I almost always catch the releases of the draft FEMA/NIC resource typing definitions, yet I clearly missed the one released in late February for EOC Management Support. Feedback on the draft is due by COB tomorrow, Friday (April 1, 2022).
This release is actually a significant update from an original resource typing definition for EOC Management Support Teams released in 2005. I’m not even sure what they were thinking with the 2005 version, in which a Type 1 EOC Management Support Team only addresses EOC Management/Command Staff.
This new version addresses EOC Management Support more broadly, tackling the challenge of addressing differing EOC organizational models (ICS-based, Incident Support Model-based, or Department/ESF-based). For ICS-based and ISM-based models, they stick to a minimum of six personnel, composed of the EOC Director (I still prefer EOC Manager, personally), a PIO, and the General Staff positions. The Department/ESF-based model identifies an Emergency Manager as providing oversight (not sure why they aren’t sticking with an EOC Manager/Director title), and five departmental/ESF representatives, which they rightfully indicate should be selected based upon the needs of the incident.
Unfortunately, this resource typing definition is extremely short sighted, providing the same structure across Types 1 through 3, with the only noted differences from Type 3 to Type 1 being a small bit of computer and communications equipment. I’m not particularly happy about this and I think it’s a discredit to skilled, trained, and experienced EOC personnel. This also does a disservice to the fundamental purpose of resource typing, being that incidents which have more demands require resources with greater capability. The simple addition of some computer monitors and a sat phone doesn’t provide any greater capability of the knowledge and skills of the personnel being deployed. I’m not sure why Type 2 and Type 1 EOC Management Support Teams wouldn’t be required to provide additional staff (to account for 24-hour operations, work load, etc.).
This document alone also paints an incomplete picture, citing positions that aren’t themselves defined in the library by position qualifications and corresponding position task books. As such, there are no training and experience requirements outlined for the positions identified. There is no typing that exists for these positions at all, or really any definition within the NQS of these positions. I think this document should have been released as part of a full package that includes the position qualifications and task books for each position.
As a positive observation, I do appreciate that this new document specifies that while Incident Management Teams (IMTs) have been deployed to fulfil EOC Management Support roles, requests should be first filled by actual EOC Management Support Teams. I appreciate this recognition, especially considering that IMTs are not fundamentally designed to manage EOCs. While they often do, and are generally successful, this can be an underutilization of IMTs at best, and possibly the entirely wrong tool for the job.
All in all, while this is a step in the right direction for recognizing the need for personnel who specialize in aspects of EOC management, I’m disappointed with the lack of thought that has gone into this. It’s rather like ordering a new car and only being given four tires to start. There is no connection between those tires and nothing to make them go. There isn’t even a place to sit, much less any idea if those tires are suited for the vehicle you ordered. This is also long overdue. The effort to type resources by the National Integration Center is about as old as NIMS itself, yet this is the first REAL movement we have seen on defining and typing EOC personnel. EOCs are activated for most significant incidents, yet actually scoping these personnel has largely been ignored. Instead, time and effort has been put into position qualifications for positions which may certainly be important, but are rarely utilized. We need to do better and expect better.
© 2022 Tim Riecker, CEDP
The Contrarian Emergency Manager 