Coming Soon
2014 National Emergency Communications Plan
3 Keys to Managing a Crisis:
Communications – Communications – Communications
Pick any after-action report from a critical incident, natural or man-made, and you’ll find communication issues in the lessons learned; last years Boston marathon bombing is no different. In a crisis, information needs to flow effectively horizontally and vertically. All incidents are local, yet if outside support is needed, local governmental agencies must be able to clearly communicate assistance requirements to regional, state, and national agencies. Communications must also flow between the public and service agencies at all levels of government. Why can’t we wire the communications piece of this puzzle shown below such that it works effectively and efficiently?
In the soon to be released 2014 National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP) Secretary Johnson states;
“Since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was established in 2003, one of its top priorities has been — and will continue to be — enhancing the communications capabilities of the Nation’s emergency responders. Ensuring operable and interoperable communications and real-time information sharing between responders during all threats and hazards is paramount to the safety and security of all Americans”
The new NECP is an excellent starting point, but with many issues, communications especially, the devil is in the details. Many changes in the communications-operating environment have occurred in recent years, presenting both opportunities and challenges for those involved in emergency communications. These changes include the emergence of new technologies to communicate and share information during emergencies, such as broadband services, applications, and social media, as well as the modernization of networks, devices, and information systems that support emergency communications. Simultaneously, the Nation has adopted policies that focus on engaging the “whole community” in national preparedness activities.
I am pleased to see the inclusion of social media as an objective of the plan. “Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial emergency response agencies should update existing or develop new strategic plans to address current emergency communications capabilities and gaps, as well as the deployment and use of new technologies (e.g., broadband, Next Generation 9–1–1, common alerting protocols, and social media).” There’s much more to making this work than setting goals and objectives. We already know the existing commercial cellular system can’t support the increase in demand during a crisis even if it remains intact so just saying we’ll inform the public via our Facebook page isn’t the answer. Protocols must be established to ensure critical information gets priority over routine and non-essential traffic. Only texts and tweets are likely to function early on in a crisis and how well do local response plans function with limited connectivity?
In February 2012, Congress approved $7 billion to build a “national” network and reallocated 20 megahertz of spectrum airwave capacity for it. The idea for this network is to leverage the collective buying power of law enforcement and first responders across the country to build a cost-effective system to share information ranging from voice conversations to high-definition videos and data with minimal fear of security breaches or network failures. It will be the largest network of its kind in the world, serving 60,000 federal, state, local and tribal public safety agencies. A national network moves away from the longstanding “network of networks” approach to communications that made it difficult for first responders to communicate with one another in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. I am disappointed that the NECP remains agnostic to specific systems as I judge this reduces the effectiveness of our national plan. When striving for interoperability, what is the right balance between directing the purchase of systems that are integrated and can talk vs. allowing free enterprise (low bid) selection that results in incompatible communication systems that can’t talk? I would expect the NECP to identifying the federally funded network, FirstNet as a best practice if not a required element of local communication plans. Maybe the issue is whenever you’re spending federal money politics come into play and folks can’t agree especially when they judge they’re not getting a share. At a 2013 board meeting on FirstNet one board member stated, “Why is everyone sitting quietly while the commercial members of this board tell public safety to sit in the corner and watch them work?” he said. “Whose network is this, anyways, folks?”
I would also like to see the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) identified by the NECP as a required capability for all agencies within the Homeland Security Enterprise. HSIN is a collaboratively developed bottom-up network that facilitates both horizontal and vertical functional coordination for the full range of homeland security challenges. HSIN is made up of a growing network of communities, called Communities of Interest (COI). COIs are organized by state organizations, federal organizations, or mission areas such as emergency management, law enforcement, critical sectors, and intelligence. Users can securely share within their communities or reach out to other communities as needed. HSIN provides secure, real-time collaboration tools, including a virtual meeting space, instant messaging and document sharing. HSIN allows partners to work together instantly, regardless of their location, to communicate, collaborate, and coordinate. As a free system, you won’t find corporations pushing agencies to purchase HSIN.
Success during a crisis requires the support and dedication of the emergency communications community before the incident where we must routinely exercise our plans and procedures. Only by working together will we make progress toward increasing the speed, effectiveness, and efficiency of incident-related information sharing and ultimately help save lives and protect America’s communities. The 2014 National Emergency Communications Plan will help us solve our communication challenges but only if we follow it and work together to hammer through the devilish details and not let local, national or rice-bowl politics become a blockade for solutions. What’s important is the safety and security of the American people not the balance sheet of greedy corporations.
