Most recently published
Importance of Presidential Leadership in Emergency Management
Kay C. Goss
November 23, 2016
With over 30 years working in emergency management – 12 years in a state governor’s office, almost 8 years at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as associate director in charge of national preparedness, training, and exercises, and 11 years in the private sector at Electronic Data Systems and Systems
Data Accountability: Starting Over With a New Administration
Michael Jacoby
November 16, 2016
Over the next few months, precious time will be lost trying to quickly update newly elected officials on key health and life safety issues that have been discussed for years among their predecessors and the public. Only time will tell how the new occupants of the White House and Congress
High-Consequence Decisions: What It Takes
Wendy D. Walsh
November 15, 2016
In September 2016, more than 30 people gathered at the Harvard Faculty club to discuss topics related to leadership and the decision-making process. Most in the room had been faced with making critical life-and-death decisions at some point in their careers, and some on a regular basis. These participants were
Summer Air Traffic Delays – Warnings vs. Reality
Leonard J. Marcus
November 9, 2016
The aviation system remains a prime target for terrorists. The traveling public, airlines, and airports grew impatient in the face of long security lines. As a result, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was often in the news, until its leaders undertook a systematic process of transformation to both enhance security
The Human Factors in Leadership Decision Making
Eric J. McNulty
November 1, 2016
Preparedness and response organizations have realized many benefits from adopting the Incident Command System (ICS) and similar formal management structures. Performance, however, depends on how people behave as humans within that system – particularly in stressful, fast-moving environments. Integrating behavioral training into ICS training may help improve performance and outcomes.
Preparedness Perspective – Active Shooters & Lone Wolves
Thomas J. Lockwood and Peter LaPorte
October 26, 2016
Various drills and exercises highlight efforts to protect communities against various types of attacks involving transportation, buildings, historic sites, sporting events, and so on. Attacks and hostage-taking incidents around the world expose vulnerabilities that need to be assessed in all communities to determine: what they need to drill, who
Cambridge Police Introduce First-of-Its-Kind Trauma Training for Officers
Paul Ames
October 26, 2016
On 7 June 2016, the Cambridge (Massachusetts) Police Department conducted a law enforcement officer training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to help bridge the understanding gap between officers and the citizens they serve. The training included more than 20 Cambridge career police officers and more than 15 representatives
Think Tank Discussion: Active Shooter Situations
International Association of Emergency Managers
October 26, 2016
The International Association of Emergency Manager (IAEM) Think Tank on 17 October 2016 focused on active shooter situations from the emergency management perspective. The event was held at the IAEM Annual Conference, with over 250 people attending in person, many on the webinar, and even more over the phone.
Beyond Running, Hiding, and Fighting
Aric Mutchnick
October 19, 2016
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s “Run. Hide. Fight.©” model serves as the foundation for active shooter preparedness. However, it does not address the needs of those with liability and duty-of-care concerns who must manage an event and minimize casualties before police arrive. A new approach to active shooter training
Protecting Civil Liberties for Suspicious Activity Reports
Jerome H. Kahan
October 19, 2016
In the United States, First Amendment rights protect the privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties of citizens. However, in the absence of legal requirements for establishing prior probable cause or reasonable suspicion when reporting suspicious behavior, questions arise about the degree to which the suspicious activity reporting, Nationwide SAR Initiative,
The “Not If, But When” Fallacy: Active Shooter Preparedness
Research Group at University of Maryland
October 12, 2016
The phrase “It’s not if, but when” may distort how certain organizations perceive emergency preparedness, especially in cases such as active shooter threats. This common expression leads to inaccurate threat perceptions and can result in leaders becoming complacent. Emergency managers should be aware of this potential odd pairing of
One Mission for Active Shooter Response: Saving Lives
Richard C. Hunt
October 12, 2016
“Law enforcement and healthcare organizations – including emergency medical services (EMS), trauma centers, and other hospitals – have a common mission in active shooter attacks: saving lives. Law enforcement stops the shooter, healthcare stops the bleeding, but both must work together to ensure early access to victims and their rapid
Meta-Leadership 2.0: More Critical Than Ever
Leonard J. Marcus
November 23, 2016
Over the past decade, meta-leadership, a methodology developed at the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard, has become a widely adopted framework for leading in emergency preparedness and response. Over that time, both the model and methods have advanced based on field experience. This article presents the latest thinking and
Importance of Presidential Leadership in Emergency Management
Kay C. Goss
November 23, 2016
With over 30 years working in emergency management – 12 years in a state governor’s office, almost 8 years at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as associate director in charge of national preparedness, training, and exercises, and 11 years in the private sector at Electronic Data Systems and Systems
Data Accountability: Starting Over With a New Administration
Michael Jacoby
November 16, 2016
Over the next few months, precious time will be lost trying to quickly update newly elected officials on key health and life safety issues that have been discussed for years among their predecessors and the public. Only time will tell how the new occupants of the White House and Congress
High-Consequence Decisions: What It Takes
Wendy D. Walsh
November 15, 2016
In September 2016, more than 30 people gathered at the Harvard Faculty club to discuss topics related to leadership and the decision-making process. Most in the room had been faced with making critical life-and-death decisions at some point in their careers, and some on a regular basis. These participants were
Summer Air Traffic Delays – Warnings vs. Reality
Leonard J. Marcus
November 9, 2016
The aviation system remains a prime target for terrorists. The traveling public, airlines, and airports grew impatient in the face of long security lines. As a result, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was often in the news, until its leaders undertook a systematic process of transformation to both enhance security
The Human Factors in Leadership Decision Making
Eric J. McNulty
November 1, 2016
Preparedness and response organizations have realized many benefits from adopting the Incident Command System (ICS) and similar formal management structures. Performance, however, depends on how people behave as humans within that system – particularly in stressful, fast-moving environments. Integrating behavioral training into ICS training may help improve performance and outcomes.
Preparedness Perspective – Active Shooters & Lone Wolves
Thomas J. Lockwood and Peter LaPorte
October 26, 2016
Various drills and exercises highlight efforts to protect communities against various types of attacks involving transportation, buildings, historic sites, sporting events, and so on. Attacks and hostage-taking incidents around the world expose vulnerabilities that need to be assessed in all communities to determine: what they need to drill, who
Cambridge Police Introduce First-of-Its-Kind Trauma Training for Officers
Paul Ames
October 26, 2016
On 7 June 2016, the Cambridge (Massachusetts) Police Department conducted a law enforcement officer training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to help bridge the understanding gap between officers and the citizens they serve. The training included more than 20 Cambridge career police officers and more than 15 representatives
Think Tank Discussion: Active Shooter Situations
International Association of Emergency Managers
October 26, 2016
The International Association of Emergency Manager (IAEM) Think Tank on 17 October 2016 focused on active shooter situations from the emergency management perspective. The event was held at the IAEM Annual Conference, with over 250 people attending in person, many on the webinar, and even more over the phone.
Beyond Running, Hiding, and Fighting
Aric Mutchnick
October 19, 2016
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s “Run. Hide. Fight.©” model serves as the foundation for active shooter preparedness. However, it does not address the needs of those with liability and duty-of-care concerns who must manage an event and minimize casualties before police arrive. A new approach to active shooter training
Protecting Civil Liberties for Suspicious Activity Reports
Jerome H. Kahan
October 19, 2016
In the United States, First Amendment rights protect the privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties of citizens. However, in the absence of legal requirements for establishing prior probable cause or reasonable suspicion when reporting suspicious behavior, questions arise about the degree to which the suspicious activity reporting, Nationwide SAR Initiative,
The “Not If, But When” Fallacy: Active Shooter Preparedness
Research Group at University of Maryland
October 12, 2016
The phrase “It’s not if, but when” may distort how certain organizations perceive emergency preparedness, especially in cases such as active shooter threats. This common expression leads to inaccurate threat perceptions and can result in leaders becoming complacent. Emergency managers should be aware of this potential odd pairing of
The Danger of Not Keeping Up With Technological Advances
Melissa Moses
September 21, 2016
The internet has revolutionized the way modern populations live their lives. From communication to commerce, the internet has changed the way people fundamentally operate. This extends to the life sciences as well. Technology and equipment once only found in research laboratories or universities can now be ordered online and shipped
Hazard Detection: “Bring Your Own Protection”
Kathryn Laskey
September 20, 2016
Current approaches for ensuring public safety rely on expensive and obtrusive equipment and procedures having limited availability and inadequate performance. Newly emerging wearable sensors have the potential to spark a fundamental change in this equation. Researchers at George Mason University are investigating a new concept called “Bring Your Own Protection” (BYOP).Chemical and
Major Themes From the 2016 Aspen Security Forum
Erik S. Gaull
September 14, 2016
The 2016 Aspen Security Forum was held from July 27 to July 30 in Aspen, Colorado. Over the past seven years, the forum, hosted by the Aspen Institute, has earned a well-deserved reputation as the most important venue for thought leadership in the homeland and national security arenas, attracting distinguished
Technology for Improved Public Health Preparedness & Response
Greg Burel
September 7, 2016
Planning the response to a public health emergency can be a daunting endeavor. Many factors in multiple complex systems contribute to the potential for success in executing these plans at every level of the response. Preparedness planners have to consider these many factors to ensure that their plans can work
The Things That Keep Experts Up at Night
Catherine L. Feinman
August 31, 2016
DomPrep wanted to know what still keeps experts up at night. To answer this question, DomPrep hosted and Ron Vidal, a partner at Blackrock 3 Partners, moderated a panel discussion on 17 June 2016 at the Annual International Hazardous Materials Response Teams Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. This article summarizes that
Challenges of Evolving Threats & Changing Expectations
Robert Maloney
August 23, 2016
The “things that keep me up at night” are much more numerous and remarkably different than emergency management 15 years ago. There is no time to rest. The nature of emergencies has changed, complicated by the fact that new threats of intentional incidents using chemical, biological, and other weapons must
CBRNE Training – Part 1
Joseph J. Leonard Jr.
August 23, 2016
In today’s climate of austere budgets, federal, state, local, tribal, and private sector training managers need to get the most out of the scarce dollars that are available. A risk-based approach and assessment will help discern who needs what training, the specific levels of that training, and refresher training requirements.
Using Typing to Define Hazmat Team Capabilities
Anthony S. Mangeri
August 17, 2016
The only way to be prepared is to be well trained and well educated, which are essential components to effectively respond to and mitigate threats from chemical, biological, and radiological incidents. Evidence-based response requires the knowledge of the threat, training in skills needed to be effective, and the ability –
The Goal That Keeps Equipment Manufacturers Up at Night
Patrick Call
August 17, 2016
First responder safety is the immediate goal when approaching and operating in an emergency response scenario. Not only does keeping personnel safe keep experts up at night, it is a priority for equipment manufacturers responsible for the design, function, and purpose of responder tools used in dangerous situations and environments.
How to Address the Human Side of Critical Incidents
George S. Everly Jr.
August 17, 2016
Most chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosive (CBRNE) critical incidents differ from more common hazardous materials (hazmat) events by virtue of four factors: broader scope, enhanced physical toxicity, malicious intent, and the potential to do the unimaginable. The net effect is new levels of stress and psychological toxicity.
Suspicious Activity Reporting – A Job for Everyone
Jerome H. Kahan
August 10, 2016
Law enforcement personnel operating in their communities have been trained to report suspicious activity sightings to their headquarters. Firefighters, emergency medical service providers, public health officials, and other first responders have been asked to “Remain Alert for Suspicious Activity.” Now, every citizen and visitor plays a critical role in preventing
Innovative Approaches to Radiological/Nuclear Preparedness
Erin Mohres and Darren Chen
August 10, 2016
Radiological and nuclear sources pose a wider variety of threats than many realize. By understanding the threat and leveraging federal requirements such as the Threat and Hazardentification and Risk Assessment (THIRA), emergency managers can better equip themselves and their communities to prevent, protect against, and respond to incidents related to
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