GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

United States Government Accountability Office

Washington, DC 20548

March 22, 2013 

The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson 

Ranking Member 

Committee on Homeland Security 

House of Representatives

Subject: FEMA Reservists: Training Could Benefit from Examination of Practices at Other 

Agencies

Dear Mr. Thompson:

Hurricane Sandy made landfall on October 29, 2012, in New Jersey, leaving extensive flooding, 

loss of life, and property damage across the eastern United States in its wake. Within 3 days of 

the hurricane’s landfall, more than 2,300 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 

personnel were working to support response operations, including search and rescue, power 

restoration, communications, and logistical support in states affected by the storm. Hurricane 

Sandy was one of 46 federal major disaster declarations in fiscal year 2012. From fiscal year 

2007 through fiscal year 2012, there have been 422 federal major disaster declarations in which 

FEMA has obligated $39 billion in major disaster assistance payments.1

 

Within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), FEMA is tasked with leading the nation in 

mitigating, responding to, and recovering from major disasters, both natural and man-made. To 

carry out its mission, FEMA relies heavily upon its Reservist Program, an on-call reserve 

workforce that is deployed when needed to assist disaster survivors. As of February 2013, there 

were 6,795 reservists, who constituted 36 percent of FEMA’s disaster workforce. In April 2012, 

FEMA announced that it was transforming its reservist workforce, formerly known as Disaster 

Assistance Employees. Among other things, the transformation to the Reservist Program 

transitioned reservist assignments from a regionally based structure to a nationally managed 

program. 

We have identified several challenges related to FEMA’s reservist training practices. 

Specifically, in May 2012, we reported that FEMA’s reservist training was not consistent with 

key attributes of effective training and development programs that could help to ensure that its 

training and development investments were targeted strategically. We recommended that FEMA 

establish a plan to ensure all reservists have opportunities to participate in training and are 

qualified and that FEMA develop a systematic process to track training costs.2 FEMA officials 

agreed with the recommendations. In October 2012 the agency launched the FEMA 

Qualification System (FQS) and the Incident Qualification Certification System (IQCS) to track 

reservist training and qualifications.3 According to the officials, they anticipate that IQCS will 

 

1

This includes obligations for Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, and Hazard Mitigation, only for major disaster 

declarations declared from fiscal years 2007 through 2012. 2

GAO, Disaster Assistance Workforce: FEMA Could Enhance Human Capital Management and Training, GAO-12-

538 (Washington, D.C.: May 25, 2012). 3

FQS establishes qualification and performance standards for FEMA’s disaster workforce, including reservists. IQCS 

is the information system managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), originally used to track training and 
Page 2 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

enable FEMA to better track training costs. In April 2012, we also reported that FEMA’s training 

information system did not provide a comprehensive or accurate account of all training activities 

of FEMA employees, including reservists, and we recommended that FEMA develop systematic 

processes to collect and analyze training data.4 FEMA agreed with the recommendation and is 

increasing its capacity for analyzing training data through the development of a human capital 

data warehouse. 

You asked us to assess FEMA’s reservist workforce training. Our objective was to examine how 

FEMA’s reservist workforce training compares with training of other similar agencies, and to 

what extent FEMA has examined these agencies’ training programs to identify useful practices. 

In addition, the enclosure provides additional information on reservist program characteristics 

that may affect training. Specifically, the enclosure provides information on reserve program 

missions, organizational structure, hiring process and pay, and approaches to deployment at 

FEMA and the three similar agencies—Small Business Administration (SBA); Fire and Aviation 

Management (FAM), which is within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service; and 

the U.S. Coast Guard, within DHS. 

To compare reservist training at FEMA with training at similar agencies—that is, agencies with a 

disaster mission—we selected three agencies by evaluating the comparability of 10 potential 

organizations with FEMA. We identified these 10 organizations based on a judgmental selection 

of agencies with disaster-related programs or missions, including those with an international 

focus, military function, public health mission, role in Katrina, or a relationship with FEMA in 

developing its qualification system. We evaluated the organizations and selected SBA, the 

Forest Service, and the Coast Guard for our review because each has a domestic mission and 

a reservist program that includes temporary or part-time employees (similar to FEMA’s 

program).5 Within FEMA and the three selected reservist programs, we compared segments of 

these programs that were related to disaster response or recovery and composed of employees 

who have temporary appointments and who work on an intermittent (on-call) or seasonal basis. 

We consider these types of employees reservists for the purposes of this report. We selected 

FEMA Reservists, but did not consider in our comparison permanent full-time FEMA staff with 

collateral, disaster-related duties in the field; FEMA’s Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery 

Employees (CORE) because they are hired on a temporary, full-time basis for 2- and 4- year 

terms; or the National Civilian Community Corps-FEMA Corps program, as Corps Members 

serve full-time for 10-month terms with an option to renew for an additional 10-month term. We 

selected the following employee categories at the comparison agencies because they maintain 

a contingent of reservists as defined above: the Coast Guard Selected Reserve; SBA surge and 

surge plus staff, including term intermittent and Schedule A staff; 6 and Forest Service 

temporary seasonal employees and administratively determined (AD) employees.7

 

 

certifications for wildland firefighters. BLM created a specific version of IQCS for FEMA to track reservist training and 

qualifications. These systems are intended to better track reservist training needs and costs, but other factors 

determine whether reservists have an opportunity to receive training, such as course availability.

4

GAO, Federal Emergency Management Agency: Workforce Planning and Training Could Be Enhanced by 

Incorporating Strategic Management Principles, GAO-12-487 (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 26, 2012). 5

Other organizations considered were the Army Corps of Engineers, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 

Department of State (Civilian Corps), National Guard, Red Cross, U.S. Agency for International Development, and 

the World Health Organization. 

6

Term intermittent staff are on SBA’s payroll and are to be called upon to respond to disaster activity when the core 

group, such as permanent, full-time equivalent employees on a seasonal schedule (known as cadre employees), and 

term seasonal staff, have been exhausted. Schedule A staff are employees hired without competing for employment, 

when term intermittent staff have been exhausted.

7

Reserve program segments not considered in our comparison because the employees were not temporary or parttime and employed on an intermittent or on-call basis included: the Coast Guard individual ready and stand-by 

reserve and Forest Service permanent seasonal employees. SBA term seasonal employees were not considered in 
Page 3 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

At FEMA and at each of the selected agencies, we reviewed reserve program documentation, 

such as training-related manuals, legislation related to each program, hiring and deployment 

guidance, and fiscal year 2012 budget documents, where available. We also interviewed 

agency officials responsible for overseeing the training programs to compare reservist training 

requirements, funding sources, and delivery mechanisms, and to identify information described 

in the enclosure, including reserve program missions, hiring, and deployment processes. In 

addition, to identify the extent to which FEMA examined other agencies’ practices, we reviewed 

a contractor’s draft evaluation of FEMA’s reserve program and interviewed FEMA officials 

responsible for overseeing the program.8 We compared this information to our prior work on 

effective training programs, which included practices such as learning from other organizations 

as a core characteristic of a strategic training process.9

We conducted this performance audit from May 2012 through March 2013 in accordance with 

generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and 

perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 

findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained 

provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.

Results in Brief

We compared FEMA’s training of reservists with the training provided to reservists at the SBA, 

the Forest Service, and the Coast Guard—agencies with a disaster mission—and found 

similarities and differences; and, moreover, FEMA had not examined other agencies’ training 

programs to identify useful practices.10 All four training programs shared some similar attributes 

with regard to training requirements, funding sources, training delivery, and training evaluation. 

For example, FEMA and two of the comparison agencies have a credentialing program used to 

document reservist qualifications. Differences included the timing of when training is delivered 

and the use of job aids to reinforce reservists’ understanding of material covered in training 

courses. Regarding timing, SBA, the Forest Service, and the Coast Guard each train their 

reservists in advance of deploying these individuals to a disaster. However, factors such as the 

way in which FEMA funds its disaster program have limited the agency’s ability to train its 

reservists in advance of deployments to disasters. FEMA plans to begin allowing up to 2 weeks 

of reservist training outside of deployments under the new reservist program during fiscal year 

2013. Differences we identified in training practices indicate that an examination of other 

agencies’ reserve training programs could be beneficial. For example, FEMA may benefit from 

examining the Coast Guard’s use of job aids, which reinforce reservist training course material 

after course work is completed. As part of our work identifying key attributes of successful 

training programs, we have previously identified developing partnerships and learning from 

others as a core characteristic of a strategic training process.11 FEMA officials stated that while 

they had not looked to other agencies’ training programs, training practices at other agencies 

 

the comparison because they are employed on a full-time seasonal work schedule and their employment is expected 

to last at least 6 months. 8

The evaluation we reviewed was preliminary. However, our review of the evaluation was limited to determining 

whether FEMA had examined other agencies’ practices and not in assessing the evaluation itself. Therefore, we 

determined the evaluation to be sufficiently reliable for our purposes.

9

GAO, Human Capital: A Guide for Assessing Strategic Training and Development Efforts in the Federal 

Government, GAO-04-546G (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 1, 2004). 10For the purposes of this report, when referring to the Forest Service reservists we are specifically referring to the 

Forest Service’s firefighting reservists managed by FAM. 11GAO-04-546G. 
Page 4 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

that we highlighted in this report provide useful information for FEMA as it works to improve its 

reservist training efforts. 

To enhance its training of reservists, we are recommending that FEMA examine the training 

practices of other agencies with disaster reservist workforces to identify potentially useful 

practices. DHS concurred with our recommendation and described plans to address it. DHS, 

SBA, and the Forest Service provided technical comments, which we incorporated as 

appropriate. 

Background

SBA, the Forest Service, the Coast Guard, and FEMA each have reserve programs established 

to supplement full-time agency staff when responding to disasters. These additional resources 

have unique missions during response and recovery efforts, such as processing loans, 

extinguishing wildfires, securing ports, or assisting with temporary housing. Descriptions of 

these reservist programs are listed in table 1.

Table 1: Reserve Program Characteristics

Agency Reserve program and description of staff Number of 

reservistsa

Small Business 

Administration

Term intermittent surge staff: Deployed to assist businesses, non-profits, 

and households affected by disasters, primarily with loans. Surge staff are on 

SBA’s payroll and are to be called upon to respond to disaster activity when 

the core group, such as permanent, cadre, and term seasonal staff, have 

been exhausted. Surge staff compete for employment lasting for a period of 

more than 1 year and not to exceed 4 years. These staff are typically used 

when work is sporadic, unpredictable and cannot be regularly scheduled in 

advance or during a drastic increase in disaster activity.

1,730

Surge plus staff: Term intermittent staff may be supplemented by surge plus 

reservists (Schedule A staff), who are employees hired without competing for 

employment, when surge staff have been exhausted. 

1,319

Forest Service Temporary employees: Deployed to fight wildfires. Limited to working 1,039 

hours in a given position per year. They may be rehired each year if there is a 

need, but they are terminated at the end of the fire season or period of need. 

3,725

Administratively determined emergency workers: Deployed to fight 

wildfires. Hired for surge capacity in each geographical area. They are not 

guaranteed any quantity of hours deployed. 

6,273

Coast Guard Selected reserve: Deployed to supplement active duty personnel during 

disasters or routine maritime safety and security operations.b Required to 

perform 24 days of inactive duty training commonly known as drill weekends, 

and 12 days of annual training. The 24 days is normally on-the-job training 

(OJT), and the 12 days of annual training may be OJT or classroom training. 

For disasters, they can be ordered to active duty for no more than 60 days in 

any 4-month period, and no more than 120 days in any 2-year period.

8,105

FEMA Reservists: Deployed to assist disaster survivors and their communities 

through functions such as directly supporting individuals and families with 

obtaining housing and other disaster benefits. FEMA is establishing a policy 

to deploy all reservists a minimum of once a year with the length of the 

deployment depending on operational needs. A deployment will be, on 

average, approximately 30 days in length, but may be longer.

6,795

Source: GAO analysis of reserve program documents and interviews with agency officials.

a

Totals listed for the number of reservists at each agency were provided as of the following dates: SBA (December

2012), Forest Service (February 2013), Coast Guard (October 2012), and FEMA (February 2013). b

Coast Guard reservists are recalled, activated, mobilized, or ordered to active duty, according to Coast Guard 

officials. However, for our purposes in this report, we refer to reservists as “deployed” when they are on active duty, 

as this term is used when referring to the same scenario at the other agencies compared here.

 
Page 5 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

FEMA’s Reservist Training Shares Some Attributes with Selected Agencies’ Training, but 

FEMA Has Not Examined Practices from Agencies’ Training Programs 

SBA, the Forest Service, the Coast Guard, and FEMA have training programs that are designed 

to fit the respective needs of the reservist programs. These training programs vary with regard 

to training requirements, funding sources and needs determination, training delivery, and 

training evaluation. 

FEMA Shares Similarities with Selected Agency Training Programs, but Differences Exist

Overview of Training Programs at Selected Agencies 

As shown in figure 1, the training programs of FEMA and the three selected agencies have 

varying characteristics, as called for by the specific training needs of the program.

Figure 1: Overview of SBA, Forest Service, Coast Guard, and FEMA Reservist Training 

Programs 

a

FEMA, FEMA Reservist Program. FD 010-6 Revision Number: 01. June 14, 2012. b

According to FEMA officials, FQS is a performance-based system whereby employees are determined to be either in 

trainee or qualified status in one of 322 jobs, each of which has a related position task book. Position task books 

outline required activities, tasks, and behaviors, and serve as a record for task completion. FQS, which was launched 

in October 2012, is FEMA’s effort to credential all employees in incident management or support positions, including 

the reservist workforce. Examples of reservist courses include field attorney training, and basic training in community 

relations and congressional affairs.
Page 6 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

c

FEMA has not yet implemented this directive, but plans limited implementation in fiscal year 2013 depending on 

available funding.

Training Requirements 

FEMA and selected agency training requirements are listed in figure 2. Similarities were evident 

in training types offered and in credentialing programs.

Figure 2: Comparison of Agency Training Requirements

 

Training type. Each of the agencies has three types of training—introductory, advanced, and 

refresher.12 Each agency has reservists across multiple functional disciplines and training is 

specialized for each discipline and varies depending on the specific job title. SBA’s reservists 

participate in a systematic Just-in-Time training program as the agency gears up to meet its 

disaster recovery mission. Both the Forest Service and the Coast Guard have training 

 

12The Forest Service also offers intermediate-level courses, which it distinguishes from advanced-level courses.

FEMA offers refresher training, but it is not required of reservists.
Page 7 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

requirements that include a certification process for their reservists who are involved in disaster 

response. Upon deploying its reservists, FEMA provides on-the-job training at joint field offices 

or any other appropriate field offices.13 FEMA plans to allow 2 weeks of training outside of 

deployments in response to reservist concerns about lack of training before deployments. 

Credentialing. Three of the four agencies have credentialing programs—to document reservist 

qualifications—as shown in figure 2. The Forest Service and Coast Guard have credentialing 

programs similar to the FEMA Qualification System (FQS), while SBA does not have a 

credentialing program. Additionally, industry standards may affect an agency’s credentialing 

requirements. For example, the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) establishes, 

among other things, minimum requirements for training, experience, and physical fitness levels 

for wildland fire positions at all of its member agencies, including the Forest Service, as part of 

an effort to establish national mobilization standards. 

Training Funding Sources and Needs Determination

The types of funding sources for reservist training and how training needs are determined vary 

across the four agencies, as shown in figure 3. 

Figure 3: Comparison of Agency Funding Sources and Training Needs Determination

SBA and the Forest Service do not have appropriations separately designated for reservist 

training. Instead, training costs are part of overall agency operating costs. The Coast Guard, on 

the other hand, has reservist training funds identified each year through its annual budget 

request and appropriation. Of the four agencies, only FEMA funds training outside of an annual 

budget allocation. FEMA’s reservist training funds are provided by the Disaster Relief Fund, 

 

13Joint field offices are locations where federal, state, and local officials convene to administer their respective 

disaster assistance programs.
Page 8 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

which is appropriated no-year funding that allows FEMA to manage and fund response and 

recovery efforts associated with domestic major disasters and emergencies.14 FEMA also funds 

reservist training through the Disaster Readiness and Support account, within the Disaster 

Relief Fund. According to FEMA officials, FEMA plans to fund most training courses through the 

Disaster Readiness and Support account in fiscal year 2013. For the fiscal year 2013 budget, 

FEMA justified its request by identifying training funding needed to fulfill reservist training needs, 

according to FEMA officials. 

With the exception of FEMA, each agency locally determines, at a minimum, introductory 

training needs. FEMA uses its centralized FQS system to determine training needs of reservists. 

Under FQS, reservists are to complete required training and demonstrate successful 

performance in specific areas in order to be qualified for their job titles. 

Administrative and Legal Factors May Affect Training Funding

Before implementation of the new FEMA reservist program, most of the funding for training 

FEMA reservists was available primarily when reservists were deployed, which limited the 

amount of training that was provided before deployments occur. Most reservist training occurred 

at field offices used during disaster response activities and was funded by the Disaster Relief 

Fund; limited additional training at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute was funded by the 

Disaster Readiness and Support account, within the Disaster Relief Fund.15 For each of the 

other agencies, training funds are not dependent on whether reservists are deployed, thereby 

allowing more flexibility in when training may be provided. Under FEMA’s new reservist 

program, according to FEMA officials, FEMA plans for reservists to be allowed to train at the 

Emergency Management Institute and their homes (for web-based courses) outside of disaster 

deployments. While certain types of training are to continue to take place at disaster sites, 

FEMA officials acknowledged that having certain training courses take place in the midst of a 

disaster may not be feasible. Such courses include intermediate- and advanced-level training, 

according to the officials. 

Legal requirements also affect the Coast Guard’s training funding. For the Coast Guard, 

reservists are required to participate in at least 48 scheduled drills or training periods during 

each year and serve on active duty for training of not less than 12 days during each year or not 

more than 30 days during each year.16 Therefore, the Coast Guard must request training 

funding and obtain an appropriation, since the training is mandated by law. The three other 

agencies do not have such legal requirements for reservist training. 

Training Delivery Mechanisms

FEMA’s delivery of training is comparable to that of the other three agencies in terms of format, 

use of third-party providers, and location, but its timing of training differs, as shown in figure 4. 

 

14No-year funds are available for obligation for an indefinite period of time. 15The Emergency Management Institute’s mission is to train officials in emergency management at all levels of 

government to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the potential effects of all types of 

disasters and emergencies. 1610 U.S.C. § 10147 and Department of Defense Instruction 1215.06, section 6.1.4.1.2. 
Page 9 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

Figure 4: Comparison of Agency Training Delivery Mechanisms

 

Format. All of the agencies use a mix of classroom and on-the-job training. FEMA, the Forest 

Service, and the Coast Guard formalize on-the-job training using position task books to 

document employees’ experiences. The Coast Guard makes use of an additional tool—job 

aids—which give reservists step-by-step instructions for job tasks after training takes place. 

Third-party providers. FEMA uses third-party providers for teachers and in consultation in

leadership and management courses. The Forest Service uses fire schools and interagency 

partnerships, such as the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, and the Coast Guard sends 

reservists to FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute for training. SBA does not use third

parties for training reservists. 

Timing. FEMA differs from the three comparison agencies in terms of when it provides training 

for its reservists. Officials from all of the comparison agencies emphasized the importance of 

providing classroom and on-the-job training to reservists before they are permitted to work 

without supervision at a disaster. In contrast, FEMA did not provide orientation or basic training 

to reservists prior to deployments, nor did it generally deploy reservists for training immediately 

prior to responding to a disaster. According to FEMA officials, FEMA plans to seek funding in 

order to provide 14 days of training annually to reservists outside of disaster deployments. 

Location. All of the agencies provide classroom or on-the-job training in local areas, at regional 

and national training centers, and at disaster sites. For example, during Hurricane Irene, SBA 

staff traveled to multiple field locations outside of their home regions in order to help train 

customer service representatives where management staff were occupied responding to the 
Page 10 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

disaster. According to SBA officials, it was more efficient to send staff to locations where there 

were large numbers of individuals that needed training. 

Training Evaluation

The agencies we compared evaluate the effectiveness of reservist training in several ways. 

Both FEMA and the Coast Guard use Kirkpatrick’s evaluation technique.17 Figure 5 lists 

evaluation techniques used by FEMA and the selected agencies.

Figure 5: Comparison of Agency Reservist Training Evaluation Techniques

 

 

17 The Kirkpatrick Model, developed by educational theorist Donald Kirkpatrick, employs four levels of evaluating 

training effectiveness. Level 1, reaction, gathers “reactive feedback” from the trainees by asking them to express their 

satisfaction with the training, the quality of the instructors, the content, training material, and the learning 

environment; Level 2, learning, assesses learners’ mastery of the training immediately after completing the course, 

while Level 3, behavior, determines whether the training has prepared trainees to perform various tasks and duties 

while on the job. Level 4, results, measures results of training that contribute to the overall organization and is 

normally reported as a return on investment. 
Page 11 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

FEMA Has Not Examined Training Practices at Selected Agencies

FEMA adopted its qualification system from another agency, but has not examined the training 

practices of other agencies with a reservist workforce to identify applicable useful practices. 

According to FEMA officials, FEMA consulted the Forest Service’s Wildland Fire Qualification 

System to develop FEMA’s FQS and associated training requirements. FQS training 

requirements provide what training is necessary to qualify reservists for positions. FQS, 

however, does not address training practices, such as timing and delivery mechanisms. The 

officials stated that elements within the Wildland Fire Qualification System served as a baseline 

and guidance for establishing a FEMA credentialing system that ensures FEMA’s disaster 

workforce is equipped with the skills, knowledge, and experience to perform effectively during a 

disaster. FEMA officials stated that they studied features of the Wildland Fire Qualification 

System including position qualifications and required training. FEMA’s efforts to identify 

practices in developing the FQS system are noteworthy; however, evaluating training activities 

at other similar agencies may uncover useful practices related to training beyond qualification 

issues, such as timing of training delivery, course evaluation techniques, or supplementary 

training materials. For example, when comparing reservist programs, we identified several 

potentially useful practices that demonstrate how evaluating other training efforts may uncover 

useful activities: 

• Training reservists before deployment at SBA, the Forest Service, and the Coast 

Guard. FEMA officials stated that a complaint among reservists was that training was 

not provided before deployment to disasters. FEMA’s new program includes a provision 

for 2 weeks of training outside of disaster deployments. Since the new program is not yet 

fully implemented, pending funding availability, FEMA may learn from other agencies’ 

approaches to this form of training.

• Job aids used to reinforce and refresh reservists understanding of material 

covered in training courses at the Coast Guard. FEMA implemented position task 

books as part of the October 2012 launch of FQS. The Coast Guard’s job aids, in use for 

several years, may provide useful information for how reservists can rely on documents 

that reinforce training course material after course work is completed to better 

understand their positions.

• Use of customer feedback at SBA call centers to retrain SBA reservists to better 

serve loan applicants. According to FEMA officials, FEMA is not currently receiving 

feedback from SBA that could be useful for improving FEMA reservist training.18 For 

example, according to SBA officials, SBA routinely receives feedback from loan 

applicants about the level of customer service its representatives provided. While SBA 

solicits feedback about its own processes, some of this feedback may entail information 

about FEMA that may assist FEMA in better training its reservists.

A 2007 Booz Allen preliminary report that evaluated FEMA’s disaster workforce program also 

identified certain key practices related to training—primarily that several agencies’ (the Forest 

Service, Coast Guard, and World Health Organization) reservist training and credentialing were 

standardized, while FEMA’s training was not standardized and did not include credentialing at 

that time. The report also identified benefits of standardized training and credentialing, including 

preparation of personnel to support disasters in any geographic location. Given that FQS went 

into effect in October 2012, the identification of practices that could help further standardize its 

reservist qualifications and training could better position FEMA to achieve such benefits. 

 

18During disaster responses, both FEMA and SBA reservists may interact with disaster victims seeking federal 

assistance. 
Page 12 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

Further, as part of our work identifying key attributes of successful training programs, we have 

previously identified developing partnerships and learning from others as a core characteristic of 

a strategic training process.19 In addition to benchmarking high-performing organizations, these 

efforts allow an agency to keep abreast of current practices, enhance efficiency, and increase 

the effectiveness of its training and development programs. FEMA officials stated that while they 

had not looked to other agencies’ training programs because they had been focused on 

developing the qualification system, other agencies’ training practices that we highlighted in this 

report provide useful information as FEMA works to improve its reservist training efforts. These 

officials said that this information would be particularly helpful since FEMA recently launched its 

new reservist program. An examination of the training practices of other agencies with reservist 

workforces could help FEMA identify useful practices to enhance its training programs for the 

new reservist program. 

Conclusions

FEMA relies heavily upon its reservist workforce to meet the daunting task of leading the nation 

in mitigating, responding to, and recovering from major natural and man-made disasters. For 

this reason, a fully trained and deployable reservist workforce is critical to accomplishing the 

agency’s disaster response mission. FEMA has made some progress in addressing 

weaknesses in its reserve training program, for example, by planning to track training costs and 

ensuring that all reservists are trained and qualified before they are deployed. However, 

additional effort could be made to ensure that its reservist training benefits from useful practices 

at other agencies with disaster missions. Results of our comparison of selected agencies’ 

training programs show similarities in the factors that may affect training, such as reservist 

training requirements, delivery, and evaluation. At the same time, differences we identified in 

training practices indicate that FEMA could benefit from examining other agencies’ reserve 

training programs. Such an examination of the training practices of other disaster response 

agencies to identify applicable practices could help FEMA enhance the readiness of its reservist 

workforce.

Recommendation for Executive Action

To enhance its training of reservists and meet its goal of having qualified reservists, we 

recommend that the FEMA Administrator examine the training practices of other agencies with 

disaster reservist workforces to identify potentially useful practices.

Agency Comments 

We requested comments on this report from the Departments of Homeland Security and 

Agriculture and the Small Business Administration. On March 8, 2013, DHS—commenting for 

FEMA and the Coast Guard—and the Department of Agriculture provided written comments,

which are summarized below and reprinted in enclosures II and III. The Departments of 

Homeland Security and Agriculture and the Small Business Administration also provided 

technical comments, which we incorporated as appropriate. 

In commenting on the draft report, DHS concurred with the recommendation to examine training 

practices of other agencies with disaster reservist workforces to identify potentially useful 

practices and described actions planned to address it. DHS stated that FEMA will work to 

coordinate with other organizations to address the recommendation and plans to develop a 

 

19GAO-04-546G.
Page 13 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

corrective action plan within 60 calendar days of receiving the final report. DHS also stated that 

FEMA agrees that valuable insight may be gained by assessing training programs of other 

agencies.

The Department of Agriculture stated that it agrees with the findings and recommendation that 

FEMA examine reservist training programs of other federal agencies.

We are sending copies of this report to the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Agriculture,

the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, and selected congressional committees. 

This report is also available at no charge on the GAO web site at http://www.gao.gov. Should 

you or your staff have any questions, please contact me at (202) 512-9610 or 

CaldwellS@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public 

Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. Key contributors to this report were Leyla 

Kazaz, Assistant Director; Ben Atwater; Martene Bryan; Tracey King; Landis Lindsey; Lauren 

Membreno; Linda Miller; Cindy Saunders; and Edith Sohna.

Sincerely yours,

Stephen L. Caldwell

Director, Homeland Security and Justice

Enclosures—3 
Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

Page 14 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

To supplement our comparison of reservist training practices and to provide context for the 

reservist operating environment, this enclosure provides information about reserve program 

missions and funding, reservist definitions and organizational structure, hiring process and pay, 

and deployment practices for FEMA and the three selected agencies in our review. 

Federal Emergency Management Agency Reservist Program

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE) 

program was transformed into the current FEMA Reservist Program beginning in April 2012. All 

DAEs (hereafter referred to as FEMA reservists) were required to re-apply for positions in the 

new reservist program. According to FEMA officials, the agency anticipates hiring a total of 

10,900 reservists for the new program. During the first phase of reservist hiring, 6,795 reservists 

where hired as of February 2013. The second phase of reservist hiring was scheduled to 

commence in February 2013, according to FEMA officials. Under the Post-Katrina Emergency 

Management Reform Act of 2006 (Post-Katrina Act), FEMA is responsible for developing 

standards for deployment capabilities including credentialing of personnel likely to respond to 

natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters.20 The FEMA Qualification 

System (FQS), which FEMA began developing in July 2010, is the agency’s effort to credential 

all employees, including the reservist workforce, in incident management or support positions.21

FEMA launched FQS in October 2012 for implementation, and, as of January 2013, FQS was in 

use by all reservist groups (known as cadres), according to FEMA officials. 

In June 2012, FEMA issued an administrative directive that governs its reservist program.22

Summarized below is the directive’s content related to reservist mission, management structure, 

hiring process and pay, and deployment. We did not evaluate the extent to which FEMA has 

implemented the reservist program directives summarized here because FEMA was in the 

process of implementing its new reservist program during our review. 

Mission

FEMA reservists support FEMA’s mission, as defined by the Post-Katrina Act. FEMA’s mission 

is, among other things, to develop a federal response capability that can act effectively and 

rapidly deliver assistance essential to saving lives or protecting or preserving property or public 

health and safety in a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or other man-made disaster.23 The 

Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act also provides FEMA with 

authority to appoint and adjust the compensation of temporary personnel (i.e., reservists) as 

may be necessary, without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing 

appointments in the competitive service.24 

 

206 U.S.C. § 320. 21According to FEMA officials, FQS is a performance-based system whereby employees are determined to be either 

in trainee or qualified status in one of 322 jobs, each of which has a related position task book. Position task books 

outline required activities, tasks, and behaviors, and serve as a record for task completion.

22FEMA, FEMA Reservist Program. FD 010-6 Revision Number: 01. June 14, 2012. 236 U.S.C. § 313(b)(2)(C). Fiscal year 2012 funding for FEMA’s reservist program totaled $2,644,700. 2442 U.S.C. § 5149(b)(1).
Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

Page 15 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

Reservist Definitions and Organizational Structure 

FEMA reservists are federal employees who form the nucleus of FEMA’s incident workforce. 

Reservists staff disaster response centers; interview disaster survivors; conduct and verify 

damage assessments; provide administrative, financial, and logistical support; and perform a 

wide variety of other tasks as identified by staffing needs and operational requirements. 

Reservist program managers (RPM) manage national-level groups of reservists organized by 

operational function and FQS position. 

Hiring Process and Pay

DAEs holding active appointments who reapply and transition directly from the DAE Program 

into the Reservist Program before the end of calendar year 2012, without any break in service, 

shall be paid at the DAE Program rate to which they were last entitled or the Reservist Program 

rate for their FQS position, whichever is higher. However, if an individual applies for a position 

that is subordinate to his or her qualified FQS position, then the individual will receive the pay 

rate of the subordinate position. If there is a break in service, a former DAE who returns to the 

Reservist Program shall receive pay in accordance with the new reservist program 

requirements.

The following applies to hiring new recruits:

• FEMA’s Assistant Administrator for Response, in coordination with program offices, shall 

determine the size of cadres by functional job category through analysis of factors such 

as historical deployment data, FEMA readiness requirements, and FEMA’s force 

structure.25

• Recruiting for reservist cadres shall include efforts to hire personnel for the required 

number and distribution of positions identified by the FEMA Force Structure. In 

determining the sources and methods for recruiting reservists, FEMA shall consider the 

most efficient means to recruit the best-qualified candidates for the specific positions, the 

FQS qualifications required to perform the duties, and nondiscrimination and diversity 

requirements. 

• FEMA pays reservists for those periods when they are activated and working or in a 

travel or training status. At all other times, reservists remain FEMA employees in a 

nonpay status. No reservist will be entitled to civil service retirement by virtue of his/her 

employment as a reservist.26 

Deployment Practices

 

25According to FEMA officials, FEMA’s force structure analysis will not be available until the second quarter of fiscal 

year 2013.

26In November 2012, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) granted FEMA reservists, and other 

intermittent federal employees engaged in emergency response and recovery work, eligibility for health benefits while 

they are in pay status. OPM stated the following in its notice of the new rule: In light of the need for agencies to attract 

and bring emergency workers on board quickly and in recognition of the hazardous conditions those employees often 

face, OPM has concluded that its current policy of categorically excluding intermittent employees from Federal 

Employee Health Benefit Program (FEHBP) coverage is no longer in the public interest and should be changed. 

Therefore, OPM is issuing this interim regulation to allow agencies to request FEHBP coverage for intermittent 

employees engaged in emergency response and recovery work as defined by the Stafford Act. In addition, if OPM 

grants any such requests, it is reserving the authority to limit FEHBP coverage for intermittent employees to the

periods during which they are in a pay status. This would promote parity between intermittent employees and 

temporary employees like the wildland firefighters, who receive FEHBP coverage when called up for duty. It would 

also allow OPM the discretion to craft an appropriate approach to health insurance coverage based on the potentially 

diverse work schedules of intermittent employees.
Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

Page 16 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

FEMA’s Incident Workforce Management Office (IWMO) leads the effort to identify and select 

the FQS-qualified reservist personnel from the FEMA headquarters program offices, which train, 

maintain, and provide program policy for distinct reservist cadres deployed in support of disaster 

declarations. Each cadre has at least one designated, full-time manager responsible for a wide 

range of cadre-specific activities, including ensuring that reservists in their cadres are trained, 

available, and ready to perform incident management and support functions in accordance with 

FQS.

IWMO centrally deploys fully equipped, FQS-certified reservists and trainees in specific FQS 

positions. Upon arrival in the field, reservists join the incident management and support 

organization under the day-to-day direction of on-site FQS-certified supervisors, and perform 

work that corresponds to their FQS position task book positions. Those on-site supervisors 

manage day-to-day reservist performance, referring certain matters of recognition and discipline 

to FEMA management to ensure consistent, nationwide application of policy. 

The process outlined below in figure 6 describes how FEMA deploys reservists during a 

disaster: 

Figure 6: FEMA Reservist Deployment Process
Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

Page 17 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

U.S. Coast Guard Reserve Program

Mission 

The U.S. Coast Guard is responsible for maritime safety and security when preparing for and 

responding to natural disasters or incidents, in accordance with the National Response 

Framework (NRF), issued by FEMA in 2008 to present the guiding principles for all response 

entities to prepare for and provide a unified national response to disasters and emergencies. 

For example, according to the NRF, the Coast Guard has lead authority for certain mass 

migration management scenarios and significant oil or hazardous substance spill incidents in 

the maritime environment. The purpose of the Coast Guard reserve is to provide trained units 

and qualified persons available for active duty in the armed forces, in time of war or national 

emergency, and at other times as national security may require to fill the needs of the armed 

forces whenever more units and persons are needed than are in the active duty components.27

These trained units and qualified individuals also respond to domestic disasters, such as 

Hurricane Sandy.

The Coast Guard reserve is one of the reserve components of the armed forces.28 By federal 

law, any member of the Coast Guard reserve serving on active duty or inactive duty training 

status has "the same authority, rights and privileges in the performance of that duty as a 

member of the regular Coast Guard of corresponding grade or rating."29 This provision allows 

qualified reservists to enforce federal law and make lawful arrests, when necessary, within the 

scope of their assigned duties. This authority allows reservists to function, interchangeably, with 

the same military and civil powers as their regular component counterparts, whether during 

inactive duty drills or while serving under active duty orders. 

Funding

Congress appropriated $134.3 million for the Coast Guard reserve program in fiscal year 

2012.30 The appropriation funds all training and administration costs related to reservists. When 

reservists are activated for duty, the Coast Guard’s financial accounts used to fund active duty 

personnel activities are used by requesting commands to fund reservist costs, according to 

Coast Guard officials. As of March 2013, the Coast Guard was operating under the continuing 

resolution for funding across the federal government.31

Reservist Definitions and Organizational Structure

According to Coast Guard policy documentation, the reserve force is to be always ready to 

mobilize with competencies in boat operations, disaster planning and response, expeditionary 

warfare, marine safety, port security, and law enforcement. Coast Guard officials stated that 

reservists respond to coastal disasters as well as to emergencies on the Great Lakes and in the 

Midwest. For example, after Hurricane Sandy, in October 2012, 157 reservists were deployed to 

assist in the response. The Coast Guard, including reservists, deployed to areas throughout 

New York and New Jersey with environmental threats caused by the hurricane, according to 

FEMA documentation of agency roles during the response. Coast Guard responders, including 

reservists, assessed affected areas and environmentally sensitive areas for pollution and 

 

2710 U.S.C. § 10102. 2810 U.S.C. § 10101. 2914 U.S.C. § 704. 30Pub. L. No. 112-74, 125 Stat. 786, 953 (2011). 31Pub. L. No. 112-175, 126 Stat. 1313 (2012). 
Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

Page 18 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

hazardous materials. The assessments were to be used to appropriately respond to identified 

areas of pollution for cleanup. Figure 7 shows Coast Guard reservist locations throughout the 

United States.

Figure 7: Coast Guard Locations and Number of Reservist Positions Assigned, as of 

October 2012 

 

Note: According to Coast Guard officials, reservists are assigned to Coast Guard locations but may be deployed to 

respond to disasters worldwide. The officials also stated that Coast Guard districts have merged over time, resulting 

in the elimination of some district numbers. 

Hiring Process and Pay 

Hiring process. Federal enlistment regulations for the armed forces govern Coast Guard hiring 

of the selected reserve. Coast Guard requires the qualifications listed in figure 8.
Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

Page 19 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

Figure 8: U.S. Coast Guard Recruit Qualifications

According to Coast Guard officials, for certain positions or skill sets, the Reserve program hires 

a mix of personnel with prior service, who already have been tested and trained, as well as new 

recruits without such skill sets. The Coast Guard also recruits first responders, such as police 

officers, according to officials. The Coast Guard does not advertise for vacant positions, but 

instead conducts general military advertising through local recruiting offices for both active duty 

and reserve personnel. 

Reserve candidates take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test at a 

Coast Guard recruiting office. If a potential recruit receives a qualifying score on the ASVAB, the 

recruit completes a hiring package that includes information for a background check, criminal 

history, and financial history. The package is reviewed by the Coast Guard, and if the hiring 

package is approved, the recruit is to be assigned a job specialty and position, which is 

determined by a combination of the ASVAB results, individual preference, and the needs of the 

Coast Guard. There are three categories of recruits: (1) New Accessions (no prior military 

service), (2) Released from Active Duty, and (3) Direct Entry Program (new to the Coast Guard 

but have specialized expertise). The hiring process takes 4 to 6 months. The Coast Guard 

recruits approximately 1,000 people per year to maintain its desired reservist staffing levels, 

according to Coast Guard officials. Coast Guard officials determine the number of recruits 

required each year based on the forecasted reservist attrition rate, which includes factors such 

as separations, retirements, and integrations to active duty. Active duty and reservist personnel 

commit to serving for 8-year-long periods, which can be a combination of active and reserve 

duty. 

Pay. With respect to pay structure, the different duty statuses determine pay. For example, 

during active duty for training (2 weeks per year), a reservist is provided the same pay as active 

duty personnel and may receive a similar allowance, according to Coast Guard officials. During 

inactive duty (2 days per month), the pay scale for reserve pay is used. Pay is also based on the 

reservist’s military rank, years of service, and status as an officer or enlisted member. 

Deployment 

Deployment of Coast Guard reservists is governed by U.S. statute. Deployment scenarios are 

listed in figure 9, including deployments that may be ordered with and without the consent of 

reservists, which include overseas deployments.
Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

Page 20 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

Figure 9: Coast Guard Reservist Activation Legal Framework 

 

a

10 U.S.C. § 12301(d).

b

10 U.S.C. § 12301(a).

c

10 U.S.C. § 12302.

d

10 U.S.C. § 12304.

e

14 U.S.C. § 712.

The Coast Guard’s Mobilization Readiness Tracking Tool (MRTT) is used to determine who is 

available for mobilization within needed skill sets, according to Coast Guard officials. The Coast 

Guard area commands enter requirements into MRTT based on the skill sets, military 

occupational specialties, and required pay grades needed for the disaster response. Reservists 

may apply to fulfill a requirement or the operational commander may involuntarily recall a 

reservist based on the reservist’s skill set and the recall authority relied upon for the disaster 

response, according to Coast Guard officials. 

Reservist activation decisions for deploying to disasters are executed by the Coast Guard 

Pacific or Atlantic area commands. If reservists must be involuntarily deployed for domestic 

response, both the Commandant of the Coast Guard and the Secretary of Homeland Security 

must approve the activation. Reservists have up to 48 hours from the time of activation 

notification to report for duty, according to Coast Guard officials. 
Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

Page 21 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

Small Business Administration’s Office of Disaster Assistance 

Mission

The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Disaster Assistance's (ODA) mission is to 

provide low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters, and businesses of all sizes. This 

mission also includes providing loans to private and nonprofit organizations. Disaster victims 

may use these loans to repair or replace real estate, personal property, machinery; equipment, 

inventory, and business assets that have been damaged or destroyed in a declared disaster. 

SBA’s disaster loans are the primary form of federal assistance for the repair and rebuilding of 

nonfarm, private sector disaster losses, particularly those not covered by insurance. Specifically, 

SBA provides disaster assistance through its Disaster Loan Program (DLP) to help recovery 

efforts after disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and terrorist attacks. In addition 

to its disaster loan program, SBA helps small businesses recover from disasters through 

technical assistance and procurement programs. As of March 31, 2012, SBA had approved 

more than 1.9 million loans, for over $50 billion, since its inception in 1953.

SBA provides financial assistance for non-insured losses in the form of Home Disaster Loans to 

homeowners or renters to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate or personal property 

owned by the victims.32 Renters are eligible for their personal property losses, including 

automobiles. Business Physical Disaster Loans are also made available to qualified businesses 

to repair or replace disaster-damaged property owned by the business, including real estate, 

inventories, supplies, machinery, and equipment. Businesses of any size are eligible. Private 

nonprofit organizations such as charities, churches, and private universities, are also eligible. 

Additionally, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans provide working capital loans for a variety of 

small businesses to help meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be 

met as a direct result of a disaster. These loans are intended to assist through the disaster 

recovery period. 

SBA’s reservists are hired and deployed to accommodate the anticipated workload of declared 

disasters. The size of a disaster affects the number of loan requests SBA receives, and 

consequently the resources SBA must activate to serve its customers. Upon declaration of a 

disaster, SBA assesses its need to deploy or activate reservists to help with recovery. ODA 

maintains reserve lists to keep a running count of employees that are available to report back to 

work when called upon. As an event unfolds, ODA expands office space and calls on staff and 

reservists to meet the anticipated workload.

Funding

Costs for ODA travel and per diem for Just-in-Time training for reservists was $4,088,165 in 

fiscal year 2012. 

Reservist Definitions and Organizational Structure

ODA reservist personnel available for duty totaled 3,049 as of December 2012. Reserve 

employees are either selected through competitive procedures to term intermittent appointments 

 

32SBA can make loans to eligible victims of declared disasters as defined by the Small Business Act. Section 7 of the 

Small Business Act, as amended, authorizes SBA’s Physical Disaster and Economic Injury Loan Programs. 15 

U.S.C. § 636.
Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

Page 22 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

or hired directly outside of the competitive placement process as Schedule A appointees.33

Additionally, management has identified certain former ODA employees as resources to call 

back to service for response to large-scale events, according to ODA officials. Table 2 identifies 

SBA reservist categories we evaluated for this report.

Table 2: SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance Reserve Categories

Reserve category Description Number of 

reservists, as of 

December 2012

Term intermittent (surge) Term intermittent employees are surge staff who are called upon 

to respond to disaster activity when the core group of permanent, 

cadrea and term seasonalb staff have all been exhausted. Term 

intermittent staff compete for employment for a period of more 

than 1 year and not to exceed 4 years. Term intermittent 

employees are typically used when

• work is sporadic, unpredictable, and cannot be regularly 

scheduled in advance and

• there is a drastic increase in disaster activity. 

1,730

Surge plus Surge plus employees are called when all permanent, cadre, term 

seasonal, and term intermittent staff have been exhausted. These 

individuals are Schedule A employees who are hired without 

competing for employment.

1,319

Source: GAO analysis of SBA data.

Notes: For the purposes of this report, we did not compare term seasonal employees with FEMA reservists because 

of the nature of their appointments. Employment for term seasonal employees is expected to last at least 6 months 

and is less sporadic than for FEMA reservists. a

Cadre employees are full-time equivalent employees on a seasonal schedule. b

Term seasonal employees compete for employment and are appointed for more than 1 year and not to exceed 4 

years.

The ODA organizational structure and assets are functionally based and geographically 

dispersed, minimizing reliance on a single region, according to ODA staffing strategy 

documentation. See figure 10 for location of ODA field office centers. While there are additional 

offices within SBA that support disasters, the primary offices that support a disaster response 

are as follows: 

• ODA headquarters at SBA’s central office in Washington, D.C. 

• The Customer Service Center (CSC), located in Buffalo, New York. Disaster victims 

contact this center when they have questions about their loan applications. Services for 

disaster victims include a call center, e-mail response, disaster application mailing 

capabilities, and preapplication data entry assistance, and the center provides services 

to the other centers as needed. 

• Two disaster Field Operations Centers (FOC): FOC-E (East) is located in Atlanta, 

Georgia, and FOC-W (West) is located in Sacramento, California. The two FOCs are 

responsible for the coordination of preliminary damage assessments, field operations, 

and information dissemination. 

 

33Schedule A appointees may be used to fill special jobs and unique circumstances such as short-term, critical hiring 

situations where the use of standard qualification requirements and rating practices required during traditional 

competitive procedures are impractical. 
Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

Page 23 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

• A centralized loan Processing and Disbursement Center (PDC) located in Fort Worth, 

Texas. The PDC mails out and receives applications, evaluates them, and disburses 

funds to eligible borrowers. 

• The Office of Disaster Personnel (ODP) provides human resource support, the 

Administrative Services Center (ASC) provides administrative support, the Office of 

Disaster Strategic Engagement and Effectiveness (ODSEE) provides employee 

relations, training, and development support, the Disaster Credit Management 

Systems (DCMS) Operations Center oversees the DCMS system, and the Damage 

Verification Center (DVC) provides the loss verification/inspection function. All of these 

units are located in Herndon, Virginia. 

Figure 10: Office of Disaster Assistance Field Office Center Locations

 

 

Hiring Process and Pay

Hiring process. Center directors are instructed to submit a reservist staffing request to ODA 

headquarters. If the request is approved, then the Office of Disaster Personnel manages the 

hiring process for each center. The vast majority of ODA’s hiring processes for reservists follow 

Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) guidance—which is closely associated with the 

position descriptions (PD) for each of its employee types. Prior to posting a reservist job 

announcement, ODA’s Office of Disaster Personnel performs a job analysis and uses an 

assessment tool to determine the specific functions performed under the job title it plans to fill. 

Additionally, it gathers information from in-house subject matter experts (SME)—usually staff 

who work with human resources staff to provide additional background information for the 

position description. ODA also uses OPM qualification standards to help determine the 

experience requirements related to the job title. ODA posts all job openings on the USA Jobs 
Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

Page 24 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

web site, but during a major disaster, employs various other methods, including advertising 

locally, to get the largest pool of applicants as possible. Once the announcement closes, both 

the SMEs and human resources staff review applications to determine which applicants are best 

qualified. Applicants deemed qualified are asked to complete a self-assessment that rates the 

applicant’s experience using a numerical value. According to ODA officials, this process also 

follows OPM’s standards and helps determine which applicants are best qualified, well qualified, 

or qualified. 

ODA does not use face-to-face interviews with reservists, which is a departure from how 

permanent staff are hired. Once reservists are brought on board, SBA uses their introductory 

training period (between 1 and 3 weeks) to help determine who is qualified to be a reservist in 

its program. SBA’s goal is to cast a wide net in order to have a large enough pool of reservists. 

Hiring is done year round, but the agency may increase the number of job announcements it 

publishes based on an increase in disaster activity. All hiring decision making and processing 

are done centrally in ODA’s Herndon, Virginia location. 

Figure 11 outlines how SBA determines the appropriate staffing levels and skills required for 

specific disasters and more details are presented below. 

Figure 11: Small Business Administration (SBA) Reservist Staffing Level Determination

• Assess application volume. When deemed necessary, the ODA Scalability Model is to 

be executed to validate the staffing needs.34

• Validate staffing levels. When appropriate, upon receiving the results from the 

Scalability Model, as well as other disaster information, centers are to review and identify 

the predetermined staffing levels to ensure that they have the staff needed to respond.

• Determine the unique disaster characteristics. In addition to validating that their 

current staffing levels are adequate to respond to the disaster, centers are also to make 

sure that their available staff have requisite skill sets needed to meet the needs of the 

disaster.

• Identify resources in surge or surge plus pool. Once the resource requirements are 

identified, the centers, along with the Office of Disaster Personnel, are to identify staff 

with the requisite skills within the surge or surge plus pools if these skills are not 

available within the core staff.

• In process/hire surge staff. According to the application/workload analysis to 

determine the appropriate staffing action, if it is determined that SBA’s field centers 

require resources from the surge or surge plus pools, the centers, in coordination with 

ODP, are to either place staff in pay status, hire staff, or execute a contract based on the 

needs for responding to the disaster.

 

34According to SBA’s Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Plan, SBA has a system in place that employs risk 

modeling to scale its existing operations to effectively respond to disasters that require varying levels of support. This 

scalability model covers five functional components: human capital, infrastructure, partnerships, and technology, and

communications ensuring appropriate responses in each. Each component can scale, separately or in concert with 

the others, according to the surge that is required to meet various levels of disaster.
Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

Page 25 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

Pay. According to SBA officials, the agency’s reservist pay rates are aligned with OPM’s 

General Schedule (GS) and range from GS-5 to GS-12. Reservist pay grade and rate of pay are 

determined using the same set of OPM guidelines as for other classes of employees, which 

includes meeting certain qualification requirements in accordance with OPM’s Qualification 

Standards. With the exception of those reservists who are Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) 

exempt, SBA’s reservists are eligible for overtime, which is offered at a rate of 1.5 times an 

individual’s hourly regular rate of pay. SBA uses OPM guidelines and policies to determine if 

reservists are eligible for pay raises, including within-grade increases and promotions. SBA’s 

term intermittent employees are not authorized benefits unless they were enrolled in benefits in 

a federal appointment immediately preceding the term intermittent appointment. 

Deployment Practices

SBA categorizes disasters into levels based on estimates of the number of anticipated 

applications. This categorization enables SBA to determine an appropriate surge level for 

scaling resources and operations to meet the needs of disaster victims. Figure 12 provides an 

overview of the surge process.
Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

Page 26 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

Figure 12: Overview of SBA Surge Process

Note: Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) are made up of a unique collaboration of SBA, state and local 

governments, and private sector funding resources that are to work together to provide an array of technical 

assistance to small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs. Service Corps of Retired Executives Association is a 

nonprofit association supported by SBA that is dedicated to helping small businesses achieve their goals through 

education and mentorship. Women’s Business Centers is a national network of nearly 100 educational centers 

designed to provide entrepreneurs (especially women who are economically or socially disadvantaged) 

comprehensive training and counseling on a variety of topics to help them start and grow their own businesses.
Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

Page 27 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management

Mission 

The Fire and Aviation Management (FAM) unit within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 

Forest Service is charged with fire prevention, fire suppression, and using prescribed fires to 

support environmental resource and social objectives. As part of its mission, FAM protects life, 

property, and natural resources on 193 million acres of national forest system land and 20 

million acres of adjacent state and private property. In addition to wildland fire management, 

FAM has increasingly been tasked with responding to nonfire national emergencies like 

Hurricane Katrina. FAM does not have a formal reserve program, and it operates under legal 

authorities that govern all temporary federal employees, which we discuss later in the hiring and 

pay section of this enclosure. 

Funding

FAM analyzes historical trends and drought conditions to estimate firefighting capability 

requirements for each year. This planning is used to support funding requests for firefighting 

resources that fall into two categories: pre-suppression and suppression. Pre-Suppression 

funds, used to secure and train fire fighting assets, and support the prevention and the state and 

volunteer fire assistance programs, are allocated at the beginning of the fiscal year, while 

suppression funds, used to fight fires, are allocated during suppression activities. If depletion of 

suppression funds occurs as a result of support of regional and or national wildfires, the agency 

has the ability to leverage funding from other Forest Service programs to meet the funding 

need. 

Wildland fire management represents a growing portion of the Forest Service’s program 

activities, increasing from 13 percent of its total budget in 1991 to about 50 percent in 2009. In 

fiscal year 2012, the total Wildland Fire Management appropriations—including both the regular 

Wildland Fire Management appropriations, as well as the FLAME Wildfire Suppression Reserve 

Fund—was $2 billion.35

Reservist Definitions and Organizational Structure 

The FAM workforce organizational structure is three-tiered, made up of firefighters from local, 

state, and federal governments. Given the unpredictable nature of fires, FAM utilizes 

established federal and state cooperative agreements to enable it to surge beyond annual 

firefighting capability projections by using local, state, and federal firefighting personnel. 

Command and control for FAM fire suppression operations is also decentralized, with locations 

in national forests, for example, to cope with the unpredictable nature of fires. 

As previously mentioned, unlike the Coast Guard and FEMA, FAM does not have a traditional 

reserve program. All FAM employees who are deployed to fight a fire, including full-time and

part-time employees, must abide by the same basic training requirements. See table 3 for a full 

description of the two employee reserve types, and figure 13 for the location of operating 

centers that utilize FAM reservists, as well as the number of reservists assigned to these 

centers as of December 2012. 

 

35 Pub. L. No. 112-74, 125 Stat. 786, 1022-24 (2011). The FLAME Wildfire Suppression Reserve Fund is an 

appropriation providing funds to cover fires that are sufficiently large and complex or when the Suppression account 

is expected to be completely obligated. It is intended to address the impacts of increasing wildfire suppression costs 

and their effects on other agency programs.
Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

Page 28 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

Table 3: Fire and Aviation Management (FAM) Reserve Categories

Reserve category Description Number of reservists, 

as of November 2012

Temporary/”1039” 

employeesa A temporary appointment is appropriate for work that is expected to last no more than 1 year. Temporary 

appointments can also be used for seasonal work that is 

needed every year when the work requires less than 

1,040 hours of duty, excluding overtime and eligible 

training each year. Temporary employees with a 

seasonal schedule, that is, “temporary seasonal,” have 

annually recurring work that is expected to last less than 

6 months (less than 1,040 hours) each year. This time 

limitation can be exceeded for training purposes up to 

120 days in the first year of the appointment and up to 

80 hours each subsequent year.

3,725

Administratively determined 

(AD)/”casuals”/emergency 

firefighters

An individual who is not a regular agency employee and 

is hired for temporary emergency (nonrecurring) service 

under the AD Pay Plan and procedures. Once the 

emergency has ended, the individual’s employment is 

terminated. 

6,273

Source: GAO analysis of FAM data.

Note: For the purposes of this report, permanent seasonal employees were not compared with FEMA reservists 

because they are permanent career employees. 

a

See 5 C.F.R. § 316.401.

According to FAM officials, the annual cost to support and train reservists (temporary and 

administratively determined) is difficult to estimate because reservist training is conducted 

simultaneously with training for permanent employees and does not require additional funds. 

Further, this cost is minimal because, according to FAM officials, there are only two training 

requirements for FAM reservists. When first hired, reservists are required to take a 1-week basic 

firefighting training, typically offered at a local fire station. Subsequently, reservists are to attend 

a 1-day fire refresher training annually. This refresher training is already scheduled for 

regular/permanent employees and involves no additional training cost, such as for a hired 

instructor, or travel costs, if offered in an area in which reservists are located. 
Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

Page 29 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

Figure 13: Number of Temporary and Administratively Determined Employees at Fire and 

Aviation Management (FAM) Operating Centers, as of December 2012 

Hiring Process and Pay 

Hiring. As temporary employees, FAM reservists are hired in accordance with OPM regulations 

that authorize federal temporary employment programs in the excepted and competitive 

service.36 The specific applicable qualification requirements for these temporary appointments 

focus on the applicant's ability to demonstrate that he or she can successfully perform the duties 

of the position. FAM utilizes detailed position descriptions to hire temporary employees. 

However, the ultimate responsibility lies with the applicant to provide enough information during 

the application process so a qualification determination can be made. ADs are hired by the local 

FAM unit in the event of an emergency and sent to where there is a need. Such hiring is of 

uncertain or temporary duration and must be terminated when other employment methods can 

be initiated, such as the hiring of temporary or seasonal employees to replace the ADs. 

Pay. FAM temporary employee pay rates are aligned with the federal General Schedule and 

depend on the employee’s position. Employees are paid overtime at a rate of 1.5 times their 

normal salary. Depending on the severity of the fire, employees may be offered additional 

hazard pay or Sunday and night pay. AD salaries are not aligned with the General Schedule. 

These reservists are paid under the provisions of the AD pay plan in effect at the time of hire. 

This pay plan applies when it becomes necessary to hire persons to

 

36See 5 C.F.R. pt. 316, § 213.104.
Enclosure I: Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Small Business 

Administration, and U.S. Forest Service’s Reserve Program Profiles

Page 30 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

• cope with a sudden and unexpected emergency caused by a fire, or extreme fire 

potential, flood, storm, or any other all-hazard emergency, and

• provide emergency assistance to states under formalized agreements, and meet mission 

assignments issued by FEMA.

Deployment Practices

FAM has a mobilization process in place for deployments that, according to FAM officials, 

endeavors to use the regular employed personnel that are available for incidents first before 

using the ADs to supplement the work-force. The local FAM unit or team at the fire determines 

the resources needed to fight the fire and places a request for reservists in FAM’s Resource 

Order Status System (ROSS). FAM does not deploy specific individuals; instead, requests 

entered into ROSS specify certain qualifications needed to respond to the fire. As shown in 

figure 14, employees are required to update their availability for a fire assignment in ROSS, 

being sure to check with their supervisors to make sure they can actually take the time off to 

help fight the fire. These employees are then deployed through a dispatch system. Depending 

on the type of disaster, requests for specific types of positions are submitted to the dispatch 

system, which sorts through all of the employees that have made themselves available to find a 

match based on the characteristics of the request and the employees’ credentials. 

Figure 14: Fire and Aviation Management (FAM) Deployment Process

 

Note: Fires are distinguished by Type (Type I through Type V). Each type of fire requires a different skill set or 

firefighters who are increasingly more qualified to work more dangerous fires. Type I fires are significantly more 

complex than Type V. 

The local dispatch office is to check ROSS for availability of qualified personnel locally and 

order regular employees before ordering an AD. FAM attempts to utilize the “closest forces” 

concept to save costs on mobilization of resources. If no one with the desired qualifications is 

available locally, the request is elevated to the Geographic Area Coordination Center. If the 

request cannot be filled there, it is then elevated to the National Interagency Coordination 

Center. Individuals can be dispatched either locally or nationally, or both. FAM attempts to fulfill 

requests and make decisions at the local level, unless the local level does not have the desired 

resources. Also, FAM attempts to deploy on a rotational basis; however, if there is an employee 

who needs training or additional experience, FAM is to try to deploy the employee to the fire. 

ROSS does not identify whether an individual’s task book (used by the Forest Service to track 

on-the-job experience after getting basic training) is about to expire or how many assignments a 

person has had.37 This information is all locally managed. Once employees are deployed, they 

have to remove themselves from ROSS to prevent being called again. Typical deployments are 

for 14-day periods. 

 

37Position task books (PTB) identify all critical tasks required to perform the job for most standard incident 

management and prescribed fire positions. PTB responsibilities are contained within the Wildland Fire Qualifications 

Systems Guide, PMS 310-1. A PTB must be completed within 3 years from the time the first task is evaluated.
Page 31 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

Enclosure II: Comments from the Department of Homeland Security 
Enclosure II: Comments from the Department of Homeland Security

Page 32 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists
Page 33 GAO-13-250R FEMA Reservists

Enclosure III: Comments from the Department of Agriculture

(441080)
This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the 

United States. The published product may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety 

without further permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain 

copyrighted images or other material, permission from the copyright holder may be 

necessary if you wish to reproduce this material separately.
The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation, and 

investigative arm of Congress, exists to support Congress in meeting its 

constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and 

accountability of the federal government for the American people. GAO 

examines the use of public funds; evaluates federal programs and 

policies; and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance 

to help Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. 

GAO’s commitment to good government is reflected in its core values of 

accountability, integrity, and reliability.

The fastest and easiest way to obtain copies of GAO documents at no 

cost is through GAO’s website (www.gao.gov). Each weekday afternoon, 

GAO posts on its website newly released reports, testimony, and 

correspondence. To have GAO e-mail you a list of newly posted products, 

go to www.gao.gov and select “E-mail Updates.”

The price of each GAO publication reflects GAO’s actual cost of 

production and distribution and depends on the number of pages in the 

publication and whether the publication is printed in color or black and 

white. Pricing and ordering information is posted on GAO’s website, 

http://www.gao.gov/ordering.htm. 

Place orders by calling (202) 512-6000, toll free (866) 801-7077, or 

TDD (202) 512-2537. 

Orders may be paid for using American Express, Discover Card, 

MasterCard, Visa, check, or money order. Call for additional information.

Connect with GAO on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and YouTube. 

Subscribe to our RSS Feeds or E-mail Updates. Listen to our Podcasts. 

Visit GAO on the web at www.gao.gov. 

Contact:

Website: www.gao.gov/fraudnet/fraudnet.htm

E-mail: fraudnet@gao.gov

Automated answering system: (800) 424-5454 or (202) 512-7470

Katherine Siggerud, Managing Director, siggerudk@gao.gov, (202) 512-

4400, U.S. Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 

7125, Washington, DC 20548

Chuck Young, Managing Director, youngc1@gao.gov, (202) 512-4800

U.S. Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 7149 

Washington, DC 20548

GAO’s Mission

Obtaining Copies of 

GAO Reports and 

Testimony

Order by Phone

Connect with GAO

To Report Fraud, 

Waste, and Abuse in 

Federal Programs

Congressional 

Relations

Public Affairs

Please Print on Recycled Paper.