Groundbreaking for Homeland Security home

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- On the eve of the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Washington notables broke ground for the future home of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

When completed, the massive project will bring together more than 15,000 employees scattered in 35 Washington-area offices and place them on a 176-acre campus in a neglected corner of the city, five miles from the U.S. Capitol building, CNN reported.

Department leaders hope the $3.4 billion consolidation will help the department fulfill its core mission -- protecting U.S. territory from terrorist attacks and responding to natural disasters.

"It will help us hold meetings," CNN quoted Secretary Janet Napolitano as saying. "It will help us build that culture of 'One DHS.'"

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Ind-Conn., an early advocate for creating the department, likened the creation of the headquarters to the creation of the Pentagon, the U.S. Defense Department headquarters. Ground was broken for the Pentagon Sept. 11, 1941, exactly 60 years before the 2001 terrorist attacks, he said.

During the 2011 attacks, hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 was crashed into the Pentagon's western side, killing 189 people, including 64 people aboard the plane and 125 working in the building

While the Defense Department is charged with military actions abroad, Homeland Security works in the civilian sphere to protect the United States against domestic emergencies, particularly terrorism.