Specifically, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) is one of the premier law enforcement organizations in the world. However, it was conceived, designed, and structured more for the purpose of investigating past crimes and apprehending and prosecuting criminals. For example, the FBI is, by design, a decentralized agency so that field offices in different states can pursue independent investigations. In the field of counterterrorism, the exact opposite structure is required: the counterterrorism mission demands a highly centralized structure whereby intelligence collected from many different locations and by many different agencies and entities is funneled into an integrated analysis center (Larsen, 2007). In many respects that deficiency still pervades the national homeland security mission, as evidenced by the failure of authorities to identify the perpetrator of the Northwest 253 plot on the basis of information that had previously been made available to the national counterterrorism and intelligence infrastructure.
Weapons of Mass Destruction and Emergency Management
Weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) present a serious concern for the entire emergency response community by virtue of the tremendous damage they are capable of causing to society (DHS-FEMA, 2006; Larsen, 2007). However, in principle, the risk from WMDs is not different from those associated with other risks to public health and safety. Like other types of threats, WMD risks and concerns must be evaluated according to a matrix that represents the magnitude of potential harm in conjunction with the likelihood of an emergency caused by WMD attacks (DHS-FEMA, 2006; Larsen, 2007).
However, from a practical or operational perspective, WMDs merely represent circumstances in which emergency management systems and entities must respond to emergencies likely to be larger in scale and, depending on the particular type and size of the WMD unleashed, that may involve more types of specific concerns simultaneously than most other emergencies or even conventional terrorist attacks (DHS-FEMA, 2006; Larsen, 2007).
Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the types of issues capable of arising in the emergency planning and response that would be required to provide adequate emergency response to any WMD attack. In addition to coordination and communications protocols between and among multiple agencies and entities, the...
FEMA-DHS Should FEMA remain a part of the DHS The issue that will be addressed in this thesis is whether the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should remain a part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Buried among the legislation passed in the aftermath of the September 1 lth terrorist attacks was a provision of H.R. 5005, the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which mandated that the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Create a team that helps facilitate the design of the full-scale exercise program. 2. Coordination Achieve realism via the recruitment of personnel and the development of specific sites. Use fake victims to simulate the emergency Coordinate technologies used in the rescue effort Create and distribute communications related to the full-scale exercise. Arrange for and distribute funding Survey full-scale exercise locations Back-up planning for needed funding or alternative locations 3. Execution Apply available funds Set date and execute Backup personnel 4. Evaluation Formal evaluation, involving
9). The most effective decision-making style a leader can adopt, the one most likely to boost morale especially in stressful or highly charged work environments is sometimes an autocratic style, where the leader maintains control and ownership over all decisions made so that outcomes within an emergent environment are more likely to be predictable (Olmstead, 2002). In cases like this a leader must demonstrate strength, charisma and act in the
This three-phased approach can prevent many usual emergency situations, reduce the impact of actual disasters and speed return to normal. Leadership 2) Disasters such as Hurricane Katrina reinforced miscommunication that occurs when a dedicated incident management system based on the Incident Command System (ICS), is not used throughout the event. Barko (2005) states that National Incident Management Systems (NIMS) recognize that a well-planned and effective emergency response is not completely dependent
FEMA Procedures Response Partner Guide and the Emergency Support Function Annexes from the NRF Transportation (e.g., trains, planes, ships) Through the Emergency Support Function (EFS), the role of transportation and it's support to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is to monitor and manage transportation systems and infrastructure during domestic threats and any responses to an actual incident (Homeland Security, 2008) Telecommunication systems Communications supports the restoration of the communications infrastructure, facilitates the recovery of
Role of FEMA in the Event of a National Grid Outage The objective of this study is to examine the role of FEMA in the event of a national grid outage. This will be accomplished through a review of literature in this area of inquiry. A national grid outage could occur for various reasons including CME flares of the Sun, terrorists attack damaging the grid or weather events that shut the grid
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