FEATURE

Michael Chertoff confirmed as new Department of Homeland Security head; begins 90-day review of DHS

With strong Senate approval, Michael Chertoff was overwhelming confirmed to become the second Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.  To accept the new position, Chertoff stepped down from a lifetime appointment as U.S. Appeals Court Judge to take the reins of the 180,000 employee department.  Chertoff has served in a number of positions during the Bush I and Bush II administrations, including Assistant U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Attorney, and federal prosecutor. Instrumental in many post 9/11 activities, Chertoff is highly regarded by President Bush as a talented and experienced public servant. 

What's next on Chertoff’s plate? Already underway is a 60- to 90-day top to bottom review that, according to the Washington Post, would include a review of the 180,000-employee department, and Chertoff would consider revamping entire agencies and programs that are part of it.

"Old categories, old jurisdictions and old turf will not define our objectives," Chertoff was quoted by the Post in a speech he presented at George Washington University.  "Bureaucratic structures and categories exist to serve our mission, and not to drive it."

Describing the process as a comprehensive review of the entire DHS organization, including the way that it's structured and its policies, Chertoff has said, according to GCN, that he plans to realign DHS programs against a breakout of the terror risks facing the country.  Looking to organize the department – and allot funding – based on threats and vulnerabilities, Chertoff appears to be committed to letting analysis of the threats and risks become the driving factor in the structure, operations, policies, and missions of the department, and not the other way around.  According to Chertoff, priorities will focus on three factors: the specific kinds of threats terrorists pose, American society's vulnerabilities to attack, and which kinds of attacks would be most devastating.

Chertoff promises smoother coordination between federal agencies, and has stated that the new group is “committed to projecting a disciplined and steady flow of information to the public.”  And, according to the Post, Chertoff said his inclination was to avoid commenting publicly about fast-moving threat-related events, especially in the realm of scientific investigations, unless he was certain of the facts – even if the media were clamoring for information. "I may say we don't know very much at all," he said. "I'm not going to guess."

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

First responder money added back into FY2006 budget with amendment in Senate

Congress restores block grants

Mayors around the country may be breathing easier after the Senate agreed to restore money to economic development programs that the White House had proposed cutting.  [more]

E TEAM IN ACTION

American Samoa hit by back-to-back hurricanes

As multiple cyclones raged through American Samoa in February, the American Samoa Emergency Operations Center (ASEOC) was activated using their newly-installed E Team to support response and relief efforts.

The first cyclone, Hurricane Olaf, damaged homes, roads, water lines, power lines, and communications to the Manu'a Islands. ASEOC focused their activities on supporting the three islands, using E Team to document and distribute resources.  Then, less than two weeks later, a second cyclone devastated American Samoa's Swains Islands. As Hurricane Percy approached, ASEOC and E Team again rolled into action.

"After Hurricane Percy put Swains Islands under water and they were in need of support, E Team allowed us to easily document response, distribute government resources, and support the relief mission there," said Richard Semo, manager of the American Samoa Emergency Operations Center.  "E Team made it much easier to document individual government department and agency response roles, as well as delivering an easy way for our EOC Liaisons to quickly get the job done."

 "We hope that we don't have any more hurricanes scheduled to head our way, but in case we do, we will be ready," continued Semo. "Thanks to the E Team software, and the company's support staff, we feel comfortable and highly prepared going into our next incident."

GRANTS AND FUNDING

Key funding announcements
 

• Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program   >Deadline: Apr 08, 2005
   
• HHS Planning Grant for Integrated Advanced Information Management Systems (IAIMS)
  

E TEAM NEWS

E Team protects and connects at Bush Inauguration

Super Bowl emergency operations relied on E Team to protect region in case of emergency or disaster

Based on E Team’s proven success and unmatched experience managing other large-scale events -- including three Super Bowls and the Summer and Winter Olympics – the City of Jacksonville chose E Team as the infrastructure to protect Jacksonville’s residents and the more that 150,000 visitors attending the Super Bowl festivities.  [more]

The Emergency Interoperability Consortium (EIC) announces an agreement with DHS to promote data sharing during emergencies

The EIC announced a groundbreaking public/private sector alliance to promote the development of standards for sharing emergency response information.  Thought to be a first of its kind agreement between DHS and a non-government entity, the Memorandum of Agreement establishes an alliance between the organizations to jointly promote the design, development, release, and use of XML standards to help solve data sharing problems commonly encountered during emergency operations.  [more]

E Team reorganizes to address unprecedented growth

E Team has announced several organizational changes, including the naming of John Tullie as president and chief executive officer, the election of noted venture capitalist Lawrence S. Jordan as chairman of E Team’s board, and the promotion of two E Team executives into senior leadership positions. [more]

SOFTWARE UPDATES

COOP reporting now available

In this “best practices” approach that simplifies status reporting, E Team’s COOP Reporting provides an efficient way for federal executive branch agencies to quickly deploy a solution that effectively meets approaching exercise requirements and deadlines.  E Team’s COOP Reporting can also enable other state, local, and private organizations with a way to implement streamlined status reporting for planned events and unplanned incidents.  [more]

E Team Release 2.3 now shipping and includes these new features:

• Store Incident Reports – Provides retail store users with the ability to capture the necessary information required to contact the proper individuals should an incident or event occur in their facility.
  

• Corporate Facility Reports – Tracks the status of critical private sector facilities that may be affected by an emergency, allowing the collection of critical data elements including facility name, status, contact information, and estimated damage.  All facility reports can be easily mapped.
  

• Vendor Reports – Allows users to record critical information about vendors whose products or services may be required during an activation, including information regarding vendor status, contractual relationships, goods and services provided, and contact information. Information in the Vendor Report is dynamically linked to the Resource Request.
  

• Organization Reports – Allows the creation of generalized summary reports, suitable for the needs of corporate executives, elected officials, and the media, that provide a comprehensive assessment of the overall situation.
  

• Security Incident Reports – Delivers the ability to document and track incidents that typically don’t require activation of the EOC, such as minor accidents, burglaries, threats, vandalism, security breaches, and geolocate each incident to track incident, victim, witness, and perpetrator details.
  

• Off-Site Alarm Reports – This daily-use functionality is used to document and track the occurrence of and response to off-site alarms (alarms at facilities that do not have security staff). Delivering the ability to geolocate these alarms on a map along with information on type of alarm, this report provides you with a list of people to call to respond to the alarm, a means to track the results of these calls, and the ability to document the cause and resolution of the incident that triggered the alarm.
  

• Personnel Reports – Allows organizations to track the status of particular individuals within your organization by creating reports on all personnel of interest prior to an event or emergency, and then access and update during the activation, as needed.  Alternatively, these can be used to identify personnel that are unavailable, injured, or have reached an identified threshold of interest.

Please contact support@eteam.com for further information on these new features or to schedule an upgrade.

USER TIP

Using E Team's Crystal Reports templates

Eric Kant, of E Team's Professional Services, discusses E Team and Crystal Reports.  Also included are a number of templates for your use.  [more]

CUSTOMER NEWS

Recent customer achievements and recognition

EVENTS

Visit E Team at these upcoming events

READER CONTRIBUTIONS

Do you have an interesting tip on how to best use E Team?  What about input on an aspect of emergency management?  We welcome contributions to the E Team Report, so please contact us at info@eteam.com if you have a story idea.

FEEDBACK

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