**March 22, 2008 FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Program
Report**

**(1) America the Resilient -- Stephen Flynn Has Done it Again (Sort
of):**

Hot off the presses, or at least warm, Steven Flynn, who presented at
last year's EM Hi-Ed Conference on his latest book, *The Edge of
Disaster*, has written the article noted below in *Foreign Affairs*. Dr.
Flynn's first paragraph provides an overview of the article:

> "When it comes to managing the hazards of the twenty-first century, it
> is reckless to relegate the American public to the sidelines. During
> the Cold War, the threat of nuclear weapons placed the fate of
> millions in the hands of a few. But responding to today\'s challenges,
> the threats of terrorism and natural disasters, requires the broad
> engagement of civil society. The terrorists\' chosen battlegrounds are
> likely to be occupied by civilians, not soldiers. And more than the
> loss of innocent lives is at stake: a climate of fear and a sense of
> powerlessness in the face of adversity are undermining faith in
> American ideals and fueling political demagoguery. Sustaining the
> United States\' global leadership and economic competitiveness
> ultimately depends on bolstering the resilience of its society.
> Periodically, things will go badly wrong. The United States must be
> prepared to minimize the consequences of those eventualities and
> bounce back quickly....
>
> "This discounting of the public can be traced to the culture of
> secrecy and paternalism that now pervades the national defense and
> federal law enforcement communities. After decades of combating Soviet
> espionage during the Cold War, the federal security establishment
> instinctively resists disclosing information for fear that it might
> end up in the wrong hands. Straight talk about the country\'s
> vulnerabilities and how to cope in emergencies is presumed to be too
> frightening for public consumption. This is madness. The overwhelming
> majority of Americans live in places where the occurrence of a natural
> disaster is a matter of not if, but when. And terrorist groups\'
> targets of choice are noncombatants and infrastructure. These are
> hazards that can be managed only by an informed, inspired, and
> mobilized public. Both the first preventers and the first responders
> are likely to be civilians....
>
> "...resilience means having the means to absorb the new lessons that
> can be drawn from a catastrophe. It is foolish for a society to go
> right back to business as usual as soon as the dust clears, by, say,
> rebuilding homes on floodplains or failing to resolve interoperable
> communications issues that confound coordination and information
> sharing among first responders. People must be willing to make
> pragmatic changes, such as relocating when their homes are repeatedly
> destroyed or reaching deeper into their pockets to pay for the
> communications and other tools communities need to improve their
> robustness, resourcefulness, and recovery capabilities before the next
> crisis....
>
> Rebuilding the resilience of U.S. society is an agenda that could
> reverse the debilitating politics and mounting cynicism now bedeviling
> the U.S. electorate. Whereas increasing security measures is an
> inevitable answer to a society\'s fears, resilience rests on a
> foundation of confidence and optimism. It involves taking stock of
> what is truly precious and ensuring its durability in a way that would
> allow Americans to remain true to their ideals no matter what tempest
> the future may bring."

Flynn, Stephen E.. "America the Resilient: Defying Terrorism and
Mitigating Natural Disasters." *Foreign Affairs*, March/April 2008.
Accessed at:
[http://www.foreignaffairs.org:80/20080301faessay87201/stephen-e-flynn/america-the-resilient.html](http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20080301faessay87201/stephen-e-flynn/america-the-resilient.html)

\[Note: Dr. Flynn has been invited to speak again at the June 2008 EM Hi
Ed Conference. He is very much in demand, and did attend last year, so a
repeat contribution is iffy -- stay tuned.\]

**(2) Animal Agrosecurity and Emergency Management -- Free On-line
Course:**

From the EDEN Website, which has materials on other topics as well:

> "Threats to livestock production include natural disasters, disease
> outbreaks, agroterrorism, and other emergencies. Proper animal
> agrosecurity and emergency management reduces the effects of these
> incidents. The EDEN Animal Agrosecurity and Emergency Management
> Course is a vital educational resource to help all people involved
> protect animals and ensure a safe food and fiber supply. Available
> online, the course is designed for Extension professionals, emergency
> managers, health officials, and others who recognize the need for
> improved animal agrosecurity and emergency management education in
> their communities.
>
> "The EDEN Animal Agrosecurity and Emergency Management course will
> prepare you with the knowledge and skills necessary to teach others in
> your community how to:
>
> •        apply emergency management principles to animal emergencies
>
> •        recognize threats, identify vulnerabilities, and establish an
> action plan for animal disasters
>
> •        partner with interagency representatives in an
> interdisciplinary effort to address animal emergency issues
>
> Materials provided with this EDEN course are available for use at
> workshops and/or community awareness presentations. They include:
>
> •        ready-to-use presentations
>
> •        applied activity guidelines including scenario-based
> exercises
>
> •        printable documents suitable for handouts."

Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN). *Animal Agrosecurity and
Emergency Management* (On-line course). 2007. Accessed at:
<http://www.eden.lsu.edu/LearningOps/AnimalAgrosecurity/default.aspx>

**(3) Chemical Facility Security Anti-Terrorism:**

House Committee on Homeland Security. *Chemical Security: The
Implementation of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards and the
Road Ahead."* Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure
Protection, December 12, 2007, Prepared statements and recorded video
feed accessed at: <http://homeland.house.gov/Hearings/index.asp?ID=108>

House Committee on Homeland Security. *Markup: "Chemical Facility
Anti-Terrorism Act of 2008."* Washington, DC: Subcommittee on
Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection, January 23, 2008.
At: <http://homeland.house.gov/Hearings/index.asp?ID=110>

**(4) Cyber Storm II Critique:**

> "Workers operating networks supporting the nation\'s critical
> infrastructure such as telecommunications and transportation need
> better training on how to manage backup systems in case cyberattacks
> take down main systems, said a top Homeland Security Department
> official Thursday."
>
> \"The challenge is mirroring the real problem,\" said James Lewis,
> director of the technology and public policy program at the Center for
> Strategic and International Studies. \"If this happened in real life,
> there would be 100 people you\'d have to talk to right away, and you
> might not have the 100 people that represent the correct groups
> present and active during Cyber Storm II. It\'s a matter of making
> sure the game reflects the real problem, which is an issue of
> coordination, not technology. If solving the problem largely involves
> walking from \[one side\] of a room \[to\] another, that\'s not the
> real world \... . That said, it\'s still good. Before, DHS didn\'t
> know how to do tests, and now they\'re learning.\"

Aitoro, Jill R. "Cyberexercise Shows Need for Better Training to Avoid
Major Network Failures." *Government Executive*, March 13, 2008. At:
[http://www.govexec.com:80/story_page.cfm?articleid=39524&sid=60](http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39524&sid=60)

**(5) FEMA, EMI New Independent Study Introduction to Exercises (IS-120
A) Course:**

IS 120.A introduces the basics of emergency management exercises. It
also builds a foundation for subsequent exercise courses, which provide
the specifics of the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program
(HSEEP) and the National Standard Exercise Curriculum (NSEC). This
course will introduce you to the following concepts:

• Managing an exercise program

• Designing and developing an exercise

• Conducting an exercise

• Evaluating an exercise

• Developing and implementing an improvement plan

**Course Objectives \--** At the end of this course, you will:

• Identify the five phases of the exercise process

• Distinguish the tasks necessary to complete each phase of the exercise
process

• Understand how exercises complete the emergency preparedness cycle

• Comprehend the role of exercises in the testing of facilities,
equipment, and personnel in a performance based environment

• Recognize how exercises prepare communities to respond to and recover
from major emergencies

**Primary Audience \--** This course is designed for local, State,
Federal, trust territories, tribal nations, volunteer organizations, and
private industry emergency management/response personnel with the
responsibility for exercise program management and/or serve as a member
of an exercise planning team.

Federal Emergency Management Agency. IS-120 A, *An Introduction to
Exercises*. Emmitsburg, MD: EMI, Independent Study, 23 Jan 2008. At:
<http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS120A.asp>

**(6) Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program:**

*National Exercise Program Implementation Plan Signed --* "The National
Exercise Program Implementation Plan (NEP I-Plan) was approved by the
President and distributed by the Secretary of Homeland Security. The NEP
IPlan describes a new "tier" system of exercises and mandates the use of
HSEEP Policy and Guidance for all NEP tiered exercises. Once fully
implemented, the NEP will work to encourage greater cooperation and
joint exercise planning efforts at not just the Federal interagency
level, but on the FEMA Region, State, territorial, tribal

and local levels as well." (p. 2)

*Regional Training and Exercise Plan* Workshops -- DHS "is initiating
annual Regional Training and Exercise Plan Workshops (TEPWs) within each
of the ten FEMA Regions. The FEMA Regional TEPWs provide an opportunity
for synchronization and prioritization of exercise requirements and
objectives and coordination among Federal, State, local, tribal, and
territory emergency response entities within a FEMA Region to ensure
collaboration on the development of realistic regional exercises."
(Ibid)

Federal Emergency Management Agency. *Homeland Security Exercise and
Evaluation Program HSEEP Newsletter* (Winter 2008, Issue 7). Washington,
DC: FEMA, February 5, 2008, 10 pgs. At
<http://www.vdem.state.va.us/programs/trainex/hseep/HSEEP_Newsletter_Winter2008.pdf>

**(7) Homeland Security Funding -- Mercatus Center, George Mason
University Working Paper:**

-   "Funding \[DHS\] increased... between FY2001 and FY2009 from \$16.9
    billion to at least \$68.5 billion---a 305 percent increase.

-   Since 9/11, Congress has appro­priated nearly \$419 billion to
    protect the United States from terrorism.

-   Total FY2009 homeland security spending will cost each American
    household roughly \$600.

-   While growth slowed somewhat in the last three years, the recently
    proposed budget increases the homeland security budget for FY2009 by
    11.5 percent over FY2008."

-   DHS's budget grew from \$31.2 billion in FY2003 to a requested
    \$50.5 billion in FY2009, a 61.8 percent increase. To put things in
    perspective, when the Department of Energy (a relatively young
    department) started, its budget grew by 19.2 percent in the first
    five years of its inception.

-   The number of employees working for DHS has increased by roughly 30
    percent. DHS now has 232,809 employees. \[Note: footnotes to
    references omitted here, bur are in the Working Paper.\]

De Rugy, Veronique. *Facts and Figures About Seven Years of Homeland
Security Spending* (Working Paper No. 08-02). George Mason University:
Mercatus Center, March 2008, 8 pages. Accessed at:
<http://www.mercatus.org/repository/docLib/20080304_WP0802.pdf>

**(8) Mutual Aid in Disasters and Credentialing of First Responders:**

House Committee on Homeland Security. *Leveraging Mutual Aid for
Effective Emergency Response*. Subcommittee on Emergency Communications,
Preparedness, and Response, November 15, 2007. Prepared Statements and
recorded feed accessible at:
<http://homeland.house.gov/Hearings/index.asp?ID=106> Witnesses:

Mr. Marko Bourne, Director of Policy and Program Analysis, FEMA/DHS\
Mr. Kenneth Murphy, President, NEMA, Director Oregon Office of Emergency
Management\
Chief Steven P. Westermann. President, International Association of Fire
Chiefs\
Major Michael Ronczkowski, Homeland Security Bureau, Miami-Dade Police
Department\
Mr. Jim McPartlon, President, American Ambulance Association

**From Marko Bourne statement on** **Credentialing First Responders:**

> "...credentialing first responders is the right of the local community
> and that FEMA and the Department in no way wishes this effort to
> encroach upon that right, but instead assist them in their efforts
> both now and into the future to develop nationwide credentialing
> standards. FEMA will not be issuing credentials to state and local
> personnel; that will remain a state and local responsibility as it
> always has been." (p. 1)
>
> "Lessons learned from past disasters have indicated that it is often
> difficult for local officials to know who is qualified to do what, and
> who may be an immediate asset to the situation among the multitude of
> volunteers or entities that arrive. Additionally, examples of people
> posing as firefighters, police officers, doctors or rescue specialists
> are well documented in every major disaster, and further underscore
> the need for further measures to provide the Incident Commander with
> greater assurance that those who respond, whether asked or not, can be
> verified, validated and utilized." (pp. 1-2)

**(9) National Cyber Security Center NCSC:**

Found out that there was an NCSC when we saw the DHS News Release below
on the appointment of its new Director Rod Beckstrom:

Department of Homeland Security. *Statement by Homeland Security
Secretary Michael Chertoff on the Appointment of the Director of the
National Cyber Security Center*. Washington, DC: DHS, March 20, 2008.
At:
[http://www.dhs.gov:80/xnews/releases/pr_1206047924712.shtm](http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1206047924712.shtm)

According to *PC World* this center was created by President Bush this
past January. *PC World*, on March 20^th^ writes that:

> "In addition to founding a handful of tech companies and nonprofit
> groups, Beckstrom is co-author of the book, \"The Starfish and the
> Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations,\" which
> praises the nimbleness of decentralized organizations. Beckstrom has
> suggested the U.S. government could better fight terrorist groups by
> taking a more decentralized approach, including using outsourcing and
> deploying more autonomous special operations units on the battlefield.
> Beckstrom would reportedly report directly to DHS Secretary Michael
> Chertoff. Chertoff, in September 2006, appointed Greg Garcia, the
> former vice president for information security policy and programs at
> the Information Technology Association of America, as DHS assistant
> secretary for cyber security and telecommunications. Garcia reports to
> a DHS under secretary."

See, also:

Department of Homeland Security. *Cyber Storm: Securing Cyber Space*.
Washington, DC: DHS, March 7, 2008. At:
<http://www.dhs.gov/xprepresp/training/gc_1204738275985.shtm>

Department of Homeland Security. *National Response Plan,* *Cyber
Incident Annex*. December 2004. At:
<http://www.learningservices.us/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrp_cyberincidentannex.pdf>

Department of Homeland Security. *National Strategy to Secure
Cyberspace*. Washington, DC: DHS, February 2003. Accessed at:
<http://www.dhs.gov/xprevprot/programs/editorial_0329.shtm>

White House. *The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace*. Washington,
DC: February 2003, 76 pages. Accessed at:
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/pcipb/cyberspace_strategy.pdf>

**(10) National Fusion Center Conference:**

> "More than 900 federal, state, and local law enforcement and homeland
> security officials attended this week the National Fusion Center
> Conference here to further the U.S. government's plans to create a
> seamless network of these centers. The second annual conference was
> jointly sponsored by the Office of the Director of National
> Intelligence, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland
> Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the
> Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment, and the
> Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative.  Participants discussed
> how to best incorporate fusion centers at the state level and in major
> urban areas into national plans to improve the sharing of information
> related to terrorism -- a key goal of a strategy that President Bush
> released last October. After the 9/11 attacks, states and various U.S.
> localities established information fusion centers to coordinate the
> gathering, analysis, and sharing of homeland security, terrorism, and
> law enforcement intelligence.  Today there are more than 50
> operational centers in 46 states."

 

Department of Homeland Security. *Second National Fusion Center
Conference Held to Foster Greater Collaboration*. Washington, DC: Office
of the Director of National Intelligence, March 20, 2008. Accessed at:
[http://www.dhs.gov:80/xnews/releases/pr_1206047160541.shtm](http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1206047160541.shtm)

**(11)** **San Francisco Bay November 7, 2007 Oil Spill After Action
Report:**

Noting that "All emergency response efforts can be improved upon and
should be evaluated for opportunities to do so," The Executive Summary
states that "The purpose of this After Action Report (AAR) is to analyze
CCSF's \[City and County of San Francisco\] response efforts, identify
strengths to be maintained and built upon, identify potential areas for
further improvement, and support development of corrective actions."

> This report was developed using a capabilities and performance-based
> approach, organized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's
> Target Capabilities List (TCL). The TCL supports the National
> Preparedness Goal by defining the capabilities needed to achieve
> national preparedness for all major events. In addition, the TCL
> defines and provides the basis for assessing preparedness. (v)

\[The report notes that if was funded through by the DHS, Office for
Domestic Preparedness through the Governor's Office of Emergency
Services.\]

> "The major strengths identified during the response are as follows:
>
> •        CCSF departments effectively worked together to develop and
> implement response strategies, including precautionary public health
> measures, volunteer management, and wildlife protection.
>
> •        CCSF has the capability to coordinate and provide resources
> to supplement command and control activities.
>
> •         CCSF departments and the Board of Supervisors demonstrated
> the ability to interact with Federal and State partners in the
> resolution of contentious issues and the execution of plans for
> volunteer use during an oil spill.
>
> •         Over 1,500 volunteers were successfully registered as
> Disaster Service Workers.
>
> •         311 is a valuable asset for the dissemination of public
> information.
>
> •         Volunteer organizations enhanced...public communications and
> the response efforts.
>
> •         The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) provided an important
> common coordination point among San Francisco departments.
>
> Throughout the response, several opportunities for improvement in
> CCSF's ability to respond to the incident were identified. The primary
> areas for improvement, including recommendations, are as follows:
>
> •         The integration of local government into Unified Command
> during oil spill response needs to be improved.
>
> ***Recommendation:*** Actively engage in the *San Francisco 2005 Area
> Contingency Plan (ACP)* committee and work to improve local government
> integration into Unified Command during oil spills.
>
> ***Recommendation:*** Improve communications between CCSF and State /
> Federal agencies by establishing stronger relationships, developing
> communications protocols, and exercising multi-jurisdictional plans on
> a regular basis.
>
> •         Information flow and inter-departmental coordination would
> have improved earlier in the response period if the EOC had been
> activated when the magnitude of the incident's response requirements
> and duration were initially realized.
>
> ***Recommendation:*** Upon notification of an incident, consider the
> magnitude and likelihood of extended operations when determining need
> for a formal EOC activation; activate to the appropriate level in a
> timely manner.
>
> Incident information should come from an official source through a
> clearly defined mechanism/process.
>
> ***Recommendation:*** Develop a standard operating procedure for
> distributing incident/emergency information to CCSF departments and
> for the ongoing sharing of information between departments.
>
> Hazard-specific plans should be updated to include just-in-time
> volunteer and DSW training materials and protocols where applicable
> and appropriate.
>
> ***Recommendation:*** Update hazard-specific plans to include
> just-in-time volunteer and DSW training materials and protocols as
> necessary.
>
> •        An improved system/structure for the management and
> coordination of public information is needed.
>
> ***Recommendation:*** Develop an improved system/structure for the
> management and coordination of public information during incidents
> affecting CCSF, to include protocols for when the EOC is not
> activated. (pp. v-vii)

City and County of San Francisco. *M/V Cosco Busan Oil Spill After
Action Report*. San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, March
12, 2008, 69 pages. Accessed at:
[http://www.sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/oes/SF%20Bay%20Oil%20Spill%20AAR%20031208%20Final.pdf](http://www.sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/oes/SF Bay Oil Spill AAR 031208 Final.pdf)

**(12)** Thanks go to **Steve Detweiler's Articles of Interest** again
this week -- for bringing to our attention materials we missed --
particularly the SF Oil Spill After Action Report.

**The End.**

 B.Wayne Blanchard, Ph.D., CEM\
Higher Education Project Manager\
Emergency Management Institute\
National Emergency Training Center\
Federal Emergency Management Agency\
Department of Homeland Security\
16825 S. Seton, K-011\
Emmitsburg, MD 21727\
<http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu>

**"Please note: Some of the Web sites linked to in this document are not
federal government Web sites, and may not necessarily operate under the
same laws, regulations, and policies as federal Web sites."**

 

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organization, offers training at no charge to emergency managers and
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hands-off training courses.  To access upcoming resident courses with
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