When an incident happens it is essential that the top management of an organization establish, define and document their policy for crisis management, which includes clear directions and expectations. Related: How to Build a Strong Crisis Management Foundation It includes a statement of intent that clearly and concisely outlines their objectives, describes in broad terms how…
Donald Estes has over 20 years of experience conducting research, analysis, and war gaming support to the Department of Defense, DHS, other government agencies and commercial clients. During a distinguished career as a naval officer in military intelligence, Mr. Estes held the Military Chair of Intelligence and was a professor in Joint Military Operations at…
The Lafayette, Louisiana movie theater shooting was methodically planned. The shooter, John Russell Houser, is reported to have visited other theaters prior to the attack and had been to the Grand 16 movie theater in Lafayette at least once prior. So, why did he choose this Lafayette theater over the others that he visited? Did…
As part of the preparation to conduct a tabletop exercise there are several important administrative and technical items that are easy to forget. Forgetting one or more of these items may lead to a less than desirable outcome during the exercise. Here’s that list: Identify the training location(s) Finalize the agenda Documents prepared (MSEL, selected…
Kidnap, Ransom, and Extortion Scenario Planning The CEO lands in Rome for an executive leadership conference and never arrives at his hotel. Calls to his mobile phone go straight into voice mail. His scheduled driver and security detail in Rome have also gone missing. The clock is ticking….. What do you do? Crisis preparedness planning is…
An After Action Report (AAR) is used to provide feedback on the exercise. It summarizes exercise events and analyzes performance of the tasks identified as important during the planning process. It also evaluates achievement of the selected exercise objectives and demonstration of the overall capabilities being validated and documents gaps in plans, policies, and procedures…
Q: What are the most rewarding elements of working within the education risk management space? A: Threat assessment is considered to be the current best practice for handling threatening situations and preventing targeted violence at colleges and universities, in K-12 schools, in workplaces, and in the military. When we conduct a threat assessment, we gather…
After the recent historic flooding in the Balkans, it made me wonder about how prepared I was as a business and home owner here in New England, US. According to CNN, Serbia had three months of rain in just three days. Are we prepared for our very own 100 year storm? The “100 year storm”…
If you’re in the field of preparedness, the notion of a rogue employee is not new. However, the tragic outcomes of a highly skilled and disgruntled former police officer taking down his counterparts has left many shaken in LA and across the U.S. Christopher Dorner, age 33, was accused of going on a killing…
Carnival Cruise Line faced a serious threat to its people, passengers, and public image when a ship lost power due to an engine room fire in the Gulf of Mexico. Within a few hours, some of the ship’s 4,000 passengers began sharing stories through social media and cell phones. Friends and family of the stranded…