Introduction
Creating an Emergency Response Plan may include many steps, of which planning actions and evaluating the resources are the most critical stages. In planned activities, four groups work in parallel – operations, planning, logistics, and finance and admin sections. These groups have chiefs and are coordinated by Unified Commandment with the representatives from fire, police, FBI, and other departments and agencies. There is also an Incident Commander, who is individually responsible for the plan implementation. This paper aims to describe the actions of the Incident Commander according to the presented scenario.
Including DoD
In the event of a terrorist threat, a Unified Command is formed, including police, fire, EMS, FBI, and other departments, and chiefs appointed for Operations, Planning, Logistics, and Finance and Admin Sections. Typically, the response is highly coordinated, and responsibility is shared between state, local, tribal, and Federal agencies. In response to terrorism incidents, Federal agencies are responsible for various aspects of the joint operation. In particular, the Department of Defense (DoD) is engaged to perform, coordinate, and oversee functions of the US military and national security.
According to the scenario presented, it makes sense to involve the DoD since the terrorists, supposedly AWOLs, pose an extreme threat to the lives of civilians and the military. Besides, since the terrorists are likely AWOL military, the DoD can use its database to identify, locate and apprehend criminals. The DoD should also support the evacuation of poorly protected buildings where the military is located, as they can become the next targets of terrorists.
Therefore, it makes sense to invite DoD for participation in the Operations section. They could also provide support in Logistics when transporting resources. For example, when evacuating buildings, people will need to be transported to a safe place. The affected buildings also need an immediate response from firefighters, ambulance services, and police. These services may encounter an unexpected need for some resources. DoD can provide support in transporting victims of a terrorist attack and supplying the necessary resources to save lives if the forces of firefighters, ambulances, and police are insufficient.
In the scenario presented, DoD is likely to play a crucial role in catching the criminals by participating in the investigation – providing the FBI with a database where information about terrorists can be found. Besides, DoD can use the latest military equipment to capture terrorists. For example, it can be satellite tracking systems, thermal imagers, GPS location systems, wiretapping, and call registration systems. Finally, the DoD maintains units of trained and trained US military members who, if necessary, can participate in a joint operation to neutralize terrorists.
As a result of all sections’ combined efforts, the chances of an effective response to a terrorist incident threat will increase dramatically. It is the reason why all local and federal agencies and departments are involved in the rescue operation. It is important to keep in mind that human lives’ safety is the priority and the capture of terrorists is the second priority in such operations when conducting a response.
Evaluating the Resources and Recommending Courses of Action
When developing a city Response Plan, it is necessary to describe the tasks to be performed by “specific agencies at projected times and specific locations, based on established goals, assumptions, and an assessment of capabilities” (National Response Plan, 2004). When developing a plan, the first step is to carry out a risk assessment, as this will identify the resources needed and develop an action plan. When determining the necessary resources, it should be borne in mind that the entire plan’s main priority is life safety. The second priority is to stabilize the incident and minimize potential damage.
Next, actions should target “locating, accessing, rendering safe, controlling, containing, recovering, or disposing of a WMD that has not yet functioned, and disposing of CBRNE material” in coordination with appropriate agencies, and “prosecuting perpetrators of terrorist threats or incidents” (National Response Plan, 2004). Incident Commander also has to find a trusted media source that can inform the population accurately since it will reduce chaos and stress; another necessary action is evacuation.
In case of the terrorist incident, Incident Commander and Unified Commandment should check “unique resources that are available through State authorities, like National Guard units, and unique resources available to State and local jurisdictions through Federal authorities like the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile,” a national asset providing delivery of drugs and vaccines” (National Incident Management System, 2017). Besides, the commandment should check “unique expertise that may be available through academic, research, or private organizations” and “trained and untrained volunteer resources and unsolicited donated goods that arrive at the incident site” (National Incident Management System, 2017).
The next steps include organization and assignment of responsibilities to local emergency responders, inter-jurisdictional responsibilities, state emergency responders, state and local public health authorities, medical service providers, local emergency planning committees, and federal emergency responders. The commandment has to take care of administration and logistics, considering general support requirements, availability of services, and mutual aid agreements. During the organization and assignment of responsibilities stage, the roles and responsibilities are distributed between jurisdictions and entities of local, inter-jurisdictional, State, tribal and federal jurisdictions.
According to the presented scenario, appropriate courses of action will start with the evacuation of buildings to protect citizens. The second step will be to provide help for fire, police, and ambulance teams to save citizens’ lives and health using the evaluated resources. The third step will be to stabilize the incident and minimize potential damage. To do this, DoD, FBI, police, and other trained staff will create a perimeter around buildings where new explosions have occurred to stop terrorists. In parallel, law enforcement services will interrogate the terrorists who organized the explosion in the first building to find information about the terrorists who organized the next explosions.
Fake negotiations with the terrorists will be held to determine their location. The entire population of the city will be informed about the explosions so that citizens observe safety rules and, if possible, leave public buildings and find a safe place for shelter. It is also necessary to provide clear and timely information and support to the population. The police can cooperate with citizens who may have witnessed terrorists leaving the building or saw suspicious individuals in the emergency area before or after the bombings.
Cooperation with the US Army
The Incident Commander bears individual responsibility for on-scene incident activities, develops incident objectives, orders, and releases the resources. Moreover, the Incident Commander “has overall authority and responsibility for conducting incident operations” (Managing the emergency consequences of terrorist incidents, 2002). Noteworthy, after managing terrorist incidents in the 1990s, common planning errors were identified as commanders took too much time to figure out which agency, department, or other organization could address the problem. There were also inconsistencies regarding who determined and was responsible for providing appropriate resources – local or state governments. Therefore, it is better to agree on such issues in advance, since in the process of responding to the incident, every minute can cost a human life.
It has been observed that during emergencies, many agencies and departments are neglected and not involved in a joint operation. The US Department of Homeland Security has developed a list of organizations that could provide significant assistance but were not addressed for some reasons in the past (National Incident Management System, 2017). Among them, there are frequently neglected military organizations, including State National Guard troops, if the state is a member of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC). On the one hand, the military is considered the last resort, and it can only be addressed through the Lead Federal Agency. On the other hand, there is an exception in the management system when there is “a military garrison in the community’s immediate vicinity” (National Incident Management System, 2017). In such a case, the garrison commander can command troops to participate in the joint operation to help save lives.
According to the scenario presented, there is an urgent necessity for any support. Therefore, as an Incident Commander, I will oversee posting US Army personnel in strategic city locations during a terrorist attack. Doing so will help to detain the terrorists and prevent new explosions, thus saving lives. Besides, the military can participate in the rescue operations at the sites of the buildings where the explosions happened.
Conclusion
Thus, the actions of the Incident Commander according to the presented scenario were described. The first steps after evaluating the resources, which may consist of the human and other resources of all local, state, and federal agencies and departments, were ensuring the safety of people and providing support for fire, police, and medical teams who were taking care in the joint rescue operation. It was decided to cooperate with the DoD and local military forces to ensure the action plan is implemented accurately and timely.
References
Managing the emergency consequences of terrorist incidents. (2002). Web.
National Incident Management System. (2017). Web.
National Response Plan: Terrorism incident law enforcement and investigation annex. (2004). Web.