[cat199]

> I wonder if a future extension to ICS/NIMS could be, how to plug in these unconventional resources where professional manpower is insufficient. Develop a 2-minute briefing, a point of contact for unconventional resources to report to, a simplified structure & communication network. The most important concepts are pretty simple, and the first responder doesn't need to know that much about it.

Great idea, but unfortunately when it gets officialized, the lawyers and the bureaucrats get involved and start talking about liability and ways to insert themselves into the situation to profit from it and things quickly gain the complexity of joining the original organization, so it ultimately fails. Maybe I'm too cynical here.

[sliverstorm]

ICS/NIMS trainings are painful to sit through, but in practice it appears pretty agile to me when implemented faithfully.

Instructors will tell you, it's only when you want to be part of the management structure that you really need to know what is going on. Even today, the bottom rung mostly just needs to know where to check in, who they report to, and how to communicate.

I understand your cynicism, and in many places it's applicable. I've noticed however that gov't works developed in the wake of a disaster seems to be pretty solid. Maybe because the project leaders are granted unusual latitude to ignore the lawyers & bureaucrats :)