A Summary of the National Response Framework

â€Å"Response doctrine influences the way in which policy and plans are developed, forces are organized and trained, and equipment is procured. It promotes unity of purpose, guides professional judgment, and enables responders to best fulfill their responsibilities. (NFR, January 2008, Page 8 and 9) This summary draws upon multiple documents from one primary source, the Department of Homeland Security web site. Upon examination of these documents it became clear that as our country faced more frequent and destructive disasters, the more collaborative our preparation, response and recovery efforts had to become; and to coordinate that kind of multi-systems response our first responders and decision makers would need a framework from which to provide a powerful unified response. That document is the National Response Framework. Researching and summarizing this document is a crucial foundation to understanding 21st Century emergency management in the United States. A Summary of the National Response Framework â€Å"To prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies, the United States Government shall establish a single, comprehensive approach to domestic incident management. † — Homeland Security Presidential Directive – 5 (NPR Brochure, page 2) The National Response Framework (NRF) is a 90-page guide to how the United States conducts all-hazards response.As a student exploring the field of emergency management as a career possibility, it is clear that the National Response Framework is the essential first-step to having a better understanding of how incident response will be conducted now and in the future. Furthermore, it is the fundamental directive on how local, state and federal preparation, planning, mitigation and recove ry will be forged, as well. So if one wants to be effective in emergency management, one must first become knowledgeable of this framework.The National Response Framework is guided by the input of hundreds of stakeholders, written for government executives, private-sector and nongovernmental organization (NGO) leaders, and emergency management practitioners to establish a comprehensive national approach to domestic incident response. The NRF works because it sharpens the focus on who is involved with emergency management at the local, tribal, state and federal levels and with the private sector and NGOs; describes what we as a nation collectively do to respond to incidents; explains how we are organized to implement response actions; and emphasizes the importance of planning.It allows first responders, decision-makers and supporting entities to provide a unified national response to disasters and emergencies. (NFP- Fact Sheet, page 4) This document is a result of twenty years of federal planning documents. The NRF was preceded 15 years earlier by a Federal Response Plan (1992) that focused largely on federal roles and responsibilities only. (NFP, January 2008, page 2) However, after the 9/11 attacks, urgent efforts were made to understand and implement common incident management and response principles to develop common planning frameworks.President George W. Bush directed the development of the National Respon se Plan (NRP) in Homeland Security Presidential Directive Number 5, in February 2003. It was published one year after creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Strategy for Homeland Security (Strategy). (NFP, January 2008, page 2 and 12) The NRP formed the basis for how the federal government would coordinate with state, local and tribal governments and the private sector during the response to a national incident.It was the cornerstone for the eventual maturation to the National Response Framework. The NRP brought together best practices from a range of disciplines including: homeland security, emergency management, law enforcement, firefighting, public works, public health and the private sector and integrated them into one unified structure. This unified structure provided the ability to coordinate federal support to state, local and tribal incident managers. (NFP, January 2008, page 12)President Bush’s Homeland Security Presidential Directive Number 5 also ordered the development of the National Incident Management System (NIM S), which continues to bring together federal, state, local and tribal emergency responders into a single system for managing incidents. The NIMS enables responders at all levels to work together more effectively to manage domestic incidents no matter what the cause, size or complexity. (Homeland Security Under Secretary Kicks Off National Response Plan Workshops In D. C. April 15, 2005)The National Response Plan was then renamed the National Response Framework in 2008, to better align the document with its intent. Stakeholders suggested that the NRP did not constitute a true operational plan in the sense understood by emergency managers but rather a construct for coordinated national incident management. The new National Response Framework is based directly on the NRP and retains much of its content. (NFP, page2) As mentioned previously, many of these systems developed as a response to the 9/11 attacks.The NRF is actually a requirement of the larger overarching National Strategy for Homeland Security (Strategy) that serves to guide and coalesce our countrys security efforts to achieving the following four goals: Prevent and disrupt terrorist attacks. Protect the American people and our critical infrastructure and key resources. Respond to and recover from incidents that do occur. Continue to strengthen the foundation to ensure our long-term success. The NRF obviously addresses the third goal.