Understanding and First Response to National Security
Alert Codes from the US Department of Homeland Security.
The Homeland Security Advisory System is designed to
target our protective measures when specific information
to a specific sector or geographic region is received.
It combines threat information with vulnerability
assessments and provides communications to public safety
officials and the public.
The following information describes responsible
safety and security emergency management during elevated
National Security Alerts. The information is provided to
help facilities recognize and respond to, by
descending order of severity, the Five National Security
Alert Codes; Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue and Green.
Be prepared, if notified by Local Police.
Homeland Security Presidential Directive-3
The Nation requires a Homeland Security
Advisory System to provide a comprehensive and effective
means to disseminate information regarding the risk of
terrorist acts to Federal, State, and local authorities
and to the American people. Such a system would provide
warnings in the form of a set of graduated "Threat
Conditions" that would increase as the risk of the
threat increases. At each Threat Condition, Federal
departments and agencies would implement a corresponding
set of "Protective Measures" to further reduce
vulnerability or increase response capability during a
period of heightened alert.
This system is intended to create a
common vocabulary, context, and structure for an ongoing
national discussion about the nature of the threats that
confront the homeland and the appropriate measures that
should be taken in response. It seeks to inform and
facilitate decisions appropriate to different levels of
government and to private citizens at home and at work.
Homeland Security Advisory System
The Homeland Security Advisory System shall be binding
on the executive branch and suggested, although
voluntary, to other levels of government and the private
sector. There are five Threat Conditions, each
identified by a description and corresponding color.
From lowest to highest, the levels and colors are:
Low = Green;
Guarded = Blue;
Elevated = Yellow;
High = Orange;
Severe = Red.
The higher the Threat Condition, the
greater the risk of a terrorist attack. Risk includes
both the probability of an attack occurring and its
potential gravity. Threat Conditions shall be assigned
by the Attorney General in consultation with the
Assistant to the President for Homeland Security. Except
in exigent circumstances, the Attorney General shall
seek the views of the appropriate Homeland Security
Principals or their subordinates, and other parties as
appropriate, on the Threat Condition to be assigned.
Threat Conditions may be assigned for the entire Nation,
or they may be set for a particular geographic area or
industrial sector. Assigned Threat Conditions shall be
reviewed at regular intervals to determine whether
adjustments are warranted.
For facilities, personnel, and
operations inside the territorial United States, all
Federal departments, agencies, and offices other than
military facilities shall conform their existing threat
advisory systems to this system and henceforth
administer their systems consistent with the
determination of the Attorney General with regard to the
Threat Condition in effect.
The assignment of a Threat Condition
shall prompt the implementation of an appropriate set of
Protective Measures. Protective Measures are the
specific steps an organization shall take to reduce its
vulnerability or increase its ability to respond during
a period of heightened alert. The authority to craft and
implement Protective Measures rests with the Federal
departments and agencies. It is recognized that
departments and agencies may have several preplanned
sets of responses to a particular Threat Condition to
facilitate a rapid, appropriate, and tailored response.
Department and agency heads are respon-sible for
developing their own Protective Measures and other
antiterrorism or self-protection and continuity plans,
and resourcing, rehearsing, documenting, and maintaining
these plans. Likewise, they retain the authority to
respond, as necessary, to risks, threats, incidents, or
events at facilities within the specific jurisdiction of
their department or agency, and, as authorized by law,
to direct agencies and industries to implement their own
Protective Measures. They shall continue to be
responsible for taking all appropriate proactive steps
to reduce the vulnerability of their personnel and
facilities to terrorist attack. Federal department and
agency heads shall submit an annual written report to
the President, through the Assistant to the President
for Homeland Security, describing the steps they have
taken to develop and implement appropriate Protective
Measures for each Threat Condition. Governors, mayors,
and the leaders of other organizations are encouraged to
conduct a similar review of their organizations=
Protective Measures.
The decision whether to publicly
announce Threat Conditions shall be made on a
case-by-case basis by the Attorney General in
consultation with the Assistant to the President for
Homeland Security. Every effort shall be made to share
as much information regarding the threat as possible,
consistent with the safety of the Nation. The Attorney
General shall ensure, consistent with the safety of the
Nation, that State and local government officials and
law enforcement authorities are provided the most
relevant and timely information. The Attorney General
shall be responsible for identifying any other
information developed in the threat assessment process
that would be useful to State and local officials and
others and conveying it to them as permitted consistent
with the constraints of classification. The Attorney
General shall establish a process and a system for
conveying relevant information to Federal, State, and
local government officials, law enforcement authorities,
and the private sector expeditiously.
The Director of Central Intelligence and
the Attorney General shall ensure that a continuous and
timely flow of integrated threat assessments and reports
is provided to the President, the Vice President,
Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, the
Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, and
the Assistant to the President for National Security
Affairs. Whenever possible and practicable, these
integrated threat assessments and reports shall be
reviewed and commented upon by the wider interagency
community.
A decision on which Threat Condition to
assign shall integrate a variety of considerations. This
integration will rely on qualitative assessment, not
quantitative calculation. Higher Threat Conditions
indicate greater risk of a terrorist act, with risk
including both probability and gravity. Despite best
efforts, there can be no guarantee that, at any given
Threat Condition, a terrorist attack will not occur. An
initial and important factor is the quality of the
threat information itself. The evaluation of this threat
information shall include, but not be limited to, the
following factors:
-
To what degree is the threat
information credible?
-
To what degree is the threat
information corroborated?
-
To what degree is the threat
specific and/or imminent?
-
How grave are the potential
consequences of the threat?
Threat Conditions and Associated
Protective Measures
The world has changed since September
11, 2001. We remain a Nation at risk to terrorist
attacks and will remain at risk for the foreseeable
future. At all Threat Conditions, we must remain
vigilant, prepared, and ready to deter terrorist
attacks. The following Threat Conditions each represent
an increasing risk of terrorist attacks. Beneath each
Threat Condition are some suggested Protective Measures,
recognizing that the heads of Federal departments and
agencies are responsible for developing and implementing
appropriate agency-specific Protective Measures:
-
CODE
GREEN: A low condition or low risk of terrorist attack.
