Author Archive

2010: Will It Be ‘The Year of the IMT’?

Eight years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks U.S. planners say that the nation is now “better” prepared than it was in 2001 – but not yet totally prepared. What they do not say is that total preparedness is a philosophical as well as financial impossibility. Continued improvements are the second

NIMS & ICS: The Next Level

  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) resumed the “next” series of its NIMS (National Incident Management System) Incident Command System (ICS) training in August with the delivery of eight ICS position-specific Train-the-Trainer (T-t-T) programs in College Station, Texas, where the Texas Forest Service (TFS) is headquartered – on the

NIMS: Not a Once and Done Proposition

The “”revolutionary era”” of U.S. homeland security started with the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. A new era, focused on the maintenance and upgrading of hard-earned responder skills, is about to begin.

Changes and Clarifications – NIMS Upgrade Released

On 18 December 2008, long-awaited revisions to the National Incident Management System (NIMS) – officially described as an “upgrade” by the former acting director of the NIMS Integration Center, Albert Fluman – were published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and are now being implemented.The effort to improve the

NIMS Preparedness and Resource Management

One of the core components of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) is Resource Management. Preparedness is another. The other principal components are: Communications and Information Management; Command and Management; and On-Going Management and Maintenance. Because both Resource Management and Preparedness affect and are affected by the other NIMS components

NIMS Training Plans: An Effort Without End

From George Washington’s days to the present, U.S. leaders have adhered to the credo that “Eternal Vigilance” is “the price of freedom.” Today, those wise words of warning are applicable, with only a slight modification, to the efforts of federal, state, and local officials seeking to meet National Incident Management

Incident Action Planning – A Step-by-Step Process

The writing of an Incident Action Plan (IAP) for what is called an “expanding incident” is a long, complex, but also comprehensive process designed to clearly identify incident objectives, strategies, and tactics based on fundamental decisions made by the incident commander (IC) – who is responsible for establishing the incident

Incident Action Planning: Staying the Course

Emergency responders throughout the United States have been working diligently since 2006 to meet the most current compliance criteria for completing intermediate and advanced Incident Command System (ICS) training.  The ICS training stipulated in NIMS (the National Incident Management System) compliance criteria includes the course “Intermediate Incident Command System for

The Whys and Wherefores of NIMS-Compliant Training

The National Incident Management System training guidelines provide an unprecedented opportunity to improve and expand first-responder and emergency-responder capabilities – but some confusion continues about exactly what is required.

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Article Out Loud – A Homeland Vulnerability Continues

  Full article by Robert C. Hutchinson, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, August 7, 2024. In this feature article, a former police chief and deputy special agent in charge with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations in Miami, Florida, revisits the U visa process. The

Article Out Loud – What Level of Ugly Are Communities Prepared For?

  Full article by Joseph J. Leonard Jr., an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, July 31, 2024. In this feature article, a retired U.S. Coast Guard commander reflects on the July 2024 attempted assassination of Former President Donald Trump. That incident raises questions about event security, the roles that

Article Out Loud – Volunteers: Incident Management Assets or Liabilities?

  Full article by David Wells, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, July 31, 2024. In this feature article, the director of disaster relief for a faith-based nonprofit describes how his organization has refined its volunteer program over the past 57 years of disaster response in the U.S. and

Article Out Loud – Mitigating Disasters Through Collective Resilience

  Full article by Andy Altizer and Barrett Cappetto, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, July 24, 2024. In this feature article, an emergency preparedness coordinator and a pipeline controller emphasize the importance of leveraging existing social bonds to help communities better adapt to, respond to, and collectively cope

Article Out Loud – Drones – A Life-Saving Time-Saver

  Full article by Kevin Jones, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, July 24, 2024. In this feature article, a school protection specialist and security manager pulls from his personal experience with law enforcement to highlight drone uses that save lives and time during incidents. As drone technology continues

Article Out Loud – The Key Bridge Collapse – Through the Lens of Community Lifelines

  Full article by Michael Prasad, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, July 17, 2024. In this feature article, a Certified Emergency Manager lists eight major elements of Community Lifelines using traffic-light-type color-coding to categorize a disaster’s adverse impact status. He applied this same system to the Key Bridge collapse

Article Out Loud – The Maui Wildfires, Relief Funds, and Incident Recovery

  Full article by Douglas (Doug) Stockham, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, July 10, 2024. In this feature article, the co-founder of the nonprofit Emergency Assistance Foundation describes the financial effects of the Maui wildfires. When a disaster strikes, some people do not have the protections or the

Article Out Loud – Five Key Domains of Incident Management

  Full article by Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, July 10, 2024. In this feature article, a behavioral social scientist lists five key domains that can help incident management teams assess and improve their effectiveness. Effective incident management is a set of activities, not simply boxes

Article Out Loud – Jane Doe – Responding to Vulnerable Patients

  Full article by Catherine L. Feinman, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, June 26, 2024. In this feature article, the editor of Domestic Preparedness shares the real-life story of a medical crew who responded to a call that left a lasting impression. Despite the prevalence of first responders

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