For a bit of context, if you haven’t already read them, please take a look at these other ICS related articles I’ve posted: Incident Command System Training Sucks ICS Training Sucks… So Let’s Fix It Preparedness – ICS is Not Enough The crusade to improve ICS training and implementation continues… We invest a lot of … Continue reading Preparing to Use the Incident Command System
There it is. I said it. Before you unleash the hounds, hear me out. A bit of background: As another grad course at American Military University was coming to a close last month I was racking my brain over the theme of my term paper. In one of our final assignments I was dissecting NIMS … Continue reading Incident Command System Training Sucks
Last week I had the pleasure of speaking with Rob Burton on his Tea and Chaos webinar. We talked about the Incident Command System (ICS) and what can make it successful. Since our conversation, I’ve had some continued thoughts about ICS and the complaints people have about it. One of the complaints I hear more … Continue reading Incident Management is a Technical Skill
Just yesterday, the Canadian province of Ontario released an update of its Incident Management System (IMS) document. I gave it a read and have some observations, which I’ve provided below. I will say that it is frustrating that there is no Canadian national model for incident management, rather the provinces determine their own. Having a … Continue reading An Update of Ontario’s Incident Management System
Just over a year ago I wrote An Alternate Concept of Incident Management Support, identifying the gap that exists in most local communities and areas for improved incident management capability. While I still think that formal Incident Management Teams (IMTs) are the gold standard, not every community or even multi-county region can support a formal … Continue reading Building Local Incident Management Capability
I recently finished reading Team of Teams by Gen. Stanley McChrystal. The General tells of the new perspective and strategy he needed to employ to better manage the Joint Special Operations Task Force in the 2000s hunting down Al Qaeda insurgents. The Task Force was being out paced by a decentralized organization with all the … Continue reading A Re-Framing of Incident Management Structures
It’s frustrating to see poor incident management practices. For years I’ve reviewed plans that have wild org charts supposedly based on the Incident Command System (ICS); have conducted advanced-level training with seasoned professionals that still don’t grasp the basic concepts; have conducted and evaluated exercises and participated in incident responses in which people clearly don’t … Continue reading Incident Management Advisors
Through many of my writings on the Incident Command System (ICS), the training shortfalls we have with ICS, and the fallacy of most local governments relying on incident management teams, I have a different take that I’ve been thinking through. The concept is similar to that of an Incident Management ‘Short’ Team, but pared down … Continue reading An Alternate Concept of Incident Management Support
As I was writing my thoughts on the updated ICS-100 course in my previous post, I got to thinking that it may be prudent to reinforce the difference between incident management and the incident command system (ICS). ICS is a specific application of incident management, while incident management is, in all, much broader than ICS. … Continue reading Incident Management vs Incident Command
Last week I wrote a piece on the Incident Support Model for Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs). The article got a good amount of attention which prompted some dialogue both on and off line with a variety of practitioners. So for those who might be integrating this model into their plans, let’s consider what training might … Continue reading A Discussion on Training Needs for the EOC Incident Support Model
The Contrarian Emergency Manager 