Ezekiel 38:7 counsels one to: “Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies
that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them.” (New King James Version Bible, 1982).
Mitigation and preparedness are two of the four key emergency management functions. Without
preparation and mitigation, any crisis that occurs would prove disastrously difficult to overcome
and subsequently recover from. The Bible forewarns us about the necessity and value of
preparedness. As a nation we must forecast future dangers, implement preventative measures,
and identify contingencies for instances in which attacks or other worst-case scenarios become
realized. Mitigation is the intervention before a threat or disaster takes place (Nemeth, 2017).
The result of properly implemented mitigation can be exemplified by an overall reduction in
casualties and property damage (Nemeth, 2017). Unfortunately, this emergency function may not
always suffice in the face of homeland threats; conversely, mitigation is tremendously effective
in limiting the overall scope and consequence of natural disasters (Nemeth, 2017). To effectively
mitigate risks from a disaster, one must prepare. To effectively prepare, any and all public and
private agencies, communities, and those who may be affected should stand ready to deal with
the threat in an operative manner (Nemeth, 2017).
As the new emergency manager, it will be my duty to ensure the agency fully understands
how to prepare for an assortment of potential hazards and threats, while also being able to
identify the sequential mitigatory measures that must accompany said dangers. To do so, I must
personally prepare by assessing my goals for the organization and creating a mission for the
agency to follow. This would require evaluating what needs improving within the agency,
forming a budget the agency must work within, identifying what threats or hazards we will have
to prioritize, pinpointing what resources will be necessary to accomplish everyday duties, and
discerning what background, credentials, traits, and skills perspective hires must demonstrate to
be considered for a role aboard the agency.
The mission of the agency will primarily focus on preparing for and responding to
national emergencies. The core values to achieve this mission would include: improving
information analysis and improving American infrastructure. To ensure the American
infrastructure is protected would require ongoing updates to systems, procedures, and
documentation. Plans to ensure the agency’s effectiveness require resources to be targeted on
what may transpire, favoring a proactive approach over a reactive approach.
After the mission and goals for the agency are established, I would initiate the hiring
process. This would require identifying qualified individuals, who will be vetted to ensure they
are able to help achieve the agency’s core mission. Once the team has been formed, training will
commence. The training will help the team understand the mission of the organization and what
each individual’s duties will be in the midst of responding to a crisis. Furthermore, the training
sessions will include case-based learning and simulations. Case-based learning grants the
opportunity to reflect and consider information within a larger framework of contingencies while
simultaneously engaging in critical thinking (Danko, 2020). In this instance, it would involve an
open forum on prior disasters, what was done and what should have been done to help prepare
and mitigate from loss of life and property. This would help everyone understand and share ideas
on what can be done in future instances. Once plans have been created, the agency will practice
executing each plan in different scenarios. These dry runs will ensure everyone knows their role
and will also help to identify any flaws in the plan before full-on integration is finalized. The
purpose of these exercises will be to examine organizations’ capability to prepare for, protect
from, and respond to potential catastrophes (Danko, 2020). These exercises create an opportunity
for experiential learning, a process by which knowledge is cultivated via experience and the
individual is encouraged to develop their skills in a cycle of “experiencing, reflecting, thinking,
and acting,” incorporating new concepts and experiences into existing ones (Danko, 2020).
To be an effective emergency manager, I must achieve interoperability. For this to be
done, I must gain leadership commitment from all disciplines. This includes fire and rescue
services and law enforcement, governmental agencies, and non-governmental entities.
Additionally, I must be able to foster collaboration across these disciplines through leadership
support. This includes working with policymakers to gain leadership commitment and resource
support.
As an emergency manager, it will be my duty to work with different agency leadership to
produce the funds requisite to achieve my organization’s mission. This is particularly relevant to
collaboration with policymakers whose help will be necessary for procuring the identified
resources.
Danko, T. (2020). Perceptions of Gains Through Experiential Learning in Homeland Security
and Emergency Management Education. Journal of Homeland Security Education, 9(3),
1-31.
Nemeth, C. P. (2017). Homeland security: An introduction to principles and practices (3rd ed.).
Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis (CRC Press). ISBN: 9781498749091.
New King James Version Bible. (1982). Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Diana,
I enjoyed reading this week’s discussion board. You asserted in order to evaluate the needs of the
agency, you would need to evaluate the potential problems the community may face. This is a
heady and relevant point. Just as you stated, “an agency serving a coastal community should
have water rescue and flood mitigation preparations.” As the emergency manager in this coastal
community, you would have to evaluate risks and vulnerabilities to focus on during tourism
season. Furthermore, you indicated that proper prep and resource investment are not allocated for
mitigatory functions. This may be due to agencies mistakenly believing mitigation has been
achieved or that mitigation is unnecessary for areas who have not suffered any relatively recent
catastrophes or threats. As the new emergency manager, it is vital to prepare and understand
what risks and vulnerabilities your agency faces. “Planning is a key component of a successful
emergency-management program” (Henkey, 2018). The process of assessing risks can be
complex and time consuming, but it may be the difference in your organization’s ability to
successfully respond to a crisis. You scrutinized the response, or lack thereof, to the pandemic,
but how does an agency truly prepare for circumstances such as this? Typically, drills and
simulations are useful training tools for prepping for precedented or forecasted threats, but no
one could truly prepare for what hit communities across the globe. Word of a pandemic broke
quickly, and new data, updates, and sometimes contradictory information began emerging
rapidly (Retzlaff, 2020). Emergency responses to the pandemic were ever-morphing,
contributing to even greater instability amongst leaders and staff members in governmental and
non-governmental organizations (Retzlaff, 2020). Said instability obscured any vision for how to
effectively mitigate and recover, at least in any fashion that could provide true stability and
structure. Even now, how might partners in emergency management prepare for such a
situation? The only solution I can reasonably think of is taking the responsibility to update
American infrastructure.
Retzlaff, K. J. (2020). COVID‐19 emergency management structure and protocols. AORN
Journal, 112(3), 197–203. https://doi.org/10.1002/aorn.13149
Henkey, T. (2018). Assessing Risk in Urban Areas . In Urban emergency management: Planning
and response for the 21st Century. essay, Butterworth-Heinemann.
Amber,
Your plans for the role of the new emergency manager are thorough. I would enjoy knowing
your process for identifying risks and vulnerabilities and what resources you might use in your
role as emergency manager. When you send your team out to complete risk assessment of the
area you manage, what processes do you plan to utilize? FEMA advocates for a five-step process
to achieve a complete risk assessment. Each step builds upon the other, offering a holistic view
of given assets or systems (Henkey, 2018). The process identifies threats and gives a one-
through-three tier rating, with three being assessed as the most extreme high-risk assets (Henkey,
2018). This step determines the types of threats or weapons against which the asset must be
protected. Then an evaluation is rendered on the asset value, its vulnerabilities, risks, and the
options to mitigate. Additionally, would you include the National Threat Assessment Center in
helping make decisions on how to approach managing your agency? The National Threat
Assessment Center would be a great resource in assessing threats and training your employees on
threat assessment and the investigation of threats (Nemeth, 2017). Furthermore, the Emergency
Management Institution would be a great source to ensure those you found not in compliance
with required training receive the necessary instruction. I enjoy your ideas on coordination with
local law enforcement and fire and rescue agencies. For communication between the
organizations, would you ensure a fusion center was created in your area? Additionally, it may
be a great idea to include vetted individuals from local organizations while completing training
exercises. Their familiarity and comfort are assets that would enable them to more quickly
achieve the role’s requisite acumen, even in times of crisis.
Henkey, T. (2018). Assessing Risk in Urban Areas. In Urban emergency management: Planning
and response for the 21st Century. essay, Butterworth-Heinemann.
Nemeth, C. P. (2017). Homeland security: An introduction to principles and practices (3rd ed.).
Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis (CRC Press). ISBN: 9781498749091.
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