Browsing by Author "McNeil, Sue"
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Item A Brief Summary of Search and Rescue Literature: A Report to COT Netherlands(Disaster Research Center, 2008) Trainor, Joseph; Aguirre, Benigno E.; McNeil, SueThe accumulated of research on search and rescue (SAR) allows us to identify repeating patterns that should be considered in the development of an effective plan for national emergency response: (1) SAR is not simply an organizational activity, it necessarily includes the social and collective behavior of volunteers; (2) Preexisting and emergent organizations, social statuses and social identities, such as neighborhood and work place relationships and family and neighborhood social identities, serve as a basis for the emergence of new SAR groups and constitute the fundamental concepts and categories that are needed to understand and improve SAR activities; (3) SAR activities do not emerge from a vacuum; as an example of the principle of continuity advocated by Quarantelli and Dynes (1977), there are always elements of the traditional social structure embedded within collective behavior entities, and their emergent division of labor, role structure, and activities are also dependent on prior social relationships and forms of social organization in the community or region; (4) Breakdown models of social organizational patterns in disaster are not useful to understand SAR. Television reports and misinformed reporters often misinterpret throngs of people moving seemingly at random at the sites destroyed by various hazards, and assume that the people were disoriented immediately after impact and had lost their ability to enact social roles. Despite these reports, scientific research shows the absence of widespread confusion, lack of coordination, and panic (Aguirre, 2005). The seeming disorganization and aimless movement of people is the result of their individual and collective acts as they try to accomplish multiple individual and collective goals under severe time constraints (c.f. Fritz & Mathewson, 1957). Creative problem-solving and rationality is a more accurate way of understanding their actions (Aroni & Durkin, n.d., p. 30). In short search and rescue (SAR) activities are part of the complex emergency response system that emerges in response to disasters.Item A Brief Summary of Social Science Warning and Response Literature: A Report to COT Netherlands(Disaster Research Center, 2008) Trainor, Joseph; McNeil, SueFor more than five decades, researchers have explored the dynamics of warnings and warning response in the disaster context. This report is intended to briefly summarize findings related to this topic. The ultimate goal is to provide a basic understanding of how social science research related to warnings and evacuations might inform policy makers and emergency managers. Before we begin discussing the details of warning messages, the first and most important issue for readers to note is that the decision making processes of most evacuees and even non-evacuees are rational and calculated. Contrary to media depictions and other’s perceptions of the public that suggest animal-like, irrational, or antisocial behavior it is important that we begin this discussion knowing that people typically “rise to the occasion” during disasters. Although it would be wrong to suggest that people never make irrational decisions it is important that we begin this summary by recognizing that when we look at the broad patterns of human behavior documented through scientific/empirical studies, people who are experiencing a disaster far more often than not act in very rational and predictable ways. This finding above all others holds true in social science research. It is important to recognize this truth because it allows policy makers and emergency managers to move beyond the notion that the problem with warning and response is “getting people to be rational and do what we say” and instead allows us to move towards understanding “how can we change our approach so that it takes into account how people process warning information. While the difference may seem subtle, in practice it is quite important. The first sees overcoming irrationality as the problem while the second sees the institutional/organizational approach to warning as the problem.Item Household Residential Decision-making in the Wake of Disaster: Report of Results Prepared for Oakwood Beach Residents(Disaster Research Center, 2015-07) McNeil, Sue; Trainor, Joseph; Greer, Alex; Mininger, KelseyThis report presents the findings of a questionnaire mailed to Oakwood Beach residents during the summer of 2014 focusing on housing damage, decisions, and repair following Hurricane Sandy. Researchers from the Disaster Research Center at the University of Delaware worked to complete this study. As researchers, we were interested in exploring the different elements that influenced how residents decided where to live after Sandy. Little research exists to help explain how households decide where to live after a disaster. Getting better information about how people here made and are making these decisions is important both for this community and for communities that will face these kinds of disaster in the future. We hope that this information will lead to better policies and programs that improve the disaster recovery process.Item Household Residential Decision-making in the Wake of Disaster: Report of Results Prepared for Sea Bright Residents(Disaster Research Center, 2015-07) McNeil, Sue; Trainor, Joseph; Greer, Alex; Mininger, KelseyThis report presents the findings of a questionnaire mailed to Sea Bright residents during the summer of 2014 focusing on housing damage, decisions, and repair following Hurricane Sandy. Researchers at the Disaster Research Center at the University of Delaware worked together with the Borough of Sea Bright to complete this study. As researchers, we were interested in exploring both the condition of the housing stock and the different elements that influenced how Sea Brighters decided where to live after Sandy. Little research exists to help explain how households decide where to live after a disaster. Getting better information about how people here made and are making these decisions is important both for this community and for communities that will face these kinds of disaster in the future. We hope that this information will lead to better policies and programs that improve the disaster recovery process.Item Investigating the Benefits and Drawbacks of Realigning the National Guard under the Department of Homeland Security(United States Army War College Press, 2016-08) Burke, Ryan; McNeil, SueThe 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) designates homeland defense (HD) as one of the three core pillars of the nation’s current and future defense strategy. Defending the homeland from external threats and aggression requires a robust military capability. In this sense, both the federal Armed Forces (active and reserve components), as well as state National Guard forces play important roles in the defense of the nation. Further, HD often overlaps with civil support (CS) and homeland security to form a triad of domestic military operational domains. Where the roles, responsibilities, and limitations of the active and reserve components of the Armed Forces are relatively clear in this triad, the National Guard is a unique military entity capable of serving in either a state-controlled or federally controlled status during domestic operations. Whether the Guard operates in a state-funded, state-controlled status (State Active Duty [SAD]); a federally funded, state-controlled status (Title 32); or a federally funded and controlled status (Title 10) is a topic of ongoing debate during CS missions. Regardless of their duty status in such situations, the National Guard contributes to the security, protection, and well-being of the population. As such, it is important to continually assess the roles, responsibilities, and organizational orientation of the National Guard during domestic operations in support of civil authorities, and to ensure the states and federal government maximize the utility of this unique military capability when it matters most. As part of the ongoing effort to improve domestic mission capabilities in support of civil authorities, the Department of Defense (DoD) continually evaluates new and different approaches to achieving enhanced civil-military coordination. In this context, the unique position of the Guard as either a state or federal military forcedepending on duty status designationbrings added complexity to the already difficult task of ensuring a well-coordinated state and federal military response effort. As such, there has been continued debate over whether the National Guardor specific elements thereofshould serve in a permanent federal capacity to better support the nation’s security and disaster response mission. As a result of that ongoing discussion, the 2014-2015 Army War College’s Key Strategic Issues List (KSIL) asks: “what would be the benefits and drawbacks of realigning the [National] Guard under the [Department] of Homeland Security to enhance domestic security and disaster response, while retaining utility for overseas missions in support of the Department of Defense?” This monograph details our efforts to research and evaluate the perceived benefits and drawbacks of realigning the National Guard under the DHS, as per the KSIL topic noted above. We begin with a brief review of the relevant literature shaping the current policy and doctrinal approach to military CS operations, including a summary of laws and strategic guidance relevant to the discussion. We then note the important distinctions between homeland security (HS) and HD and the military role in each context. The seam between HS and HD provides a conceptual basis for discussing the roles and responsibilities of the National Guard, the DHS, and the DoD within domestic security and disaster response operations. After evaluating the National Guard’s role in each of the above contexts, we briefly discuss the realignment of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) within the DHS as a proxy for comparison of a similar realignment of a military-style entity under the DHS. Then, drawing from interviews with relevant subject matter experts, we present several potential benefits and drawbacks of a Guard realignment to the DHS as noted by those interviewed for this monograph. Interview subjects represented a broad range of backgrounds, including officers from both the Army and Air National Guard; the Maryland and Delaware state emergency management agencies; active and retired U.S. Coast Guard officers; the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM); current and former senior DoD officials with experience in homeland defense and CS operations; as well as representatives from academia with specific interests in military-involved state and federal operations. The study concludes with five short recommendations in summary of the research effort.Item Maturing Defense Support of Civil Authorities and the Dual Status Commander Arrangement Through the Lens of Process Improvement(U.S. Army Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. Army War College Press, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, PA, 2015-04) Burke, Ryan; McNeil, SueThe role of the military during homeland defense and civil support operations has significant strategic implications for U.S. national security efforts. Considerations for the future employment of Active Component forces during missions in the homeland have evolved into a major topic of conversation among policymakers and military strategists alike. In this context, there is a philosophical conflict between federalism and state sovereignty that continues to present itself as an impediment to success. Balancing the institutionally divergent approaches to achieve a unified, efficient, and effective response continues to prove problematic. The dual status commander (DSC) initiative offers a coordination mechanism intended to address the challenges of unity of effort between state and federal military response activities. However, there are numerous gaps in the available DSC guidance, which leads to increased complexity and confusion during domestic disaster response. This monograph introduces process improvement strategies focusing on the DSC construct in New York during Hurricane Sandy. It builds on our previous Strategic Studies Institute monograph documenting the DSC-led response to Hurricane Sandy in New York. Using the data collected during the Sandy case study as a basis for analysis, the monograph discusses the potential role of process improvement techniques as a method for improving unity of effort between state and federal military forces under the DSC construct for no-notice/limited-notice incident response. As part of our argument, we assess the application and utility of various process improvement methods and present examples of how such methods can be used to improve civil support issions. Based on the recommendations from the Sandy case study, we conclude by presenting a brief description of three conceptual process models mapped to specific challenges of a DSC-led joint task force. These process models identify essential tasks and key requirements specific to a key process during a DSC operation. In doing so, the models provide examples—not fully developed models—of alternative methods to guide the progression of operational maturity during domestic disaster response. As such, organizations like the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Army North, and U.S. Northern Command should consider integrating process improvement concepts and techniques into future DSC doctrine, policies, guidance, and operational tactics, techniques, and procedures. Using the concepts presented here as a method for improvement, we argue, will provide a practical tool for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of this critical coordination mechanism well into the future.Item Past, Present and Future: Building an Interdisciplinary Disaster Research Center on a Half-Century of Social Science Disaster Research(Disaster Research Center, 2008) McNeil, Sue; Quarantelli, E. L.Systematic social science disaster research began in the 1950s. The Disaster Research Center (DRC), the first social science research center in the world devoted to the study of disasters, was established at Ohio State University in 1963 and moved to the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware in 1985. DRC has played an important role over the last 50 years having conducted over 660 field studies. With this firm foundation in the social sciences, DRC is now evolving into an interdisciplinary research center. This paper reviews some of the field and survey research conducted by DRC on group, organizational and community preparation for, response to, and recovery from natural and technological disasters and other community wide crises, and then explores how this fits with DRC's evolving role in interdisciplinary research and education.Item Strengthening Flood Management Through US-Dutch Cooperation: Learning from a Large Scale Flood Exercise in the Netherlands - Part II: Findings(Disaster Research Center, 2009) Rosenthal, Uri; Engel, Karen; Zannoni, Marco; McNeil, Sue; Trainor, Joseph; Harrald, John R.; Shaw, GregIn the light of increasing cooperation between the United States (US) and the Netherlands, particularly between knowledge institutes, the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Water Management in the Netherlands requested COT Institute for Safety, Security, and Crisis Management (COT), to initiate research with a number of US disaster research institutes. COT took this challenge and developed the research project Learning from a large scale flood exercise in the Netherlands. The primary objective of this research project is to enhance knowledge in the Netherlands of strategies to effectively deal with (possible) floods by exchanging knowledge regarding key processes, best practices, and complexities of flood disaster management and identify areas, within this field, that necessitate additional research. Against this background representatives from two US institutions, Disaster Research Center (DRC) at University of Delaware and the Institute for Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management at George Washington University, provided a US perspective. The objective of the exploratory project was to develop background knowledge for, participate as observers in, and derive lessons learned from the Dutch flood-exercise week “Waterproef”, organized by the Flood Management Taskforce (TMO, Taskforce Management Overstromingen) in November 2008. In this report we present the findings of the project.Item Strengthening Flood Management Through US-Dutch Cooperation: Learning from a Large Scale Flood Exercise in the Netherlands - Part II: Process Report(Disaster Research Center, 2009) Rosenthal, Uri; Engel, Karen; Zannoni, Marco; Ebbinkhuijsen, Sanne; McNeil, Sue; Trainor, JosephIn response to a request from the Directorate General of the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Water Management in the Netherlands to COT a network of institutions with expertise in emergency management, risk and disasters was initiated in September 2008. Representatives from two US institutions, Disaster Research Center (DRC) at University of Delaware and the Institute for Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management at George Washington University, provided a US perspective. The objective of the collaboration was to develop background knowledge for, participate as observers in, and derive lessons learned from the Dutch flood-exercise week “Waterproef”, organized by the Flood Management Taskforce (TMO, Taskforce Management Overstromingen) in November 2008. COT served as the coordinating institution. This report is part II of a larger report. Part I of the reports focuses on the outcome of the project. In part I the observations are presented based on papers, interviews, refection meetings and the expert meeting. Part II gives a brief overview of the various activities in this project. This includes a description of the activities during the Waterproef week (November 3-7) in addition to a number of observations that were discussed throughout different ‘reflection’ meetings. It must be noted here that the issues raised are not part of an evaluation. The issues raised are a number of observations that were discussed; the issues raised are first impressions. This second part of the report also includes the papers that were written during this project. Furthermore, we need to express that this report is confidential and should be treated as such.Item Toward a Unified Military Response: Hurricane Sandy and the Dual Status Commander(U.S. Army Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. Army War College Press, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, PA, 2015-04) Burke, Ryan; McNeil, SueU.S. military forces have played a role in supporting civil authorities in varying locations and capacities from the Whiskey Rebellion to Hurricane Sandy. In a large-scale incident response scenario requiring combined support from the National Guard and federal military, effective management and coordination continues to challenge all involved. There are issues of constitutionality, legality, policy, financial considerations, and even politics, all uniquely situated between individual states’ interests and those of the Federal Government. In this context, there is a philosophical conflict between federalism and state sovereignty during military civil support missions that continues to present itself as an impediment to success. Balancing these institutionally divergent approaches to achieve a unified, efficient, coordinated, and effective military response has, and will continue to be, a strategic and political imperative. Despite the challenges, military forces are frequently involved in domestic response missions, often in a very public manner. As such, military force allocation and management have evolved into major topics of conversation among policymakers, academics, emergency managers, and military strategists alike. Owing to these issues, State and Federal Government lawmakers adopted policy and law authorizing a single military commander, referred to as a dual status commander, to legally assume simultaneous but mutually exclusive command and control over both Title 32 and Title 10 forces during domestic operations. As a proposed solution to the notable coordination challenges plaguing domestic civil support operations, the dual status commander initiative has been used successfully during planned events since 2004. The coordinated military response to Hurricane Sandy in the fall of 2012 was the first time in U.S. history dual status commanders assumed command of both Title 10 and Title 32 forces during a no-notice/ limited-notice incident. As such, this event provides a relevant and timely opportunity to study the military response to the storm and offer objective recommendations for improving future no-notice/limited-notice defense support of civil authorities (DSCA) operations under the dual status commander arrangement. The purpose of this monograph, therefore, is to offer an objective and systematic documentation and evaluation of the military response to Hurricane Sandy as a basis for assessing the efficacy of the dual status commander arrangement for no-notice/limited-notice incidents in the homeland. To complete this effort, we employed a rigorous case study investigation emphasizing the combined state and federal response to Hurricane Sandy in the New York City metropolitan area from October 22-November 15, 2012. The research examines the events of the storm response under the command of Brigadier General Michael Swezey, the designated dual status commander for the storm response in New York. We combined interviews with Department of Defense officials, National Guard commanders, and Active Duty military officers involved in the Sandy response with extensive document and content analysis of various Sandy-specific reports to generate our findings. Through this research, we intend to present a detailed and objective analysis of the response in order to provide military and defense officials with a greater understanding of the benefits and limitations of the dual status commander arrangement during a no-notice/limited-notice civil support incident. We conclude by offering a series of recommendations likely to improve policy, procedures, and training, among other things.