9/11 Incident Command System

After September 11, 2001, the Department of Homeland of Security was formed in response to the terrorist attacks. Out of the birth of the agencies formed, the National Incident Management System (NIMS) was created to allow clear allocation of resources and a systematic approach to emergency management. The system can be effective in many responses where many levels of government and response are imminent to respond to the disaster. Many of these agencies are emergency management, police, fire, health, and EMS from all levels of government. NIMS can be used on any type of incident and of any size or scope in nature.

The terrorist attacks on September 11 changed America forever. The attacks led to President Bush creating the Department of Homeland Security which tried to centralize the federal response to all terrorist threats. However, local police, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians will still be the first to arrive at the scene of an attack. These first responders face a unique and increasingly dangerous task when reacting to a terrorist attack on US soil.

The President of the United States of America issued the Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-5 on February 28th, 2003 for managing Domestic incidents like terrorist attacks. The HSPD-5 helped create the National Incident Management System (NIMS), (Homeland Security, 2004). The use of the Incident Management System and Incident Command System can help manage the response to an attack involving Weapons of Mass Destruction among many other emergencies. These systems allow for coordination to be used in a proper and efficient manner. Without a system in place communication and coordination can fall apart and the response will not be prompt as it needs to be to protect lives and infrastructure.

September 11, 2001 is commonly thought of as the next major disaster in the United States. So I prefer to choose this real incident. The event that shook the world like a thunderstorm, thousands of people died in the terrorist attacks they did not resemble the catastrophic disasters previously discussed. Unlike all of the natural disasters previously detailed, the attacks in New York City and Washington, DC did not completely overwhelm the emergency response capabilities of entire regions. The attacks caused brief mass confusion and overwhelmed individual emergency response agencies but did not paralyze the entire emergency response network. The primary first responders were the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Port Authority Police Department (PAPD. While federal officials participated in rescue operations and helped provide security after the attacks, the immediate rescue efforts were orchestrated by local responders. The local response networks were overwhelmed and resources were strained, but there was no system-wide breakdown in organization or authority. Nonetheless, emergency responders encountered many of the same problems that responders experience during catastrophic disasters. Communication systems

The National Incident Management System is a systematic guideline on how to effectively plan, mitigate, respond and recover, from significant incidences especially those that encompass diverse interest and involves all levels of governments. It works hand in hand with the National Response Framework, which provides structure for incident management while NIMS provide the guide for all departments and agencies at all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to work flawlessly during incident management to reduce loss of life and property (U. S. Department of Homeland Security, 2008). The core aspect of the National Incident Management System during incident response is the Incident Command System (ICS),

This paper will explain an overview perspective of the September 11th attacks, as well as examine the response of local emergency personnel to this incident. I will discuss the lack of coordination amongst emergency personnel, and also analyze the connection between this event and the National Incident Management System (NIMS). This paper will also reveal the challenges faced due to interoperability and the ways in which improvements were made and improvements many believe still need to be made.

The 9-11 incident shocked the world. People remember the picture of 911 as clearly as they remember yesterday, even though it has been 14 years ago. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its many partners across the federal government, public and private organizations, and communities across the country have worked since 9/11 to build a new homeland security enterprise to better decrease and defend against dynamic threats, minimize risks, and maximize the ability to respond and recover from attacks and disasters. In the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001, many trade associations developed or enhanced security operations to deal with terrorist threats. Numerous owners and operators of transportation

September 11th terrorist attack the U.S., and we were forced to watch as they used airplanes to crash into the World Trade Centers in New York City. First responders and other rescue organizations were thrust into immediate action, and were very confused because they did not know how bad the situation was with the communications and disorganization of some of our government agencies. The horror of watching the WTC crashing down was shocking. We suffered a massive loss of life, so within this paper we will try to understand all the things that interfered with public safety’s responding to the crisis that day. This report will examine the types of programs that were carried out to help these organizations with communication and cooperation issues that could create a problem within these agencies across the board internally and externally, and discuss the different types of programs that were carried out after 9/11 to help LEOs and other organizations. These issues need to be discussed because without cooperation the leaders of these organizations are thrust into the limelight and deem as self-serving. Therefore, it is beneficial for everyone to find ways to deter terrorism, but that cannot happen if they do not cooperate. The FBI and the CIA are the main agencies that need to fix this issue, and make organizational changes, and it would behoove us to move past 9/11, and examine all the things that went wrong and fix them for the greater good of society.

On September 11, 2001 Al Qaeda operatives executed a violent and lethal terrorist attack against the United States. The attacks against the north and south towers of the World Trade Center, United Airlines flight 93, and the Pentagon, have collectively been deemed the deadliest terrorist attack to take place on American soil in the history of the United States. The appalling attacks against New York City and the nation’s capital triggered an immediate assessment of the intelligence community, existing anti-terrorism policies and methodologies, and the overall structure of the United States intelligence community. More specifically, the federal government began to assess its existing capabilities to ensure domestic homeland security and enhance the security posture of the United States. An array of after-action reports indicated that communication and collaboration between varying government agencies was limited and very difficult to navigate. More specifically, intelligence agencies were extremely restricted and compartmentalized and as a result of such lapses, Al Qaeda was successful in their attack planning and execution. Although there has been a recognizable improvement in communication throughout the intelligence community, the United States must evolve and

The attacks of 9/11 in 2001 shed a light on many different weaknesses relevant to the security of the United States regarding communication, and disaster response. On every level of government— federal, state, and local— substandard communication methods contributed to the deaths of nearly 3000 people, as well as the growing number of people dying from illnesses that resulted from participating in the cleanup at Ground Zero. There were many communication challenges faced by agencies tasked with responding to the incident, and particularly in the case of law enforcement, these problems likely resulted in more fatalities than would have occurred had better systems been in place. This paper will discuss the communication problems that

After the horrific attacks on September 11th, 2001, The United States had a new mission at hand. They needed to repair their procedures of responding to natural disasters or massive attacks. They needed to create a system that would ensure that everyone, from local law enforcement to the top guy in the federal government, were in sync and on the same page for training purposes and during actual national incidents. The American government did a review of the 2001 attacks and discussed what caused the issue, what steps or procedures were carried out, and what could have been done in order to correct any faults that might of taken place. One of the main issues discovered, was all the different agencies, departments, and private sectors

This specific section of the executive order calls for consultation with potentially affected communities purposely identifying legal, auditing, financial, and insurance communities as industries with which to consult. Additionally, the executive order also establishes a directive that the Board shall coordinate with the senior liaison officers of the Attorney General, the Secretaries of Energy, Commerce, Transportation, the Treasury, and Health and Human Services, and the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Additionally, the Board shall work in coordination with the Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office and the national Institute of Infrastructure Assurance Office and the national Institute of Standards and Technology of the Department of Commerce, the National Infrastructure Protection Center, and the National Communications System (The White House). This indicates the large amount of actors impacted by information security infrastructure. This author finds it compelling that departments and agencies specifically related to homeland security and protection such as the FBI, CIA, and Department of Homeland Security. In fact, throughout the Executive Order the Department of Justice is mentioned in incident coordination and crisis response and law enforcement coordination; however, the Secret Service is specifically mentioned. It appears there is a large emphasis on coordination between executive agencies. However, the Board’s Coordination committee includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation (The White

Analysis: Ineffectual utilization of the Incident Command System (ICS) created gaps in tracking resource requests. Assignments of roles and responsibilities within the ICS structure would have allowed the on-scene commander to have more people helping him to make and track decisions. Establishment of a liaison between the on-scene operations and the operations section of the EOC would have facilitated more control of the scene.

Interagency cooperation is vital to the success of the Aviation Transportation System Security Plan, necessitated by the large network of facilities and personnel belonging to multiple Federal agencies spread across multiple locations under United States jurisdiction. The success of any security plan depends upon the framework, and it is not just computers, video cameras, intrusion detection devices and screening technologies that ultimately determine the success or failure of the security plan. The cooperation of players in the framework at all levels is necessary to ensure a relatively smooth execution of the security plan, and since the players are spread across multiple agencies and facilities, execution of the plan becomes ever-more complicated

Today, the Incident Command System (ICS) is a major component of NIMS and is widely used in emergency management response. However, this was not always the case. According to David A. McEntire and Gregg Dawson, authors of the article, “The intergovernmental Context,” ICS was originally developed by the fire service in 1970. Its purpose was to assist in the command of wildfire events. It was unique because it standardized operations, yet offered flexibility so that it could be used on any number of events, regardless of size or type (McEntire & Dawson, 2007, p. 63).