Seeing the Elephant

Consequence Management is a complex problem facing the US today. A subset of Homeland Security, Consequence Management is the post attack actions needed to prevent further suffering and restore basic government services. Consequence Management requires a symphony of effort from many federal agencies, including the Department of Defense. Because organizations are driving their actions based on misperceptions gleaned from the 1996 Sarin attack in Tokyo, many are moving in divergent directions. These divergent programs are often competing for the same resources, and siphon these resources away from the local response community. This monograph explores these common misperceptions and recommends a new direction, closer to the required capabilities, for the Department of Defense role in Consequence Management. The monograph recommends the elimination of specialized units for WMD response. An honest assessment of the time element of an event shows the folly of this approach. The second recommendation is the creation of a tiered response capability that balances time and tasks required for effective Consequence Management. The three response tiers allows the DoD to provide a predesignated level of support to the appropriate Federal and state agency. The first two tiers address the response required for toxic chemical events. The third tier is reserved for the actions required for the Consequence Management for a biological release.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.