HLSS502Wk6

Terrorist A�acks upon the United States

The Na�onal Commission on Terrorist A�acks upon the United States (9/11 Commission, 2004) iden�fied in their recommenda�ons that “Emergency response agencies na�onwide should adopt the Incident Command System (ICS). When mul�ple jurisdic�ons are involved, they should adopt a unified command” (p. 397). NIMS addresses the increased complexity of disaster response opera�ons through its Incident Command System Unified Command (UC) model. The UC model serves to bring together the Incident Commanders (ICs) of the major responding organiza�ons so that a coordinated response can be realized, while maintaining each organiza�on’s legal and jurisdic�onal mandates (DHS, 2008a). The UC links the organiza�ons responding to the incident and provides a forum for these en��es to make consensus decisions.

In examining the concept of unified command, it will help to have an understanding of some of the key terms as they are defined by NIMS. These terms are:

Command - “The act of direc�ng, ordering, or controlling by virtue of explicit statutory, regulatory, or delegated authority” (DHS, 2008a, p. 137). Simply stated, command is the ability to direct an ac�on, ac�vity, or individual. In its fullest sense, command sets direc�on, allocates resources, establishes constraints and defines rela�onships between en��es within and outside of the organiza�on. Incident Commander - “The individual responsible for all incident ac�vi�es, including the development of strategies and tac�cs and the ordering and release of resources. The IC has overall authority and responsibility for conduc�ng incident opera�ons and is responsible for the management of all incident opera�ons at the incident site” (DHS, 2008a, p. 140). In this defini�on, one can see the element of command as a dis�nct component of this individual’s du�es and responsibili�es. Unified Command - “An Incident Command System applica�on used when more than one agency has incident jurisdic�on or when incidents cross poli�cal jurisdic�ons. Agencies work together through the designated members of the UC, o�en the senior persons from agencies and/or disciplines par�cipa�ng in the UC, to establish a common set of objec�ves and strategies and a single Incident Ac�on Plan” (DHS, 2008, p. 149). This defini�on of command differs from the concept of command as iden�fied above. Here one can see that the concept of command, as defined in NIMS is not a component of unified command. In fact, it could be argued that in a unified command se�ng that command of the incident is actually transferred to the Opera�ons

Sec�on Chief, who is tasked with command of the event. As NIMS indicates, the unified command is really an incident management team and not a response command en�ty.

Looking at the above defini�ons, one could reasonably ask the ques�on: Who is in charge of a unified command organiza�on? Smith (2011) found that there was a lack of uniform understanding within the community of major past Incident Commanders of what is considered a successful implementa�on of a unified command organiza�on. However, this same community of individuals were of the belief that disaster response opera�ons should be led by a single individual, even in the unified command configura�on. Overall, the literature does not present a consensus on the ideal leadership model or organiza�onal construct. Some of the research calls for a rigid hierarchical form of leadership (Anonymous, 2006; Mar�n, 2007) and others a more collabora�ve form (Thompson, 2006; Waugh & Streib, 2006; Getha-Taylor, 2007; Lester & Krejci, 2007).

Devi� and Borodzicz (2008) iden�fied the concept of interwoven leadership and the need for crisis leaders to have the ability to empathize with all stakeholders, including those who are being affected by the crisis. They iden�fied the need for crisis leaders to have task skills, interpersonal skills, personal a�ributes and stakeholder awareness interwoven like the strands of a rope.

The readings this week gave a lot of informa�on on the founda�on of emergency management and the issue of leadership in crisis/disaster events. Within those readings was the observa�on that the emergency management system within the U.S. has its founda�ons in response to events rather than having been developed as a considered system (Colle & Rubin, 2012). Disaster response opera�ons have historically been locally led events and the current NIMS construct has con�nued to draw upon the concept that local government is the ini�al responder and decision-maker. While historically a local agency may have been the only resource, the current environment is one where mul�ple agencies are likely to be called upon to support response opera�ons. These agencies may be from the same jurisdic�on or mul�ple jurisdic�ons, including jurisdic�ons from mul�ple states. As you con�nue your studies, think of how this observa�on can be changed and of the contribu�on you can make to that change.