The Importance Of Planning In The Emergency Management Process

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Planning is the most important aspect to successfully achieve community goals in each phase of the US emergency management system. In order to minimize the effects of man-made and natural disasters, emergency managers must develop comprehensive plans that will help their communities prepare for and recover from disasters. To accomplish this, emergency managers have to surround themselves with the appropriate authorities to advise and assist in the creation and implementation of the plan. The parties involved and the planning process will vary by jurisdiction, but I believe the US military decision making process is a good example of bringing the right experts into planning. Unit commanders surround themselves with their staff consisting of experts from the training, operations, intelligence, logistics, medical, communications, civil affairs, engineers, and legal disciplines to make important decisions. The experts analyze the problem set and provide input from their points of view for multiple courses of action that can accomplish the mission. Then it is up to the commander to choose which course of action to implement based on those recommendations. At the end of the process, the commander issues his orders and the staff executes the plan, evaluates the progress, and provides feedback to the commander (Army Doctrine Publication 5-0). Just…show more content…
It helps to make several different courses of action that are feasible, distinguishable, suitable, and acceptable and also link them to decision points for the emergency manager. Planners should compare each course of action and war-game them to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each plan. By the end of this phase, the emergency manager should select the best course of action (or combination of courses) and identify additional needs for information or action before the course is

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