How the NIMS and ICS Model can benefit the State-level Homeland Security Procedures

Homeland Security in the US is a department that is tasked with different roles, all of which are meant to ensure that America remains safer and protected from both internal and external attacks. One of its primary roles is to protect Americans from terrorist threats. In this regard, the department calls on the families, communities, private sector, and local governments to contribute towards ensuring that America remains safe from terrorist attacks. Despite this great role that Homeland Security is mandated to oversee, it can be boosted by the deployment of models such as the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS) models which can benefit the state-level Homeland Security procedures.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The ICS is a standardized approach to the command and coordination of emergency response that guides how responders should react to a threat or emergency. Homeland Security can use both ICS and NIMS to ensure that it plays its mandate in a better and more effective manner. One of the significant benefits of using the models is that they improve common communication and information management systems. In disaster management, communication is one of the primary considerations (Davidson, 2017). NIMS and ICS make it easier for the concerned procedures and agencies to communicate effectively and coordinate their operations. With proper communication, different procedures and agencies are likely to observe consistency in their response, therefore helping the parties that may be in need and averting any form of crisis. Besides, with proper coordination, the affected parties are able to communicate their concerns to the necessary levels, thereby getting the required assistance at the right time.

When coordination and communication are integrated, the departments that are supposed to respond are able to manage the disasters and threats in a manner that reduces interruption of businesses and mitigates the effects of the disaster. The ICS and NIMS systems are designed in such a manner that they enhance greater efficiency since they are made in such a manner that their role is to direct and coordinate efforts in the event of a disaster or any form of emergency or crisis.

Proper communication is essential for the success of any organization. For Homeland Security to perform its roles effectively, it needs to have a credible and well-organized communication system so that it can reach all the concerned parties in the most appropriate manner possible. The use of ICS and NIMS systems has made it possible to institute a Joint Information System (JIS) which helps to facilitate proper communication and delivery of accurate information to members of the public (Davidson, 2017). JIS helps in the coordination as well as transmission of real-time information to the concerned parties. Therefore, the use of NIMS and ICS would ensure that the methodologies that are applied have the capacity to guarantee reliable communication and coordination, especially in disaster and emergency management. Without proper communication, disaster management for Homeland Security might prove to be a challenging task to achieve.

The ICS and NIMS models help to coordinate among the various departments in response to disasters. For instance, in the case where there is fire, the models ensure that there is coordination among the different responders such as medics, the firefighting department, and the cops among other responders and this helps to save lives as well as salvage property that may otherwise have been consumed by the fire. Therefore, by ensuring that similar language terminologies are used, NIMS and ICS help the concerned parties to understand the needs of other parties and be able to take rapid actions to avert the disaster.

NIMS and ICS also come in handy during the coordination and oversight exercise. There are several equipment and tools that are used by Homeland Security during any response. The oversight and coordination of these tools and equipment is the role of NIMS and ICS, and they ensure that adequate resources are allocated during an incident. They also enhance other roles and procedures such as recording, describing, and determining how the resources are used.

Proper management and deployment of resources is a major factor for the success of Homeland Security. The latter requires a national incident management system to help it have a coordinated response to any disaster and/or emergency. Every incident requires an appropriate response. Homeland Security has not had an elaborate standard for the domestic incident response, which is able to cover all the levels of government and response agencies. With America facing different events that require the response of Homeland Agency, it is high time that necessary response mechanisms are instituted aided by NIMS and ICS models. Events such as those of September 11 and the continued terrorist activities targeting the US and its embassies have underscored the need to have a system for the proper management of resources to help in combating terrorist activities and response to other disasters (Oliver et al., 2015). The development of NIMS was a great step towards the provision of interoperability and compatibility among different responders.

Multi-agency coordination is a major role of NIMS and ICS. Homeland Security requires to organization of different agencies, procedures, and resources for use in the tackling of any event or disaster. The ICS and NIMS systems make it easier to organize equipment, personnel, and processes into a common system. Such an organization allows for the integration between the local as well as the state emergency units. The coordination of activities, as well as the prioritization of demands during a response to a crisis, is a major merit of NIMS and ICS systems. The multi-agency coordination enhanced by NIMS and ICS makes it possible to identify future resources which may be necessary for the management of a similar disaster or emergency as well as strategic coordination among states or agencies (Davidson, 2017).

NIMS and ICS are beneficial in ensuring that the mandate of Homeland Security has been fully achieved. The NIMS offers a flexible framework that makes it possible for government and private agencies to work together and be able to manage any disasters that may arise. The coordination between the different state and private agencies is key in ensuring that the set-out objectives are fully achieved.

The NIMS and ICS models are also beneficial to Homeland Security at the state level as they enable the department to train their response team as well as liaise with the members of the public to prepare them adequately to respond to emergencies. Such strategies are formulated with the assistance of NIMS and ICS models, and they are beneficial to Homeland Security in helping it fulfill its mandate and national obligation (Radvanovsky, 2006). The strategies that would be formulated through the assistance of the NIMS and ICS would assist Homeland Security at the state level in responding to emergencies and disasters effectively. With this, Homeland Security would be more successful in its operations than it would have been without the assistance of ICS and NIMS.

The ICS command structure may also provide a satiable basis for Homeland Security to operate from. The capability of any agency or organization to succeed in its objectives is determined by the strength of its command structure. Homeland Security may benefit from the ICS command structure, which offers an orderly chain of command which is common in all responding organizations. The chain of command may consist of only one person or a multi-agency team which ensures that communication is common across all platforms.

Conclusion

By and large, Homeland Security may benefit greatly from the operations of both NIMS and ICS models and systems. The NIMS and ICS model may offer a lot of benefits to state-level Homeland Security procedures. Disaster management is a major obligation of Homeland Security. With increased risks of disasters and terrorism occurring especially in the modern world, there is a need for Homeland Security to stay abreast to ensure that it is not caught unprepared. The introduction of ICS and NIMS systems may be one of the greatest steps taken by Homeland Security to ensure that it performs its mandate more effectively. As discussed, some of the benefits that state-level Homeland Security procedures have benefited with include more consistent and clear communication, proper organization of the response agencies, better information management systems, better management of resources, and multi-agency coordination.

References

Davidson, W. (2017). Homeland Security. Hauppauge: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Oliver, W. M., Marion, N. E., & Hill, J. B. (2015). Introduction to homeland security: Policy, organization, and administration. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning

Radvanovsky, R. (2006). Critical Infrastructure: Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. CRC Press.