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Terrorism How Agencies Work Together Thesis

It is important to note that in the event of a terrorist incident, local first responders would be the first on the scene, and it is imperative that incident commanders gain control or at least understand the complexities of the situation. However, there are national agencies, under the guidance of FEMA and other government agencies, that offer national response coordination 24/7 every day of the year. These organizations train in every state, and would eventually coordinate the response operations for a major terrorist incident in the country. The Department of Health and Human Services Web site notes, "The Secretary's Operations Center (SOC) is directly connected to the DHS National Operations Center and the FEMA National Response Operations Center. It serves as the focal point for situational awareness, information management and response coordination for HHS" (Yeskey, 2007). The Secretary also notes there are plans to supply equipment, medical supplies, medical supplies, and more that are in place in case of any type of terrorist incident. In addition, other agencies offer similar terror response units. A group of writers note, "On April 4, 1996, the Marine Corps established the Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF) as an immediate terrorism response force capable of deploying anywhere in the world on short notice and remaining deployed for up to 3 weeks if responding outside the Continental United States" (Hill, Galarneau, Pang, and Konoske, 2006, p. 24). These units and others like them help local agencies, where applicable, and are consistently training in terrorism response techniques to keep them alert and always ready for any incident. One of the biggest challenges of responding to a terrorist incident is communications. Many emergency responders use divergent radio codes to communicate, and this can lead to huge problems with communications. The Responder knowledge base Web site notes, "The complexities and difficulties of sharing data and information that is critical to an effective, safe, and timely coordinated response is at the core of this NTRO" ("Emergency...

The IC must know how to communicate with the many different agencies, and must make sure information is shared between them in a timely manner.
Another important aspect of the response to a terrorist incident is learning from the mistakes of past operations. The Secretary of HHS notes, "Despite the successes, we also identified areas for improvement. Efforts are already underway to take the lessons learned in TopOff 4 and incorporate them into the RDD playbook" (Yeskey, 2007). Learning from terrorism incidents prepares responders for the future, and helps in preparedness training, as well, so it is an important aspect of the recovery period of the incident.

In conclusion, preparedness is a key factor in response to any terrorist incident, because there are so many different agencies coordinating the response, and so many different factors to look out for. Responders have to be aware of a variety of issues, from biological weaponry to further attacks, and they also have to know how to rescue victims in dire situations, and how to clean up after a terrorist attack. There are medical, health, and public safety issues, and interagency preparation and planning are the keys to a successful response to a terrorist incident.

References

Editors. (2009). About us. Retrieved 7 April 2009 from the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium Web site: http://www.ndpc.us/about_ndpc.html.

Editors. (2009). Emergency management preparation and planning. Retrieved 7 April 2009 from the FEMA.gov/Responder Knowledge Base Web site: https://www.rkb.us/contentdetail.cfm?content_id=20334.

Hill, M., Galarneau, M., Pang, G., & Konoske, P. (2006). Preparing for the worst: Using modeling to determine medical supply requirements for terrorism response. The Forensic Examiner, 15(1), 24+.

Yeskey, K. (2007). Preparing the nation for radiation and nuclear terrorist events. Retrieved 7 April 2009 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Web site: http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/2007/11/t20071115f.html.

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References

Editors. (2009). About us. Retrieved 7 April 2009 from the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium Web site: http://www.ndpc.us/about_ndpc.html.

Editors. (2009). Emergency management preparation and planning. Retrieved 7 April 2009 from the FEMA.gov/Responder Knowledge Base Web site: https://www.rkb.us/contentdetail.cfm?content_id=20334.

Hill, M., Galarneau, M., Pang, G., & Konoske, P. (2006). Preparing for the worst: Using modeling to determine medical supply requirements for terrorism response. The Forensic Examiner, 15(1), 24+.

Yeskey, K. (2007). Preparing the nation for radiation and nuclear terrorist events. Retrieved 7 April 2009 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Web site: http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/2007/11/t20071115f.html.
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