By: William R. Cumming

William R. Cumming — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 07:15:38 +0000

Quoting from Prof. Thomas Birkland’s (PhD)fine article on post 9/11 activity in the Washington Update section of the November 2009 Natural Hazards Observer [published free on-line and in hard copy]on page 18: State and Local emergency managers and academic researchers across many disciplines were ignored in favor of the untested “expertise” of federal law enforcement officals, military officers, and contractors, many of whom had little experience in disaster or emergency management”!
It now appears that in August 2009 FEMA contracted with a largely military oriented firm to produce its first effort at doctrine for disaster operations. What it really documents is that the over 25 planning and guidance documents issued by FEMA and others were not fully coordinated with each other and few if any even in FEMA now understand them or how they work together. It is a cinch that the effort to rewrite HSPD 8 is not being coordinated with that “doctrinal” production effort either and would be surprised if the product from the “doctrine” group due the end of the month will have any clue is might all be for nought with reissuance of HSPD-8 in modified form. Well the federal system is a Constitutional mandate so these efforts had better be fully coordinated with STATE and LOCAL governments because of great importance is that the bulk of the effort is local. Only money and information ususally is provided by the feds in large-scale disasters and of course should some involve technical support that might also need quality integration with ongoing STATE and LOCAL efforts.
By the way is the tasking to the group rewriting HSPD-8 available publically? That might be interesting reading if there is such a document! Signed by the President? Jim Jones? John Brennan? Who is in charge of this administration? Again documents lack of civil domestic crisis management system and chain of command with verified skills and competencies. Looks like ad hoc all the way again. And just as a footnote in 34 years of working for Uncle Sugar the military ad hocs as fast or faster in a crisis than the civil agencies largely due to what I now have concluded is turnover and ticket punching at the officer corps level. Perhaps the 20 years and out system means most of the above are hoping to not have major crisis on their watch. By the way a comprehensive emergency management system is a statutory mandate to the Administrator FEMA in Title VI of the Stafford Act. Perhaps Craig Fugate should be put under oath soon and asked after over 1/2 year in the job of Administrator if he found any evidence of a system, why or why not? And what is he doing to produce one as statutorily mandated? Sorry Craig but you don’t get a pass since you are “experienced EM” in accordance with PKEMA requirement for Administrator of FEMA. And if you think that Janet will be blamed not you you fail to understand DC and its Washington system. “Beware the Trust of Princes [or Princesses]” Advice from political observer of 16th Century Italian City State politics and governance.

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By: William R. Cumming