Janet Napolitano In the Middle Of Gulf Oil Spill Crisis

Paraphrased by the New York Times in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Disaster as saying:

'she did not know if the Defense Department even had equipment that might be helpful'. (They did...and have for years).

Lesson - This is why politicians have no business in these kinds of positions -- Director of Homeland Security, FBI director, FEMA director, TSA chief, OSHA chief, EPA chief, CDC director, HHS Secretary, FDA director, Consumer Product Safety Commissioners (CPSC), director of MMS, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Secretary of Defense, etc. These are crucial positions that involve emergency management & response, public safety, and national security/defense. They require leaders to have a clue about what the Hell is going on. Heads of these agencies and departments should have some level of expertise and experience in the kinds of work that they are directing.

This is one of the big reasons why I didn't care for her selection for DHS director. She's a politician. Not a national security person. Not an emergency manager. Not a public safety person. Not a law enforcement person. Not a security expert. Not a first responder. You should have some practical experience in at least one of these areas if you are going to be the Homeland Security chief.
There were tons of more qualified individuals (including some Black Americans... although I don't have a racial litmus test) who could have been chosen for this position.