Homeland Security Behind the Redwood Curtain

Abstract

Humboldt County, California, is about as far removed from Washington, D.C., as a person can get in the continental United States. Located 200 miles north of San Francisco, Humboldt County is literally and figuratively separated from the rest of the country by thousands of acres of giant redwood trees that the locals call the Redwood Curtain. I traveled to this remote part of America shortly after the five-year anniversary of September 11th to seek perspective on my life and profession as a homeland security official. Walking at the feet of these giants, I was humbled by their sense of grace, majesty, and timelessness. The front-page newspaper stories from yesterday, last year, or even the past decade seemed somehow less urgent when surrounded by living creatures that measure time not in days and years, but rather in centuries. The mid-day sun barely penetrated the leafy canopy, creating a surreal twilight that played tricks with the eye and the mind.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2007
Accession Number
ADA484132

Entities

People

  • Judy Boyd

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artillery
  • California
  • Communities
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Governments
  • Homeland Defense
  • Homeland Security
  • Mobile Phones
  • Money
  • National Security
  • New York
  • Organizational Structure
  • Security
  • Societies
  • State Governments
  • Terrorists
  • United States

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Forest Ecology
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.