Lines of authority must be clear from the national level downward so that there is no lag time between the report of the accident and the response of the trained corps. There would also be medical and paramedical units, with specialized technicians, physicists and chemists trained to deal with nuclear and chemical accidents. Survival skills, including mountain rescue, and undersea-diving should be taught to all recruits. Arctic and wilderness survival should be taught by the native people in bases like Goose Bay, Labrador. Just as fire departments now train firemen in new techniques of dispute resolution, this team should be trained in the new concepts of conflict resolution and mediation.
Disasters place incredible stresses on people and irrational behaviour is common.
One of the tasks of this Corps would be to develop links and training programs to utilize volunteers in the most effective way at the time of a disaster. This would mean setting up programs with the civilian sector and establishing strategies to approach an emergency so that the large number of people who volunteer their services can be quickly and effectively deployed. This coordination is essential to avoid waste of energy, resources and time. There are models of this cooperation in search and rescue organizations already, but the scope and training of volunteers must be greatly augmented. Such advance planning would also reduce costs and involve communities in the responsibility for preparedness.