Elaine Duke served as the Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. An accomplished leader and a civil servant, Deputy Secretary Duke served in the federal government for nearly three decades, including as DHS’s Senate-confirmed Under Secretary for Management, where she was responsible for the Department’s management functions and corresponding $47 billion budget. Prior to her appointment, she served both as the Department’s Deputy Under Secretary for Management and Chief Procurement Officer. She also served as Deputy Assistant Administrator for Acquisition at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), delivering an acquisition program that met the post 9/11 legislative mandate to federalize passenger and baggage screening at U.S. airports. Prior to her service at DHS, Deputy Secretary Duke held various positions with the U.S. Department of Defense. She is a member of Homeland Security Today’s Editorial Board.
9/11 seems like yesterday, yet so far in the past.
The memories I have from that day will be burned in my conscious forever. At the time, I worked for the Smithsonian Institution and many news outlets reported that the National Mall was the second site, or soon to be second site, after the Twin Towers in New York City was hit at 8:14 am that morning.
I headed on to the National Mall and there was total chaos. Gridlock — as cars tried to leave the city over the constricted bridges. People running to get away. And most of all, people trying to communicate and find out what was happening.
I was able to join a group in the Smithsonian Castle building office with a television. The news then soon reported that the Pentagon had been hit. Some of my feelings were personal, and somewhat selfish: how will I get home to Virginia past the Pentagon? Are my sons ok? How can I reach them to let them know I’m ok? I wonder if it was the Navy part of the Pentagon that was hit where I knew so many people? But overwhelming, my feelings were how could this happen? To the United States? To those iconic buildings? To our great country?
And those questions linger today and are the number one reason why we can never forget the attacks of September 11th.
We are great country. We remain under attack by countries that envy our stature, our democracy, our economy, and our resolve. We must stay vigilant to this threat while remaining a valued partner in the international system. We must promote our security and help allies build their security. And we must never be complacent in our security.
The daily intelligence reminds us of that fact.
We also must not let our foes divide us. Today we are being told we are an internally divided country. Some seek to fuel hate and intolerance. But when one brushes away the hype and we talk with our neighbors, you can see that we, underneath the sensationalism and inaccurate news, are a people more alike to each other than different. The values of our founding fathers remain deep.
We must unite on commonalities – tolerate and not divide on differences- and stand strong together.