Why Are Governments Turning to Emergency Management to Run Things?

I picked this up from a LinkedIn posting. Yes, I might have seen it before, too. However, the recent assignment of FEMA to help out on issues at the Southwest border — discussed in another blog post — highlights how if you need a coordinating entity, emergency management in general is good at it. We have done PPE and now in some cases we're doing vaccination sites and whatever else is required. Some emergency management agencies are working on homeless housing issues for their jurisdiction.

I'm reminded that in the U.S. Army, it was the infantryman who was and is the "jack of all trades" who comes in and gets things done. A good reputation to have for any profession. 

Let's highlight the second item below. This ability to work with limited information, like in a disaster where you are dealing with lots of ambiguities, is what makes our profession different. Basically, we have to make decisions when others are frozen in fear of making a mistake. 

 

 

The mug was shared by Edward J. McCrane Jr.