Threats to U.S. Security: Aging Infrastructure, Fragile Systems, and Information Warfare with Dan O’Connor

The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens

The threats facing the United States’ stability seem to be escalating daily - from aging electric grids and deteriorating infrastructure to rising information warfare from domestic and international sources. How are some of the leaders within our institutions approaching these risks to respond with resilience and strengthen our national security?

Today, Nate is joined by national and homeland security authority Dan O’Connor to discuss what he sees as the most pressing risks for the stability and resilience of the United States. Dan emphasizes the critical role of energy in shaping our societal structures and the need for adaptive resilience and personal responsibility in the face of systemic risks.

How is the interference from adversarial information warfare eroding public trust and national resilience? In what ways are cultural fragmentation and worsening health crises accelerating our economic and environmental challenges? And, perhaps most importantly, could the most effective solution to these large-scale systemic challenges lie in embracing personal responsibility and authentic leadership?

(Conversation recorded on February 5th, 2025)

About Dan O’Connor:

Dan O’Connor is a recognized national and homeland security authority with extensive experience in national and homeland security, law enforcement, exigent leadership, crisis management, emergency management, continuity of operations, and security/anti-terrorism.

He has consulted and produced operations for security and emergency management at various Olympic Games, and has been a consultant and key leader/facilitator for four of the largest marathons in the United States and a Super Bowl.

His contributions extend to Operation Allies Welcome, refugee resettlement efforts, and leading responses to over 1,200 federally declared disasters, showcasing his proficiency in operational excellence and crisis management. Recently, he was the only American selected to facilitate a NATO/Eastern European energy and crisis security exercise in Latvia and Lithuania, where his political acumen, vision, conception, and crisis leadership earned special recognition.

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