Chertoff announced changes to the FEMA procedures to have the response personnel in place before the disaster occurs.
The real issue seems still not to have any solution. Command and control is still on the whim of the state and local bureaucrats. Coordination seems to be something that isn't being practiced nor even negotiated in the planning stages. This is why there was so much yelling about letting the military run disaster relief, at least they have a command structure that doesn't fall into the cess pool of politics.
Usually, FEMA waits until after a disaster hits to put federal relief coordinators and overseers in place. But confusion in Katrina's immediate aftermath demonstrated widespread failures when the federal government doesn't work closely with state and local authorities, said a senior Homeland Security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not been made."Another layer of bureaucracy" is an interesting point. But then, what do these people want? They want the assistance and the money, but not the oversight? What if the hurricane sweeps across several states, who then makes the decision where the supplies are needed the most? I guess that layer of additional bureaucracy has a purpose. And to use Katrina as the example, we saw just how spectacularly the state and local emergency responders utilized their local assets. Bus' unused, refusing access to the Red Cross to force people to come out of the area. It looks to me that they should have another layer to deal with.State emergency managers fear that part of the plans will create another level of bureaucracy to deal with in the midst of a disaster.
Trina Sheets, executive director of the National Emergency Management Association, said state officials vigorously oppose the top-level disaster site overseers. Former FEMA director Michael Brown served in that role immediately after Katrina, and, Sheets said, "it was confusing." Brown resigned under fire two weeks after Katrina.
"It's just another layer of bureaucracy," said Sheets, whose organizations represents emergency management officers from all 50 states
The real issue seems still not to have any solution. Command and control is still on the whim of the state and local bureaucrats. Coordination seems to be something that isn't being practiced nor even negotiated in the planning stages. This is why there was so much yelling about letting the military run disaster relief, at least they have a command structure that doesn't fall into the cess pool of politics.
1 comment:
There were a variety of benefits gained from using the military for disaster relief.
War is not a simple afair as shown in the movies: waiting -then combat -then waiting -then combat... Operations have always been dependent on logistics as much as strategy and front line tactics. In addition, there is an urgency that sailors and soldiers bring to any operation. Their working hours are not restricted and they are not allowed excuses for not getting simple jobs done.
Also, the US Dept. of Defense spends a great deal of effort in planning worst case scenarios (battle plans). Though they hope they never have to implement those plans, the senior officers realize that planning and prevention go hand in hand. Work ethic, logistics, and advanced planning are as important as hardware and heavy lift capacity in responding to any crisis.
I think most of us are armchair quarterbacking here... but clearly FEMA, state, and local officials were not operating cohesively and did not have a solid plan.
-T/S
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