off the entire covert operation (McGovern, 2011).  I would utilize a covert detail when making a visit to higher threat area.  For example, when I was deployed to Afghanistan the Secretary of Defense at the time flew into the country in what seemed to be unannounced.  Little did I know prior to taking this class this was called a “covert detail.”  By design the secret service detail did not want anyone to know he was flying in and thus landed in the middle of the night unannounced to “most”.

An overt detail is the exact opposite.  During an overt operation a lot more, details are made available outside the protection team.  Public Affairs office and media teams have more situational awareness on when the principal is to arrive at least down to the day and sometimes the hour.  The planned itinerary is made available to more personnel.  Especially when there may be a planned speech to be given at a specific location at a specific time.  I feel this makes the job of the protection team much more difficult.  The counter-surveillance team has a lot more responsibility to ensure the information that is made available to the public is not used to plan a coordinated attack.  The cons to this type of detail include additional manpower and resources to “lock-down” a specific area more because the public is more in tuned to what and when is exactly going to occur.

Nick

McGovern, G. (2011). Protective Operations: A Handbook for Security and Law Enforcement.  Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook?sid=71c2fbb7-974b-41b6-9700-7db9e5cf88e6%40pdc-v-sessmgr01&ppid=pp_Cover&vid=0&format=EB