I read this story below, and it reminded me of how little respect folks have for the security officer of a facility, all the way up until something awful happens. Something like a terrorist attack or natural disasters or a response to a influenza virus outbreak like Novel Influenza A (Swine Flu). It usually takes a really bad deal to remind everyone how important an initial response and attack is, in order to combat these type of things.
But what this story missed, and was ‘oh so close’ to mentioning, was the importance of Incident Command to the initial response to an incident like a pandemic. Incident Command is the answer, and it is also something that has been federally mandated by DHS. But what does that really mean, you might ask?
It means that the US government has recognized the power and efficiency of such a system, based on it’s usage during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the hurricane responses the last couple of years and the fires that ravage the west every summer. It is a simple command language and structure, that all units involved can rally around and understand. That is a powerful thing, because the emergency response that is most organized and most flexible to answer the rapid pace of an evolving incident, will win. It has been proven time and time again, hence why it is the preferred command structure for emergency response in the US.