The Importance of Surprising and Speed to Effective Tactical Operations - Assignment Example

Week 6 Discussion Questions Why is surprise and speed important to effective tactical operations? Tactical operations like breaching, sniping and assault are used as the last resort to overcome the situation. These tactical operations require speed and surprise to be effective as the subject should not be given time to react, revolt or escape the action taken. Hence, the more unexpected and speedy the tactical operation for the subject is, the more effective are the outcomes. 2. What is the importance of the commander in military combat? A commander is the person who brings the plans into action. He is responsible to transform the combat potential into combat power. He uses command function to direct the combat force in performing actions which lead to the accomplishment of combat goals. He is responsible for how, when, where and what functions are to be carried out. 3. Discuss the negative and positive aspects of civilian tactical operations and military combat. Provide examples. The civilian tactical operations are more controlled as the snipers, assault and breaching processes are involved. These operations help in determining the position of the subject and keep an eye on his activities via snipers. However, the risks associated are also high as these operations have zero tolerance for mistakes. A single and minor mistake may lead to great losses like a loss of the life of hostage/victim if the subject escapes the shot or attack. Military combats are uncontrolled and uncertain in the circumstances. Both groups have a definite aim to achieve and both have the power to carry out their missions. It becomes quite difficult to realize the hidden potentials of the opponent and hence, the circumstances may vary as the combat progresses. However, in military combats the opponents have definite aims to achieve and there is no interference of greed, new aims and new values after the combat starts. The aim is fixed and the efforts are made to dominate the opponents. Week 7 Discussion Questions 1. Are all transportation disasters considered “emergencies”? Why or why not? Transportation disasters are not always emergencies as people may have knowledge of the disaster beforehand and they are sometimes preventable. For instance, a person living near a railway line knows the potential risks associated with living there and may take necessary steps to prevent himself and his family from those risks by shifting to a safer place or plan to eliminate the risks of being struck by the train; especially for children. 2. Why is it necessary for all facets of the community (individuals, businesses, non-governmental organizations, governmental organizations, etc.) to be involved in disaster management planning and response? There is no set disaster management plan as the emergencies are unexpected and uncertain. The disaster management plan requires government agencies, individuals, non-governmental organizations, etc. to work together to eliminate or reduce the risks and effects of a disaster. Disasters generally effect a larger population or serve as a point of attention to a large population who may be the next victim of that disaster which occurred by human errors, accident or incapability to handle the situation after the emergence of the emergency. In order to implement an efficient disaster management plan and response, all facets of the society are required to work together. 3. How would you overcome conflict between organizations that compete over response to a transportation disaster such as between the FBI and NTSB or federal and state emergency management agencies? The FBI takes responsibility for investigating criminal activities that result in emergencies, whereas NTSB takes part in managing the emergencies that fall within the scope of civil transportation disaster. The conflict between these agencies and others can be resolved by providing them a single platform where they can work together in identifying the major cause of disaster and respond to the effects of those disasters efficiently. FEMA provides that platform and an efficient emergency management plan proposed by FEMA to combine such organizations like FBI and NTSB together may be helpful and effective. Week 8 Discussion Questions 1. Define the jurisdiction of the NTSB. In your discussion, describe its relationship with local emergency operations centers. The NTSB is responsible to investigate and provide the investigation report within 12-18 months of the disaster. NTSB is responsible for civil disasters that occurred due to the mistake of people or occurred accidently. The NTSB has complete independence over choosing the organizations which it believes as parties to an investigation. The NTSB is strongly under communication with the local emergency operation centers to gather information and provide aids. 2. How are civil and criminal investigations of transportation disasters alike? How are they different? The civil and criminal investigations of transportation disasters both involve the interviews and investigation from on-scene witnesses, background of the incident, the major and minor staff or workers involved of that organization involved in the incident like crew in case of plane crash etc. and thorough investigation of the system, asset or person that caused the incident happen. On the other civil and criminal investigations differ in that civil investigation like of NTSB are more inclined towards investigating the things, operating conditions, weather and other factors, whereas, FBI and other criminal investigation agencies investigate the people involved, victims, witnesses in more detail. 3. How can community and non-government organizations be of assistance to the NTSB? Provide examples The community and non-governmental organizations may help in controlling and managing the hazardous situation after the incident. They may also help NTSB in investigation and act as eye-witness of the incident to start or proceed with the investigation process. Non-governmental organizations may also help in making the public aware of the causes of the incident and aid NTSB in managing the emergency situations. Week 9 Discussion Questions 1. There is a saying that one country’s terrorist is another country’s freedom fighter. If you were to use the definition of terrorism provided by Hall (2003) above, what other techniques would factor into counter-terrorism operations besides military tactics and investigation? Intelligence operations are helpful in combating terrorism activities besides military and investigating operations. Anti-terrorism is the defensive measure used to decrease the vulnerability of people and property to terrorism. Consequence management also helps in mitigating the losses of terrorist activities and Intelligence support helps in gathering useful information about terrorist activities, victims and terrorism plans to aid the counterterrorism, antiterrorism ad consequence management techniques. 2. What potential organizational conflicts do you see between FBI-CIA, FBI-DHS, and CIA-DHS? How would you propose to reduce or eliminate this conflict? 3. Explain the Governmental Response Continuum in regards to the Iraq war. These are the Governmental Response Continuum in regards to Iraq war: exploitation, suppression, and assimilation. Exploitation is generally used on the sympathizers, advocators, or activists of the terrorist activity; suppression is applied on extremists and terrorists; and assimilation comes about during the revolutionary and sovereign stages of a cause. Week 10 Discussion Questions Answer three of the six questions below: 1. Describe the importance of knowing the elements of a crime before an investigator decides on an investigative plan. The elements of crime are an important factor to decide on the direction of the case, the technique of investigation to be adopted and required resources to execute the necessary investigative procedures. Elements of a crime are hence important to proceed with resolving the case and accumulating justifications and reasons for the proposed arguments. 2. What is the importance of resources as it relates to an investigative plan? Resources like manpower availability, compensation, tools, and supplies are crucial in bringing the plan into action. The tasks as planned require certain manpower for instance, to interview people, record the findings, analyze situations and investigate relevant materials and the money or other consideration to get the work done as planned and the equipments to carry out the plan. Hence resources play an important role in every step of an investigative plan. 3. How can the community assist government agencies in terrorism investigations? 4. What is the importance of culture as it relates to the handling of terrorism informants? 5. How does criminal intelligence inform terrorist investigations? 6. How does “enterprise” relate to terrorism investigations? Unlike other crimes, terrorism is a crime which does not involve an individual and his personal motives. A crime like robbery can be overcome and controlled by imprisoning or punishing the liable person but terrorism involves a larger population with some common aim. “Enterprise” is the term which is used to define terrorism or activities that promote terrorism. The investigation of terrorism activities, hence, requires investigating the whole ‘enterprise’ rather than an individual who committed or got involved in terrorist activity. Week 11 Discussion Questions 1. Define the private sector and its role in response to transportation disasters. Private sector includes both for profit and not-for-profit organizations which help government in controlling the emergency situations and responding well to the disasters. The non-profit organizations like American Red Cross provide emergency services to respond to transportation disasters and other businesses contribute their money and resources to help governments. Private schools may help governments by starting awareness campaigns and other organizations may raise funds to respond to the disasters in collaboration with the governmental departments. 2. How can the government and the community improve mitigation and preparedness for transportation disasters? The community and government may help the government in mitigation and preparedness by informing people about the emergency situations and the ways to mitigate the losses in such events. The voluntary organizations, for instance, help government by preparing volunteers to work out the plans at the emergency site. Awareness programmes, campaigns and notices help in maintaining the conditions well during and after transportation disasters. 3. What is CERT and how can it benefit transportation disaster response and management? CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team and is designed to prepare individuals for the emergency incidents. The governmental and other emergency teams are unable to provide help to all the affected people at once, hence, CERT prepares individuals for immediate actions in such circumstances to save themselves first and then help their families, neighbours and people around them from the harms of the emergency situation. The CERT aims to provide information, training, awareness of individuals’ responsibility and organization techniques in emergency situations to people. Week 12 Discussion Questions Answer four (4) of the eight (8) questions below: 1. Why can’t the psychological effects of a critical incident be predetermined? The psychological effects of a critical incident cannot be predetermined because the entire background of people, their life experiences and emotional level cannot be determined completely. It is not possible to assess the mental level of a person who faces any such incident because the reactions of people differ greatly for different situations. 2. What is the significance of returning a person in crisis to their pre-crisis state? 3. Why is problem solving the last stage of dealing with a person in crisis? Why not the first? The person in crisis is not able to view alternatives other than the situation he/she is in. Hence, it becomes important to control the person’s emotions first and persuade him on communication of his issues. The next step is to resolve his issue after considering his position and views. Problem solving, hence, is the last stage when the crisis responder presents new ideas and help in resolving the crisis to the person in crisis. The communication established and knowledge of the person’s mental condition makes it possible for the crisis responder to deal with him effectively and persuade him on choosing an alternative or ways to cope up with the crisis. 4. Is CISM applicable to both emergency and non-emergency persons? Why or why not? 5. What CISM component works best for civilian populations and why? Crisis Management Briefings (CMB) works best for civilian populations as these are designed for larger groups of up to 300 people. CMB works best for terrorist activities, workplace and school incidents and so on. The CMBs provide the affected population with information, control rumors, reduce sense of chaos, help in reducing and mitigating their distress. The CMBs are of great help for the personnel to come back to normality and eliminate the psychological effects of incident. 6. Why is it important to distinguish between CISM and psychotherapy? CISM is not psychotherapy. It is a prevention rather than reparation. CISM helps in stabilizing and bringing the emotionally distressed person back to his/her functioning condition. Hence, CISM should only be used to eliminate the psychological distress of people that emerged after they faced a crisis situation. 7. What makes line of duty deaths so traumatic? 8. Why are Debriefer Debriefings so important? Read More