The biggest game of America's biggest sport rolls out on the biggest stage with the highest stakes for teams, spectators, and fans.

It's also a pretty big deal for professionals in homeland security and other fields who are charged with securing the build-up, the surrounding festivities, and the big game.

Three officers from different security realms shared their insights into preparing and executing plans to keep the Super Bowl safe and lawful. Although their responsibilities are different, all of them pointed to long periods of lead time and thick networks of partners as keys to success. All three officers explained how their roles extend widely in space and time beyond the game and the stadium.

The population of the United States has surpassed 300 million people, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics of 2007. The official poverty rate for the same year was 12.5%, which corresponds to over 37 million Americans (Project America, 2007). However, living in poverty in the United States cannot be compared to the deep poverty in developing nations. This disparity makes the United States a magnet for illegal immigrants to cross our borders seeking better opportunities, even if they live under American poverty standards...

Today the Department of Homeland Security maintains its initiatives in keeping our country safe, but on the global stage there are still idealistic people numbering in the millions who despise the way of life of the westerner, and plan continuously for our demise. Opportunities, however, still exist which provide a means for the bad guys to create havoc and attempted destruction here in our country. There is still a question which still looms....

Today the Department of Homeland Security maintains its initiatives in keeping our country safe, but on the global stage there are still idealistic people numbering in the millions who despise the way of life of the westerner, and plan continuously for our demise. Opportunities, however, still exist which provide a means for the bad guys to create havoc and attempted destruction here in our country. There is still a question which still looms....

A crisis is brewing in America that necessitates immediate attention by lawmakers before cases of personal liability reach into the billions of dollars. In recent years, hospitals across the nation have had to alter the traditional role of their emergency rooms to accommodate the changes in need of America's health care system....

On Sept. 11, 2001, people all over the world watched a tragedy unfold on national television as the lives of nearly 3,000 were taken in a very public display. Scenes from that day will live on through the memories and stories of survivors and surviving family members, those who bravely rushed to the scene to give aid, and those who viewed it in horror on their TV screen...

DHS defines critical infrastructure as the assets, systems, and networks, whether physical or virtual, that are so vital to the United States that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, public health or safety, or any combination thereof...

U.S. Rep. Billy Long, R-Missouri, one of the 85 freshman Republicans in the 112th Congress, went to work quickly to address a top campaign priority by securing an appointment to the House Homeland Security Committee...