Dr. Onieal discusses professional development of skills for terrorist-incident response in the context of development of standard fire-service skills. An overview of the NFA curriculum http://www.usfa.fema.gov/ and the linkages to state training systems.

DomPrep's John Morton met with Jack Beall, Director, National Disaster Medical System (NDMS). The director of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) briefs the state-of-play in NDMS components. Citing the response to Hurricane Katrina as the largest deployment ever of NDMS assets, he draws parallels between NDMS and National Guard activations.

The federalization of DMAT teams; their responsibilities in mass-casualty events.

The pre-staging coordination and management of DMATs; equipment; increasing the self-sustaining mode from 72 hours to 120 hours.

DMATs are no longer sponsored by local organizations but are now sponsored by the federal government and activated by NDMS.

Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams (DMORTs), Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams (VMATs), National Nursing Response Teams (NNRTs), etc.

Who is responsible for what; patient evacuations and the role of the 62 Federal Coordinating Centers (FCCs); the NDMS Noble Training Center in Anniston, AL.

How the conference www.ndms.chepinc.org will address lessons from the past year’s response efforts. Advance registration required.

DMAT-101, Beall’s brief on Disaster Medical Assistance TeamsDMATs and Emergency Support Function #8 (ESF-8)DMATs Now Federally SponsoredOther NDMS ElementsNDMS Inter-Agency Linkages with ESF-8 PartnersKatrina Overview & Post Event Wrap and the 2006 NDMS Conference in Reno, NV (22-26 April)

DomPrep's John Morton met with Rear Admiral Joseph Nimmich, USCG, Director, Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) Strategy. Rear Admiral Nimmich spells out details of the DHS October 2005 plan to implement a Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) architecture that goes beyond pure intelligence sharing to include broad information sharing. How the MDA architecture will network national as well as interagency, state, local, and private-sector assets to create a common information environment for anomaly detection and command and control (C2).

MDA and the role of the Joint Coast Guard/Navy National Maritime Intelligence Center (NMIC) in Suitland, Maryland, as the central point to fuse, analyze, and disseminate intel for shared situational awareness. National, regional, and local nodes that interact with NMIC for a common MDA implementation environment. Moving away from a “Maritime NORAD” concept to a National MDA concept of operations (ConOps).

Applying U.S. Northern Command (NorthCom) and other national intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) assets to support MDA. Coordination and collaboration with federal, state, local, tribal, and international stakeholders, and the private sector, to implement the MDA architecture. The Port of Charleston, South Carolina, and its Seahawk as an MDA model. How MDA goes beyond intelligence sharing to broad information sharing.

Anomaly detection as a key output from MDA. The Automaticentification System (AIS) and other vessel-tracking reporting systems and the need for a secondary means to validate voluntary reporting. MDA and arriving at information and sensor rule sets for watchstanders for anomaly detection. How MDA serves command and control: a walk-through by Admiral Nimmich of an interdiction scenario that uses MDA inputs.

The argument that validated automatic reporting systems can enhance the efficient flow of commerce. The need to secure such reporting systems against hackers and for protocols to protect private-sector proprietary information vital to competitive advantage.

Interagency input into the DOD and DHS MDA budgets. Sensors and platforms serving MDA-- from the USCG’s Deepwater assets to DOD programs to improve acoustic contactentification, data management, and stand-off detection (e.g., acoustic sensors, unmanned aerial vehicles, (UAVs), and aerostats).

The DHS National Plan to Achieve Maritime Domain AwarenessPartners and Information Sharing Anomaly DetectionPrivate-Sector StakeholdersPrograms, Budgets, and Interagency Buy-Ins

DomPrep's John Morton met with R. James Woolsey, Vice President, Global Resilience, Booz Allen Hamilton.  The former Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) provides his insights into why first responders must be constantly aware of the limitations of intelligence and information-sharing - and, consequently, on the need to emphasize resilience, particularly in the area of command and control, over pure prevention.

First responders must be aware of the limitations of intelligence if they are to be able to give a heads-up on potential terrorist attacks. The importance of having resilient communications available to ensure continuity in command and control in the event of an incident. How broad intel sharing is not always, or necessarily, desirable.

Intel cannot translate terrorist intentions into programs for pure prevention. What is needed instead is to build programs into critical infrastructure that will ensure resilience and mitigate the effects of a catastrophic incident. Also, the need for continual "crisis gaming" to improve response.

The mid-term solution is to work with governments of the Middle East to reduce vulnerabilities in their oil infrastructures. The need to move to high-grade diesel, bio-mass/cellulose ethanol, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid automotive engine technologies.

A coherent DHS reorganization will be dependent on, among other changes, the reorganization and consolidation of congressional committee oversight in both authorization and appropriations. How some Army Reserve and National Guard units should be reconfigured specifically for civil support, given that so much in the field of critical infrastructure involves increasingly vulnerable networks that require a rapid national, federal response if they go down.

How the local preparedness for continuity of operations in and/or following a catastrophic incident should emphasize communications, particularly by using new technologies such as wireless mesh and voice-over-Internet, as was demonstrated in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina. Philadelphia and San Francisco have been leading the way in this area. Perhaps the most important intel collection change in this era involves domestic mechanism for collection vs. satellite collection, for example. National-level intel is focused more on coordinating and routing intel within the country.

Intelligence SharingRelating Risk Assessment and Critical Infrastructure ProtectionReducing Vulnerability in the Oil SectorHomeland Security ReorganizationLocal Preparedness for Catastrophic Threats 

DomPrep.com’s John F. Morton and Martin Masiuk met with Retired Navy Rear Adm. Marsha J. Evans in June 2005 at the American Red Cross Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Admiral Evans detailed the Red Cross organizational linkages with DHS and State/Local EOCs for response planning. She also outlined a new initiative for community-based preparedness training and the mechanisms through which the American Red Cross (ARC) is developing the mass-care support function in local response planning.

Admiral Evans highlights the significance of this September’s National Preparedness Month as illustrative of the American Red Cross (ARC) partnership with DHS to develop preparedness at all levels. She also speaks of the NGO role in the development of HSPD-8 and the National Preparedness Goal.

Admiral Evans stresses the Red Cross role as a primary agency for mass care under Emergency Support Function 6 (ESF #6) – Mass Care, Housing, and Human Services – in the National Response Plan. She also outlines the linkages between the Red Cross and its Disaster Operations Center at ARC Headquarters and the Homeland Security Operations Center (HSOC) at DHS as well the linkages to state and local EOCs.

Admiral Evans discusses the Red Cross NGO training contract with Pearson Performance Solutions. She comments on Red Cross participation in the TOPOFF exercises as well as the ARC’s embrace of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and how it will facilitate further collaboration between Red Cross and first responders. 

Admiral Evans predicts that NGOs will increasingly take part in the response planning process. Given its lead role for mass care, the Red Cross now has over 80 formal memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with other NGOs as well as business partners. Admiral Evans talks of the development of the Coordinated Assistance Network (CAN) and, under the NRP’s Catastrophic Incident Annex/Supplement (CIA/S), the Red Cross development of the Mass Care Catastrophic Planning Initiative.

On February 3, 2005, the day after President Bush's State of the Union Address, DomPrep's John Morton, James D. Hessman, and Martin Masiuk visited with retired Coast Guard Admiral James M. Loy, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), at his headquarters in Washington.

Thanks to the staff of Acting Secretary Admiral Loy, and especially Kathleen Montgomery for making this interview possible.

Admiral Loy addresses the soon-to-be released National Cargo Security Strategy:Admiral Loy discussing the National Response Plan (NRP):Admiral Loy talks about the organizational structure provided by the NRP:Admiral Loy speaks the NRP and training: