Skill Transfer and Virtual Training for IND Response Decision-Making: Analysis of Decision-Making Skills for Large Scale Incidents

Abstract : MIT Lincoln Laboratory is engaged in a project sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S and T), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that examines alternative mechanisms for training and evaluation of emergency managers to augment and complement existing techniques. The effort seeks to answer the question of how government agencies can ensure that key emergency response personnel have the required skills and knowledge to make critical decisions during an incident of unprecedented size, scope, and complexity such as an IND detonation.This document reports on findings and analysis during the first phase of the project, which was to gain an understanding of the specific response decisions and decision making skills required during an IND detonation response. The project team interviewed and surveyed emergency response professionals, analyzed the decisions they emphasized as being both important and difficult, and analyzed the associated skills they identified as being critical to making these decisions. The remainder of the report provides detail on the method and findings of these interviews. This effort does not intend to develop an exhaustive list of all relevant decisions and skills. Rather, it aims to prioritize key skills and focus attention on potential gaps, in order to lay the groundwork for enhancements to training and evaluation techniques.