The Culture Clash. Putting anything together - companies (think AOL Time Warner), people (think John Singleton and anybody) - can be difficult. Cobbling together 22 entities would send even the most experienced change management gurus rushing for the beta blockers. It's making these disparate cultures work together, particularly when it comes to information sharing, that may well be the hardest piece of the homeland security puzzle. "You're bringing in 22 different families with 22 family histories," says ITAA's Colton. "Whoever takes the secretary job has a huge managerial challenge to get the disparate corporate cultures to integrate. It may take four to five years to do."

The US federal government is a vast collection of agencies and departments whose employees have never had much reason or incentive to think of themselves as part of a larger enterprise. Their interactions in many cases are minimal. And many of the agencies have long histories. Customs, for example, dates back to 1789. "We have our own flag, our own uniform. Same thing with the Coast Guard," Hall says. He raises the issue of whether those entities would keep their own uniforms or adopt new, standard uniforms.

Uniforms may sound like a minor issue, but when it comes to mergers, what's trivial to one person can be a deal-breaker to another. Multiply that type of decision a thousand or ten thousand times and you get a clearer picture of the mammoth task that lies ahead. IBM's Wells says flatly, "Overcoming all the barriers created by an accumulation of a thousand years of organisational existence will be the toughest challenge."

WHAT LIES IN THE BALANCE

With so many technological and change management hurdles to overcome, it would not be surprising if DHS achieved only partial success in its mission or even failed outright. Yet there are two reasons why DHS might surprise the sceptics. The first is that reorganisation of the US federal government is a good idea. "I would suggest the world has changed considerably since the 1940s, especially in the use of IT products," Flyzik says. "I think it's long overdue that somebody take a look at the government from a functional view instead of an agency-by-agency view. And that's what's being done here." His voice picks up as he asks, rhetorically, How many agencies at the federal, state and local level are involved with border crossings? More than 40, he announces, which means that if you're an importer or exporter, you might be required to fill out papers for more than 40 different entities. "I think what the President and governor [Ridge] are doing here is absolutely right on, and in the end, we'll not only have a more secure country, we'll have a more efficient government."

The second, and more important, reason that this department can succeed is its mission: to save lives and protect property. That will be incentive enough for many people to discard their agency hats for new, larger-size homeland security headgear. September 11 singed a permanent memory in America's psyche, and that includes the DHS workers who patrol the border, respond to disasters and analyse intelligence day in and day out. Their commitment to defend the nation will, at a minimum, give the new department a fighting chance.

The Proposed Department of Homeland Security

Take the 22 agencies and programs listed below. Then integrate them. Easy? No way

CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, RADIOLOGICAL AND NUCLEAR COUNTERMEASURES

Civilian Biodefense Research Programs (HHS) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (DoE) National Biowarfare Defence Analysis Centre (new) Plum Island Animal Disease Centre (USDA)

INFORMATION ANALYSIS AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION

Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office (Commerce) Federal Computer Incident Response Centre (GSA) National Communications System (DoD) National Infrastructure Protection Centre (FBI) National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Centre (DoE)

BORDER AND TRANSPORTATION SECURITY

Immigration and Naturalisation Service (DoJ) Customs Service (Treasury) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA) Coast Guard (DoT) Federal Protective Services (GSA) Transportation Security Agency (DoT)

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE

Federal Emergency Management Agency Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Response Assets (HHS) Domestic Emergency Support Team* Nuclear Incident Response (DoE) Office of Domestic Preparedness (DoJ)** National Domestic Preparedness Office (FBI)

SECRET SERVICE (TREASURY)

* Interagency group currently mobilised by the Attorney General in response to major incidents. ** Included in FEMA in the president's FY2003 budget requests. Note: This grouping is subject to change by the US Senate. Source: The White House

What skills will the new CIO at the Department of Homeland Security need to bring to the job?

"He or she has to report to the office of the Secretary [of Homeland Security]. If he's three levels away, it won't work . . . The person will need to be a good architectural thinker. It's not building systems; it's merging systems." - JOHN KOSKINEN, CITY ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND PRESIDENT CLINTON'S Y2K CZAR

"Someone who will kick some ass with golf shoes. A nice guy will fail." - DAVID COLTON, VICE PRESIDENT FOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVES, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

"There are [parts] of this job that are broader than, say, being CIO of Commerce. The person can't object to having bodyguards - there's a security clearance aspect. This is like the Henry Kissinger of CIOs." - LARAINE RODGERS, PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ARIZONA PARTNERSHIP FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AND BUSINESS

"The person doesn't need to be a technologist, though he shouldn't be stupid about technology. He needs to have a broad vision of what homeland security is about - that's the most important attribute he can bring to the job." - RAYMOND WELLS, DIRECTOR FOR STRATEGIC TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE APPLICATION AND INTEGRATION MIDDLEWARE DIVISION AT IBM AND FORMER CTO AND CFO OF ALABAMA

"Even within the department [the CIO] will require some pretty impressive negotiation skills on the order of the negotiations between the superpowers." - RON MILLER, DIRECTOR OF IT, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

"The person needs to be a master communicator... somebody that can communicate the vision of what the department is trying to accomplish." - ROCK REGAN, CIO OF CONNECTICUT AND PRESIDENT OF NASCIO