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Posted on August 26, 2010 by Stephen Foley

While it has been a somewhat "quiet" fire season, activity has increased in the Pacific Northwest. There are now many agencies, federal and state, that have formed some level of incident management team (IMT) and are requesting shadowing/training assignments with one of the National IMTs.

As many of you know, the USFA is represented on the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) Executive Board and we have a full-time person at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise who coordinates our opportunities with the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) and the various Geographic Area Coordination Centers (GACCs) across the country.

Communications Unit Leader (COML) Pilots

The first pilot of the revised COML course developed between USFA, Emergency Management Institute (EMI), and the Department of Homeland Security/Office of Emergency Communications was piloted successfully at the National Emergency Training Center the week of August 16. The second pilot, hosted by the Texas Forest Service, is scheduled for the last week in September in College Station, Texas. I believe that this will be field ready for delivery in January 2011.

All-Hazard Incident Management Team Curriculum Revision

One of the major initiatives the AHIMT program is looking to accomplish in 2011 is update and revision to the O-305 All-Hazard Incident Management Team curriculum. The original development in 2003, and revisions in 2007, certainly have not kept pace with the changes within the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the National Response Framework (NRF). Additionally, there has been significant awareness and utilization of incident management teams at all government, tribal, and non-government organization levels. With that said, we have meticulously read over all the instructor and student evaluations for the past two years and one of many issues is the inclusion of leadership skills within the curriculum. Team dynamics is discussed and supported with activities, but it begs the question for those who have not been on an IMT, how does leadership fit in?

I have spoken with some of the USFA Type 3 points of contacts and incident commanders and they have contracted outside to bring these courses to their team as a component of professional development, both for the team and individuals.

Advancing USFA Type 3 IMTs to the Next Level

An experiential, high-intensity leadership program - Incident Leadership - focuses on applying the art and science of command and control to manage rapidly evolving incidents. Team members learn skills for quickly building operational synergy in temporary teams and come away with firsthand experience in how to put the Incident Command System (ICS) into practice in an intent-based, mission-driven framework.

Incident Leadership builds cohesion and confidence in existing IMTs as team members progress through a detailed 16-hour scenario mirroring, in real time, the progression of a growing all-hazards emergency incident. IMTs manage diverse resources, interface with community cooperators, and lead and plan for multiple operational time periods. As members of an IMT, students gain awareness and experience in managing their own leadership behavior. Teams are cross-leveled to maximize learning and mentoring opportunities across experience levels.

Incident Leadership is a required program for leaders seeking qualification as a Division/Group Supervisor (DIVS) or Incident Commander Type 3 (ICT3) under NWCG 310-1 (as L-381). This program is critical for leaders transitioning from leading at the leader-of-people level to the leader-of-leaders level, or for building experience in Type 3 organizations.

Topics covered include Command Climate, Commander's Guidance Leader's Intent, Span of Control, Team Effectiveness, Effective Communication, Human Error, Operational Tempo, and Command and Control.

For additional information on this particular leadership training, please contact Mike Carroll.

Mike and his team have worked with some of the USFA Type 3 AHIMTs and he shared some insight into their work and the "value added" to the team.

AHIMT Conference

As a reminder, the 3rd AHIMT Conference will be held in Denver, Colorado, December 6-9, 2010. As I receive more information, I will forward that along via this website.

National Coordination of IMT Issues

Lastly, I have received many e-mails and phone calls regarding the multiple efforts nationally on IMT related issues, such as credentialing, position taskbooks (PTB), qualifications, Resource Ordering and Status System (ROSS), and other associated topics. The USFA's Emergency Response and Support Branch (ERSB) is engaged in those critical areas. We are on a number of NWCG working groups that include NIMS/NRF, the Operational WorkForce Development, Executive Board, and others. Within DHS/FEMA, ERSB participates in doctrinal working groups specific to FEMA employees regarding credentialing, surge training, operational response, and Joint Field Office management. Many of these efforts are concurrent with our primary positions at USFA, and put us in position to work on efforts that are germane to USFA and our partners.

I appreciate all the ongoing support to keep the USFA AHIMT program moving forward and maintain the highest level of competency in which to serve those we protect.

As always - Keep Safe.